Intended for all first-semester NTU-USP students, this course has two aims.

First, you will learn to compose scholarly essays, crafting arguments that are clear, rigorous in logic and evidence, original, and persuasive. You will gain these skills through studying and discussing exemplary writing, emulating these examples in a series of increasingly demanding essay assignments, and critiquing the essay work of your peers.

Second, but no less importantly, you will develop a more critical perspective on your university education. This course asks you to reflect on the purpose of that education, the better to shape it.

The readings and essay assignments are intended to provoke hard thinking about three questions: For whom is university meant? What is education? What larger purposes does education serve?

This course aims to introduce normative ethics and metaethics to students. In addition, it encourages students to respond critically to articles and videos that make use of the concepts of normative ethics and metaethics and to become ethically reflective and responsible global citizens.

In addition, the course will also encourage students to think critically about the ethical implications of our technological implementations. Last but not least, students will be reminded from the outset to consider the benefits of a civic education, the welfare of the community or commonweal, and the ethical implications of being civic-minded. 

This course aims to equip students with the necessary research skills to plan and execute a research project in sustainability at the nexus of  economy, environment and societal space. Through team-based exploration of sustainability issues viewed from an interdisciplinary lens, students will gain knowledge about the process of research, including its fieldwork and documentation, and apply such knowledge in the field. They will learn how to gather and document empirical data ethically, and explain the rationale for the decisions they make as well as evaluate the success and limitations of fieldwork that centers around sustainability issues including, but not limited to, environmental sustainability (e.g., waste, pollution, energy), sociocultural sustainability (e.g., preservation and sustainability of national, regional, ethnic, racial, or other ingroup-based tangible and intangible culture and heritage), and economic sustainability (e.g., the promotion of long-term economic growth through efficient and responsible resource management).

The course is project-based, and students work in teams to go through the process of crafting their own subject matter, documenting, writing and storytelling using mixed media. This course contributes to the development of students in the NTU-University Scholars Programme in their competence as researchers with empathy, intercultural communication skills, and creativity. By crafting their own research projects from start to finish, students in this course will learn to evaluate the various sustainability challenges faced by our ever-changing world and, hopefully, cultivate the ability and interest to promote mitigation strategies that improve their own livelihoods and those of their fellow global citizens. 

This course is part of NTU 2025 Education – Common Foundational & Interdisciplinary Collaborative Curriculum (ICC). It integrates major components from CC0005 Healthy living and well being and adds additional philosophical analysis to the course material. This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to wellbeing based on empirical evidence and conceptual analysis. On the empirical side, this course follows the content from CO0005 by looking at how people pursue the “flourishing life” in different ways, including improving one’s physical fitness, seeking authentic relationships with others, or making a positive change in the environment. On the conceptual side, each week you will explore additional philosophical questions related to well-being, happiness, the self, and the connection between mind and body. You will examine whether it is possible to objectively define and measure the “flourishing life.” You will look at eastern and western perspectives of the self in relation to happiness and compare different theories of the mind-body connection. Lastly, you will examine positive and negative impact that technology has on our livelihood. By the end of this course, you would have developed an awareness of what constitutes living a healthy and flourishing life, both of which indirectly contributes to a successful undergraduate education. 

SP0005 Quantitative Reasoning

The vision of the NTU-USP is “to nurture creative and reflective global citizens devoted to understanding the social, cultural, economic, and environmental forces that give shape to our ever-changing world.” Of the many skills and qualities such a citizen will possess, one key feature is the ability to reason with big data as well as information and arguments involving numbers. We will be identifying principles that help guide our understanding about claims supported by quantitative information. This will include both practicing computational skills in basic probability, statistics, and data visualization as well as critically reading and writing about quantitative information from scholarly and non-scholarly sources.

