SINGAPORE - Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts institution set up by Yale University and the National University of Singapore in 2011, will stop accepting new students.
The 240 freshmen who enrolled at Yale-NUS earlier this month, the school's ninth intake, will be its final cohort of students and will graduate in 2025.
NUS in a press release on Friday (Aug 27) morning said that Yale-NUS will merge with NUS' University Scholars Programme (USP) to form a new college which will open by August 2022.
Yale-NUS will remain open and continue running its academic, co-curricular and research programmes until the end of the 2024/2025 academic year, while those enrolled in the USP will transit into the New College next year.
The scholars programme started in 2001 and admits around 240 undergraduates a year from across seven faculties and schools in NUS.
This is about the same as Yale-NUS which takes in about 250 students a year. Both programmes offer a broad-based, multidisciplinary common curriculum.
Yale-NUS, with its smaller classes and residential experience, aims to nurture graduates who can think deeply and make connections across different domains of knowledge.
NUS said that in merging the two schools, it aims to bring together the best features and extensive experiences of USP and Yale-NUS. The New College, the placeholder name for now, will seek to continue their legacy of world-class interdisciplinary liberal arts education.
NUS said the new college will be in a position of strength and identity to offer broader and more specialised offerings through a deeper integration with NUS.
An innovative new common curriculum will be designed to bring about rigorous intellectual engagement and vibrant residential living.
"Students will experience the model of immersive and interdisciplinary learning characterised by flexible curriculum, residential living and small group teaching," it said, with graduating students earning degrees conferred by their respective home school or faculty.
NUS said the distinctive Yale-NUS common curriculum - covering literature and history, modern social thought, philosophy, quantitative reasoning and scientific inquiry - has been an inspiration for expanding its own interdisciplinary education and designing a common curriculum across NUS.
The USP curriculum has similarly enabled generations of students to make strong connections across disciplines. Keeping the important feature of the USP where students are able to access the full range of majors, second majors, minors and specialisations offered across NUS, and attain their desired disciplinary depth, the students of the New College will enjoy the same flexibility to acquire new competencies beyond their home school or faculty.
Yale President Professor Peter Salovey said, "Yale takes great pride in the accomplishments of Yale-NUS College - a pioneering partnership between two leading universities to create a residentially based liberal arts college... I want to offer my best wishes for the new college and express our gratitude for the generous support of the Government of Singapore in making it possible for us to partner in the creation of a model of liberal arts education that is regarded as one of the most innovative in the world - one whose DNA will live on, we trust, in new and exciting ways."
NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye: "The evolution of USP and Yale-NUS into the New College will offer students the opportunity to benefit from an immersive, interdisciplinary liberal arts education that brings together the best features of both institutions and very importantly expands access to multiple pathways, disciplines and specialisations across the NUS ecosystem. We're delighted that Yale will continue to play an advisory role in the New College as a pioneering member of its international advisory panel. Yale has been a visionary partner in Yale-NUS College. We look forward to continuing our friendship, and exploring bilateral opportunities in research and education."
Yale-NUS will remain open and continue running its academic, co-curricular and research programmes until the end of the 2024/2025 academic year. PHOTO: ST FILE
Related Story
Timeline of Yale-NUS College
Related Story
Yale-NUS welcomes NUS College of Humanities and Sciences
A New College Planning Committee, chaired by NUS Senior Deputy President and Provost Professor Ho Teck Hua and comprising leaders from USP and Yale-NUS, Yale, as well as NUS, will continue the development of the plan for the New College, and how it will combine the best of USP and Yale-NUS.
The committee will also seek ideas and feedback from students, staff, faculty and alumni of both Yale-NUS and USP.
NUS also announced that its Faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment will merge to form the College of Design and Engineering.
It said the formation of these two colleges is the latest move in NUS' efforts to transform the educational experience at Singapore's flagship university, based on four key pillars - common curriculum, greater flexibility, an interdisciplinary approach and lifelong learning.
Related Story
9 in 10 Yale-NUS graduates employed within six months
Related Story
Academic freedom can't be carte blanche for misusing institutions for political advocacy, says Ong Ye Kung
Get the ST Smart Parenting newsletter for expert advice. Visit the microsite for more.
Topics:
More Whatsapp Linkedin FB Messenger Telegram Reddit WeChat Pinterest Print Purchase Article Copy permalink https://str.sg/3ibo