Bachelor of Social Sciences in Psychology with a Second Major in Biological Sciences

For GCE 'A' level certificate holders:

• NTU General Admission Requirements
• A good grade in H1 Level Mathematics
• A good grade in General Paper/Knowledge & Inquiry
• H1 Level pass in Physics/Chemistry/Biology

For International Baccalaureate Diploma holders:

• NTU General Admission Requirements
• A good grade in Mathematics at Standard Level
• A good grade in English at Standard Level
• Physics/Chemistry/Biology at Standard Level

For NUS High School Diploma holders:

• NTU General Admission Requirements
• Major CAP of 2.0 in Mathematics, and
• Good Overall CAP in English Language
• Major CAP of 2.0 in Physics/Chemistry/Biology

For International Students & Students with other qualifications:

• NTU General Admission Requirements
• A good grade in Additional Mathematics at Junior High School Level, and
• A good grade in English at Senior High School Level
• A good grade in Physics/Chemistry/Biology at Junior High School Level

More details on admission can be found at the Office of Admissions website.

Successful Polytechnic applicants will be exempted certain courses that will be confirmed before the start of their first semester.

The Bachelor of Social Sciences in Psychology with 2nd Major in Biological Sciences is designed as a four-year course. To graduate, students are required to complete 138 academic units (AUs) from the Psychology Major Requirements, Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC), Biological Sciences 2nd Ma​jor Requirements and Broadening and Deepening Electives (BDE).

The distribution of the courses of study and the number of academic units are shown in the table below.

 

Curriculum Structure AY2025-2026 Intake
A. Major Requirements			B. Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC)			C. Broadening and Deepening Electives (BDE)		Total (AUs)
Core	Prescribed Electives	GP* or two HA4000 level courses	Common Core	Professional Series	Care, Serve, Learn	Biological Sciences 2nd Major Requirement	Free Electives
27	28	8	14	11	3	33	14	138

A. Major Requirements (63 AUs)

The requirements for a Psychology major consist of 3 components:

1. Psychology Core Courses (27 AUs)
2. Psychology Prescribed Electives (28 AUs)
3. Graduation Project (GP) or 2 HP4000 level courses (8 AUs)
(The two HP4000 level courses are for those who are not eligible to do GP.)

A1. Psychology Core Courses (27 AUs)

The 9 compulsory core courses are listed below.

• HP1000 Introduction to Psychology
• HP1100 Fundamentals of Social Science Research
• HP2100 Research Design & Data Analysis in Psychology
• HP2200 Biological Psychology
• HP2300 Developmental Psychology
• HP2400 Social Psychology
• HP2500 Personality & Individual Differences
• HP2600 Cognitive Psychology
• HP2700 Abnormal Psychology

A2. Psychology Prescribed Electives Courses (28AUs)
Students must complete 28 AUs of prescribed electives: At least 4 at HP4000 level (1 must be a laboratory course)

To refer to the Psychology website for the list of courses.

 

A3. Graduation Project (GP) or 2 HP4000 level courses (8 AUs)

HP4099 Graduation Project (GP) (8 AUs) is undertaken during a student’s final year or when the student has fulfilled the below requirements. The GP is to be conducted over two consecutive semesters in NTU.

To obtain Honours (Highest Distinction & Distinction), students must complete a Graduation Project, HP4099.

1) Students with CGPA of 3.90 and above must complete a GP.
2) Those with CGPA between 3.75 and 3.89 may opt-in to do a GP, subject to the approval by the Program.
3) Students with CGPA below 3.75 will not be eligible to conduct a GP.

In addition to the CGPA requirement, students will need to also meet the below Programme GP requirements.

(A) Completed 94 Academic Units
(B) Completed all core courses (must be taken at NTU).
(C) Completed 1 laboratory course.
(D) Completed compulsory internship.
(E) In the final two semesters of coursework

Students who do not do the GP are to take two 4000-level Major Prescribed Elective courses to fulfill the 8 AUs requirement.

Table B: Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC)

ICC – Common Cores	14
CC0001 Inquiry and Communication in an Interdisciplinary World	2
CC0003 Ethics and Civics in a Multi-Cultural World	2
ML0004 Career and Entrepreneurial Development for the Future World	2
CC0015 Healthy Living & Wellbeing	2
CC0006 Sustainability: Society, Economy and Environment	3
CC0007 Science & Technology for Humanity	3
ICC – Professional Series	11
Effective Communication II - HW0208 Academic Communication in the Social Sciences	2
Digital Literacy II (can choose from a basket of courses)	3
Internship	5
Profession Preparation	1
ICC - Care, Serve, Learn	3

 

C: Broadening and Deepening Electives (BDE) (47 AUs)

Biological Sciences 2nd Major Requirement

C1: Compulsory Courses (18 AUs)

• BS1001 Introductory Biology (Year 1 Sem 1)
• BS1005 Biochemistry I(Year 1 Sem 2)
• BS1006 Principles of Genetics (Year 2 Sem 2)
• BS1007 Molecular and Cell Biology I(Year 1 Sem 2)
• BS2004 Molecular and Cell Biology II (Year 2 Sem 2)
• BS1016 Physiology (Year 1 Sem 1)

 

C2: Prescribed Elective Courses (15 AUs)

Students must complete 5 electives from the below table.