SP0013 Cultivating Heartware for Inclusivity and Diversity

We live in an era of profound transformation where we face many uncertainties and challenges in today’s fractured and volatile global environment. Our future as an interconnected and interdependent global community vitally depends upon the relations between diverse nations, societies and individuals. Since the life of humans is one of relating to self and to others in our complex world where diversity and constant change are the norms, education that prepares the young to live and work with a greater sense of meaning, self-understanding, connection and purpose in such a world is essential for the well-being of self, others and the world. This course is therefore interdisciplinary and draws upon various fields including the literature on mindfulness, contemplative education, special needs, inclusive education, critical pedagogy, positive psychology, and spirituality, etc to address and deal with difference and change. This course situates participants within the realities of global and local contexts to which the response to nurture inclusive, compassionate and respectful communities is paramount for the well-being of humans and our planet. This course will provide the opportunity for participants to cultivate the ‘heartware’ of inner capacities, as well as resources and responses as the basis for becoming more whole, integrated and inclusive in relating with self, others and the world. For this purpose, participants will have the opportunity to embark on an inner as well as an outer journey of learning about diversity and inclusivity, dealing with change and difference, and becoming an inclusive person for others.

SP0015 Science in the Media

People learn about science from different information sources. Outside of school, science learning occurs in places like museums, aquariums, and other informal venues. Learning also occurs via the mass media. People can learn about science from newspapers, magazines, television programs, documentaries, and so on. Increasingly, people are using new media—for example, YouTube—to learn about science.

SP0016 What is Reality? Perspectives from Quantum Physics and Philosophy

This course aims to develop students’ understanding of the epistemological and ontological perspectives of the nature of reality through parallel lines of inquiry from quantum physics and history of western/eastern philosophy, and guide students to examine philosophical and ethical issues arising from the development of quantum science and technology.

SP0020 AI: Law, Technology & Ethics, from Financial Services to Autonomous Vehicles

Purpose: This interdisciplinary course is intended to introduce the nature and elements of the technology of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a manner that is accessible to those without a technology background, and from there, to develop a strong understanding of the relevant legal and ethical issues. This will be achieved through a deep examination of the use of AI in the financial services sector and in the autonomous vehicles sector. You will learn and understand the technologies of AI, the relevant laws and ethical principles and will develop skills to identify legal and ethical issues and to resolve them using appropriate approaches.

Intended Audience: It is a participation intensive course for students who welcome informed critical discussion based on required readings and to think critically in an interdisciplinary manner and not be constrained by the traditional disciplinary silos. 

Value: The course is intended to provide a breath of vision and understanding that will stand our students in good stead in the foundations of deep interdisciplinary studies in the technology, law and ethics of AI. It provides a sound and invaluable basis for students in thinking through and tackling the concrete challenges of modern society, business and life. Those who will take on leadership roles in any field will benefit from having the profound interdisciplinary insights.

SP0023 Error and Bias

This course allows students to examine the many errors and biases that characterize our judgments about ourselves and other people. A central theme of this course is that understanding how people perceive, reason about and remember social information – especially the biases and shortcomings people show in their perceptions, inferences, and memories – is central to understanding both effective social functioning and many forms of maladaptive behavior and social conflict.

SP0024 Political Earth

The increasing global population combined with rising incomes and globalisation has put the world’s environmental resources under significant pressure. Management of the Earth’s natural and environmental assets has become a major global political focus, as increasingly people are aware that environmental problems are political problems. Although environmental actors confront trade-offs between human wellbeing and profit on a regular basis, management and governance responses are all dictated by a political process. This course aims to provide you with the tools to be able to apply scientific, political, economic and social knowledge to understand the cause of these problems, and to help society resolve issues surrounding the use of natural resources and the conservation of the environment.

SP0051 Astronomy

This course aims to equip University Scholars Programme (USP) students with key knowledge in modern astronomy and cosmology. Through the course, students will learn about the history of astronomy, navigating the sky, the origin and content of our solar system, and the evolution of stars and galaxies. Topics including the big bang, the geometry and structure of the universe, dark matter and dark energy, will be discussed to give students an overview of current ideas in modern cosmology and for them to ponder about our place in the universe. The course will also present exciting astronomical discoveries in recent time. Students will also have opportunities to learn practical skills in solar observation and star gazing to supplement their learning of the course.

SP0061 Science and Technology for Humanity

The course aims to inspire a long-lasting mindset of awareness, critical thinking, curiosity, and collaboration across disciplines through the lens of contemporary and near-future challenges for human communities in relation to scientific and technological innovations. Students will learn to perceive and analyze the potential benefits and costs of scientific/technological innovations and applications from different perspectives and on different scales. Students will then use these skills to identify real-life challenges and to propose solutions. 

