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Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) in Public Policy and Global Affairs

BSocSci (Hons) in Public Policy and Global Affairs

 

The Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Public Policy and Global Affairs is a four-year programme to prepare students for a career and leadership role in both public and private sectors in Singapore as well as in the Asian region.

With an interdisciplinary orientation and a focus on Singaporean society, the direct honours degree programme offers courses that equip its graduates with multi-dimensional practical knowledge in areas such as policy analysis, programme evaluation, public financial management, human resource management, and non-profit management that enables them to contribute to the public, non-profit, or business sectors in Singapore. The professional training in political dynamics, international politics, comparative public administration, and global affairs also lays a solid foundation for graduates for a possible career in regional and international governmental organisations as well as regional and international non-governmental organisations.

 

Candidates who meet the general admission requirements set by NTU will be considered for admissions. Please refer to the Undergraduate Admissions website for further details.

Successful Polytechnic applicants will be exempted from certain courses; exempted courses will be confirmed before the start of students’ first semesters.

The Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSocSci) (Hons) in Public Policy and Global Affairs (PPGA) is designed as a four-year course. To graduate, students are required to complete 125 academic units (AUs) from the PPGA Major Requirements, Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC) 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
AY2021-2022 Intake​
​​ ​ ​A. Major Requirements
(AUs)		​ ​B. Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC)
(AUs)
​​C. Broadening and ​Deepening Electives (BDE) (AUs)​
​Total (AUs)​
​Core
​​Prescribed 
Electives​​
GP* or Two HA4000
level courses​
​Common 
Core​s​
​Foundational Cores
 
​15​37​8​17​10​38​125
 *Graduation Project


 

Table B: Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC) 

​ICC – Common C​​​​ores​​​1​​7
Inquiry and Communication in an Interdisciplinary World ​​2
Navigating the Digital World​2​
Ethics & Civics in a Multi-Cultural World ​​2
Career and Entrepreneurial Development for the Future World​​2
Science & Technology for Humanity​3
Sustainability: Social, Economy & Environment​​3
​Healthy Living & Well-being​3
​ICC – Foundational Cores​10
Effective Communication II​​2
​Digital Literacy II​3
​Internship​5
 
 
Table C: Broadening and Deepening Electives (BDE)
 
BDE (Students may choose from the list of courses offered by NTU)​​​​38​
 

Our graduates go onto a wide range of sectors and many different types of jobs*.

Industries:

  • Public Administration and Defence
  • Society and Community
  • Financial and Insurance
  • Administrative and Support Services
  • Information and Communication
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
  • Scientific Research and Development
  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Job Titles

  • Policy and Planning Manager
  • Management Executive
  • Research Officer
  • Management Consultant
  • Journalist
  • Compliance Officer/Risk Analyst

The professional training in political dynamics, international politics, comparative public administration, and global affairs also lays a solid foundation for PPGA graduates for a possible career in regional and international governmental organizations as well as regional and international non-governmental organizations.


* From NTU Career Tracks 2020

*For students who (i) are PPGA minor students admitted in 2016 and after and (ii) are admitted before 2016 but commence PPGA minor in 2016 and after.

Public Policy and Global Affairs is an interdisciplinary study of policy issues with global and regional dimensions. This minor enables students to understand the challenges faced by domestic and international governance. It equips students with wide-range practical skills to tackle these policy problems in Singapore and beyond.

To satisfy the requirements for a minor in Public Policy and Global Affairs, students must complete at least five courses (minimum 15 credits), including two compulsory courses, with the remaining to be selected from the below list of electives. The compulsory courses help students develop a comprehensive understanding of the fields of International Relations, Public Policy and Public Administration. 

Compulsory courses (6 AUS)

  • HA1003 Introduction to Public Administration and Policy
  • HA1012 Fundamentals of Politics 
 
Electives (9 AUs)
 
The remaining 3 modules can come from Category A and/or Category B.
 
Category A: Politics and International Relations
 
  • HA1001 Introduction to International Relatios and Foreign Policy
  • HA1002 Introduction to Political Theory 
  • HA1011 Politics of Singapore ​
  • HA2003 Politics and Government in Southeast Asia
  • HA2004 Theories in International Relations
  • HA2005 Contemporary Political Theory
  • HA2015 China in Africa
  • HA2017 Foreign Policy Analysis
  • HA3004 United States and East Asia
  • HA3005 Politics of the Developing World
  • HA3014 Singapore's Foreign Policy
  • HA3015 Media and Politics
  • HA3016 China's Foreign Policy
  • HA3018 Borderless Migration
  • HA3019 East Asian Security
  • HA3020 Justice
  • HA3021 Comparative Politics in Asia
  • HA4001 ASEAN in the 21st Century
  • HA4013 Advanced Topics in Democratic Theory: Democracy & Division 
  • HA4014 European Union
  • HA4022 International Politics of the Asia-Pacific
  • HA4030 Interstate Conflict
  • HA4033 Political Theory and Psychoanalysis
  • HA4035 Food Politics and Policies
  • HA4038 Critical International Theory
  • HA4039 Knowledge Politics
  • HA4064 Model United Nations
  • HA4065 Crisis Diplomacy​
  • HA4066 War in Flilm
 
Category B: Public Policy and Public Administration
 
  • HA2009 The Making of E-government
  • HA2011 Cost-benefit Analysis in Public Policy
  • HA2013 Comparative Public Policy
  • HA2014 Public Organization​ and Management
  • HA2016 Global Governance & Regulation
  • HA2020 Socio-Political Analysis in Public Policy 
  • HA2023 Research Methodology in Social Sciences
  • HA2024 Statistical Foundations for Public Administration and Policy
  • HA3007 Public Budgeting and Financial Management
  • HA3010 Mass Media and Public Policy
  • HA3013 Managing Human Behavior in the Public Sector
  • HA3026 Crisis Leadership in Management
  • HA4006 Special Topic in Public Administration
  • HA4010 Technology, Innovation and Policy
  • HA4011 Public Administration: Past, Present & Future
  • HA4012 Challenging Issues in Singapore​
  • HA4017 Economic Issues for Public Decision Making​
  • HA4018 Policy Evaluation​​
  • HA4029 Quantitative Approach to International Relations
  • HA4031 Human Capital Management in the Goverment
  • HA4032 What is a City?
  • HA4034 Casual Interference in Policy Evaluation