Course Code	Course Title	AUs	Offering Sem	Status
BS2010	Bioimaging	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS2011	Equations of Life	3	Sem 2	On hold
BS2020	Mathematics, Physics and Basic Programming for the Structural Biologist	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS2021	RNA Structures & RNA based Drug Development	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS3006	Bioentrepreneurship	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS3008	Computer Aided Drug Discovery	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS3013	Drug discovery and development, biotechnology	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS3022	Protein Trafficking	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3001	Neurobiology **	3	Sem 1	On hold
BS3003	Developmental biology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3004	Cancer Biology and Therapy	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3014	Biological foundations of behavior **	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3018	Plant Biology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3021	Bioimaging Techniques in EM	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS2024	Evolution in Health and Disease	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS3027	Spectroscopic Methodsin Biomedical Structural Biology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS4002	Current Topics in Cell Biology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS4004	Current topics in Immunology	3	Sem 1	Withdrawn
BS4010	Synthetic Biology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS4011	Biology of Social Behavior	3	Sem 2	On hold
BS4015	Plant Biotechnology	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS2023	Regulatory Control of Healthcare Products and Medical Devices	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS2025	One Health	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS3036	Fundamentals of Immunology- concepts and experiments	3	Sem 2	Existing
BS4014	Molecular Basis of Diseases	3	Sem 1	Existing
BS4018	Biology of Aging and Neurodegeneration	3	Sem 2	Existing

** Highly recommended for PSBS students

 

C3: Free Elective Courses (15 AUs)

Students may choose from the list of courses offered by NTU

 

For information about the University Academic Unit System, Grade Point Average System and calculation of Honours Classification, please refer to the AUS Handbook:

https://www.ntu.edu.sg/admissions/matriculation/academic-structure

Interest in psychology is rapidly growing internationally and locally. In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, psychology was the most popular intended undergraduate major among university freshmen. This is in part a reflection of the increasing demand for psychology majors across diverse industries and sectors.

Two-thirds of students surveyed with a psychology degree are in for-profit business settings, usually the sales/service sector. These students often have good research and writing skills, are good problem solvers, and have well-developed, critical thinking skills when it comes to analysing, synthesising, and evaluating information. Many find jobs in administrative support, public affairs, education, business, advertising, health, the media, the biological sciences, and computer programming. They work as employment counsellors, correction counsellor trainees, interviewers, personnel analysts, and writers. Two thirds believe their job is closely or somewhat related to their psychology background and that their jobs hold career potential.

Psychology graduates generally report being pleased with how their degree helped prepare them for both life and work. A vice-president of human resources of a notable multinational Singapore-based firm described psychology majors as having very useful skills for her business, stating, "after all, psychology is the business of life."

In Singapore and overseas, opportunities for graduates in psychology are increasing. The Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and the Police are among the Singaporean government agencies interested in hiring psychology graduates. In the private sector opportunities range more widely.

For students who wish to work as professional psychologists, we strongly recommend that they receive training beyond the bachelor level. Typically these students go on to do a masters or a doctoral degree in one of the many subfields in psychology.

For more information as described by the American Psychological Association, click here.

The Minor in Psychology provides students with a broad understanding of the major principles in psychology, as well as knowledge and skills related to research methods commonly used in psychology. The Minor in Psychology can be combined with a major in a related field and will provide valuable skills for engaging with others and for understanding and analysing complex individual, group, and social processes. With the growing local and international interest in this field, a minor in Psychology provides an excellent background for students planning careers in a wide range of areas. This includes business (advertising, service sectors, human resources, management, marketing, and organisational behaviour), education, the military, the police, the media, in public affairs, the health sciences, social work, and psychology related professions.

Eligibility 

To take psychology as a minor, students must have taken HP1000 and obtained a B- grade or better. 

Requirements

To be awarded a Minor in Psychology, students must complete two Psychology core, one Psychology foundation, and two Psychology elective courses.

Psychology Core

Students must complete the following two Psychology Core courses. These two courses are prerequisites for most other Psychology courses.

HP1000 Introduction to Psychology
HP1100 Fundamentals of Social Science Research

Psychology Foundation

Students must complete one Psychology foundation course from the following list of courses.

HP2100 Research Design and Data Analysis in Psychology
HP2200 Biological Psychology
HP2300 Developmental Psychology
HP2400 Social Psychology
HP2500 Personality and Individual Differences
HP2600 Cognitive Psychology
HP2700 Abnormal Psychology

Psychology Elective

Psychology electives are level 3000 courses. Students must complete two Psychology elective courses.

For list of courses, please click here.

Important notes to all minor students

Please make sure that you complete HP1100 as soon as your schedule allows. Almost all Psychology courses require HP1100 as a pre-requisite.

Important notes to students going on exchange (both overseas and local)

• All Minor courses must be read as GER-UEs.
• All Psychology Core courses must be completed at NTU.
• Students are permitted to complete up to a maximum of two courses during the exchange and count them towards fulfilling their Psychology Foundation/Elective requirement.
• Students are not allowed to read level 4000 courses.