SP0067 Creativity, Cognition, & the Imagination

This course aims to introduce the key issues surrounding the debate about creativity, cognition and the imagination to students from all disciplines. In addition, it encourages you to respond critically to articles and videos that make use of the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of creative cognition and the imagination across a range of disciplines and to become imaginative, reflective, culturally informed and responsible global citizens, given to both critical and creative thinking.

SP0068 Artificial Intelligence: History, Philosophy, & Prospects

This course aims to introduce the key issues surrounding the philosophy of artificial intelligence (hereafter: AI) to students from all disciplines. In addition, it encourages you to respond critically to articles and videos that make use of the concepts and theoretical underpinnings of AI research across a range of disciplines and to become reflective, culturally informed and responsible global citizens in a technological age, given to both critical and creative thinking about the nature of the relation between man and machine.

SP0069 Invisible Health Communities

The global pandemic has deeply underscored the inextricable ways in which human society is interconnected; it has demonstrated that the global health chain is as strong as its weakest link. This course therefore seeks to draw attention to overlooked populations that are either excluded or face barriers in accessing healthcare. It encourages a deconstruction of social determinants of health that result in various facets of health inequalities for excluded and underserved health minorities.

It explores questions such as: What is health equity/inequity. How is inequity experienced? How are communities currently supported? What can be improved? How can it be improved? 

In order to answer these questions, the course requires learners to become aware of the interaction of various social elements and health experiences; it requires, among others, a multi-disciplinary perspective for the questioning of social, ethical, political, economic, and cultural aspects of health equity.

This course is an opportunity to become aware of contemporary social inequities in order to encourage awareness, compassion, and greater inclusion and equity in society.

SP0072 Enterprise, Innovation and Leadership

This entrepreneurship course offered by the NTU Entrepreneurship has been customized for students of the NTU-University Scholars Programme. This course aims to develop a strong understanding of enterprise, innovation, and leadership principles that are relevant to the dynamic and ever-changing nature of today’s business landscape. You will learn enterprising, innovative, and leadership skills which are necessary competencies for developing creative solutions to deal with challenging issues arising from the increasingly complex world we live in.

SP0025 Exploring Spaces: Communities, Societies and Cultures

SP0026 Superheros and Supervillians

This course aims to examine the distinction between good and evil, virtues and vices, and heroes and villains. You will draw on ancient, modern and contemporary philosophical literature to shed light on these issues. You will examine what makes a hero (and a villain): Is it what we do? Or what motivates us? Or what our character is like? The main objective of this course is to examine what charcter traits make a person admirable or contemptible, and whether the life of a moral hero or moral saint is desirable. Through exploring real life and fictional characters who resemble heroes and villains (e.g., Gandhi, Trump, Batman vs the Joker), you will develop important skills such as intellectual flexibility, critical attention and analytical rigor.

SP0027 Food Fiction: A Creative Writing and Storytelling Course 

“Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships.” Winona LaDuke.

This is a creative writing course that provides you with opportunities to research the historical significance of a dish/meal, read and watch a variety of short stories where food plays an integral role to the narrative, analyze the relationship between food and people, and create short narratives pertaining to food.

You will examine food fiction in different mediums to examine the inherent relationship between food, history, culture and identity, and how these traits are represented in narratives. You will also have opportunities to understand the craft of writing, for instance through critiquing the development of theme, structure of story, characterization, the use of dialogue, narrative voice, and point of view in food fiction.

SP0030 Travels and Travellers

This course aims to introduce students to the social scientific approaches to the study of tourism and to the social and cultural issues involved in contemporary tourism. You will draw on sociological, anthropological and geographical work to shed critical light on these issues. Having developed a deeper social scientific understanding into contemporary tourism, you will be in a better position to pursue further studies of tourism-related topics and potential careers in the travel industry.  

SP0031 Truth and Ethics in Art and Journalism

This University scholars' course will introduce students to the issues fundamental to and surrounding ideas of truth, evidence, documentation, and authenticity as they relate to art, photography, documentary and journalism.  This historical and aesthetic investigation will prepare students to analyze, critically reflect and investigate themselves into the creation of works that are sensitive to the difference between journalistic, aesthetic, mimetic and indexical modes of creation. 

We are experiencing a time where a spike in the discussion about alternative facts and fake news, as well as an increasing popularity of true crime documentaries and fiction that is based on true stories is effecting our sense of truth, ethics and aesthetics. Against the backdrop of this development, this seminar has the goal to look deeper into the ethics of image production in the dynamic field of art and journalism. The course spans the artistic spectrum, with an eye for the journalistic, examining historical (pre-photography) fine art, photojournalism, reportage (drawn journalism), podcasts and documentary film. This course is an interdisciplinary investigation into the popularity, ethics, and cultural effects of "reporting" in the broadest sense with a deep examination into the concept of truth in media.

SP0033 Community Literacy Practices in the 21st Century

This course aims to explore the nature of social and cultural literacy practices in various contexts in the 21st century. It provides opportunities for students to conceptualize and conduct a narrative inquiry (NI) study. By taking an NI approach to understanding community literacy practices students are encouraged to examine how literacy differs in different settings and conditions especially in the face of technological developments. Students will consider theoretical basis for production and comprehension of written language, review methodological approaches to reading and writing and the impact literacy practices have on individuals and communities. Students will be encouraged to analyse the diverse reasons for the way people read and write in the communities such as for personal, social and economic reasons.

SP0035 The South East Asian Economy

Purpose of the course

Asia has been and will continue to grow at a superior pace than many parts of the world into the future. Thus, some designated the current era as the “Asian Century”. Within Asia, countries in South-East Asia are projected to develop at even a faster pace than most of their counterparts. Several exciting trends that are happening and will continue into the foreseeable future will make South-East Asia a higher growth region, including increasing economic link with China, ASEAN Economic Community, Belt and Road Initiatives, etc. A growing economy translates into growing business opportunities.

But South-East Asia is large and diverse, with population over 650 M and more than 10 countries of diverse ethnic, social, economic, and political structures. For business and professionals to take advantage of the potential business opportunities, they should have a good understanding of these nations. Thus far, information about South-East Asia is not yet as well-known to the outside world in the same manner that China, Japan, or more developed Asian countries are. This course aims to fill the gap through customized, country-specific lectures that encompass various aspects of a country including history, social, economic and political that provide a holistic understanding of a country.

This course aims to sharpen the students’ ability to perform a country analysis. It covers important aspects of major South-East Asian countries. We will discuss key social, economic, political and institutional characteristics of selected countries. We will study comparative analyses of important issues of the South-East Asian region. The course will highlight significant developments and trends that this region is experiencing and the implications for future businesses and career opportunities.

Potential Benefits of the course

The academic skill, knowledge, and perspectives gained from this course can benefit you in several areas:

1.   Career prospect: You will understand the potential economic development of major ASEAN members. This can broaden your possibility of careers outside Singapore.
2.   Business prospect: You will be able to use the knowledge from this course to determine a right place for expanding the business and investment opportunities for your employers. You can become more effective and insightful in your work.

3.   Social prospect: You will understand forces that shape the citizens of various neighbouring countries. You can develop a better empathy for and friendship with them. This can enhance your circle of friends and business associates.

SP0036 Paleoanthropology and Human Evolution

By the end of this course, you will acquire a thorough understanding of the different stages of Human Evolution and of the origins of our species (and genus). You will become aware of the most updated theories in Human Evolution and of the scientific and technical paleoanthropological practices of assessment and cataloguing of human fossils. You will acquire, additionally, a deep knowledge of the contribution of Genetics to the study of human origins. You will be able to evaluate the progresses in the study of Human Evolution from Darwin’s and Wallace’s works to the most recent achievements and discoveries. Moreover, you will have an enhanced appreciation of the extent and nature of human diversity and uniqueness, as well as humans’ place in the natural world. Consequently, you will have a good grasp of how humans and other species evolved biologically, and how genetic evolution interacted with cultural evolution. You will be able to incorporate an understanding of human evolution into your everyday life, and will acquire the conceptual tools to assess local and global policy-making decisions for the ecological preservation of our species and planet. Additionally, you will be able to discuss topics in Human Evolution according to a comparative perspective involving Language Evolution, Communication Sciences, Cognitive Sciences, and Archeology.

SP0037 Naughty and Nice: Deviance in Fables, Folklore, and Literature

Through literature and film, this course examines folk ‘literary’ expressions by exploring folklore and fables that influence the study of literature and film. Fables generally include stories for children, while folklore encompasses more than just fables and tales. They include a spectrum of beliefs manifested in artworks and writings, and cultural habits manifested in body language. 

This course has two foci. The first examines the idea of deviance in fables and folklore. We will question why in many fables, the antagonist is presented as heroic, and conversely, why the protagonist is often presented as deviant. The second focus is on what turns a tale into a fable or folklore? This question will be explored alongside the various media that disseminate tales that eventually turn them into folkore, and even into pop culture.

SP0040 Maritime Silk Roads. Past, Present, and Future

The aim of this course is to provide with an appreciation of the role that the so-called maritime silk road(s) had for medieval and modern societies in Afro-Eurasia and think about the role of new silk roads in contemporary and future global societies "as a metaphor for the on-going flow of [goods,] ideas and knowledge between Asia and Europe [and Africa], which in turn contribute to the reconfiguration of global economic and diplomatic relationships" (van der Ploeg, J. - G. A. Persoon & H. Liu, p. 6).

SP0041 DEEP Drama

SP0047 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

This course aims to introduce aesthetics and the philosophy of art to students. In addition, it encourages students to respond critically to articles and other media that make use of the concepts of aesthetics and the philosophy of art and to become reflective and responsible global citizens. This course will also encourage students to think critically about the foundational issues in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, including the nature of the relationship between artworks and truth, knowledge, standards of taste and evaluative norms, judgment, perception, forgery and fraud, creativity, meaning, and morality.

SP0048 Global History Through Masterpieces

Through the lens of masterpieces in art, architecture, design, literature, and music we [re]examine ‘history’. The range geographically and chronologically is deliberately wide to embrace ‘artefacts’ from: the Parthenon of Athens and its associated sculpture, to the aesthetic and social significance of Titanic; from painting in Renaissance Italy and its ‘empire’ to Les Misérables (derived from the age of revolution in France); from UNESCO world heritage inscription in Singapore to digital futures globally; and from the Gallipoli Symphony and the creation of national ‘memory’, to Ai Wei Wei’s social engagement and activism on often-neglected contemporary issues.  The course also utilises Singapore’s own collections through structured visits to the National Gallery and the Asian Civilisations Museum. By seeing, listening, reading and experiencing, students are offered a new ‘entry’ into world histories, one which is designed to make them passionate, inquisitive and engaged in the past.

SP0049 Watching Movies in the Digital Age 

SP0071 Love and Sex

This course aims to examine the four forms of love (Platonic, friendship, familial and romantic), the three areas of sex (erotic sex, gender-sex and the ethics/politics of sex) and the relation of love to sex.   Students will draw on historical, sociological, psychological, evolutionary, feminist and philosophical work to shed critical light on these issues. In addition, you will explore ancient and contemporary texts and videos that defend opposing views to develop important skills such as intellectual flexibility, critical attention and analytical rigor.  

SP0074 Straight or Slant: Challenging Societal Norms

SP0082 Truth Lies and Hype 

Half of a millenium before "alternative facts" entered our vocabulary, human beings began battling over how and by whom truths should be determined. This course explores important changes in the ways Western societies from the Renaissance to the present have found truths, detected liars, and controlled rumors. We will discuss, for instance, how these societies replaced divination rituals with scientific inquiry, replaced torture with the polygraph, and began controlling the spread of information through advertising and public relations. By reading and discussing a range of primary and secondary sources each week, we will investigate the past meanings of truth in scientific, religious, legal, political, and journalistic domains. In the process, you will learn the basics of historical detective work, gaining a basic understanding of the development of science and law in the West, and acquire a deeper historical perspective on the current anxieties surrounding facts and falsehoods today.

SP0083 Science, Culture, and Society

This course will investigate the various Socio-political-literary implications of 20th C. advances in science (and advances in theories of science). Students will explore how scientific innovations in the 20th C. have led to corresponding innovations in contemporary culture (including literature, film, and the arts).  The evolution of Postmodern culture will be understood in the context of changing attitudes about the means and ends of science.