Academic Briefing

A/P Hng Huey Hoon

Associate Chair (Academic)

School of Materials Science & Engineering

06 August 2015

Agenda

1. General B.Eng. (Materials Engineering) track

2. Year 1 / Year 2 Poly Direct Entry Degree Audit

3. Acronyms Explained!

4. Curriculum Structure

5. Available Programmes

6. Academic Unit System (AUS)

7. Seeking Help

8. Important Dates / Upcoming Briefings

General B.Eng. (Materials Engineering) track

Degree Audit (Year 1 Intake)

Degree Audit (Year 2 Poly Direct Entry)

Acronyms Explained!

Academic Unit (A.U.)

Measure of the student’s work associated with both class attendance and preparation.

1 AU is equivalent to 13 teaching hours (13 teaching weeks).

• 1 AU = 1 hr/week lecture or tutorial

• E.g. MS1015 Materials Science: 2 hr lec + 1 hr tut/week = 3 AU.

Core Courses

Compulsory courses required to satisfy degree requirements.

Major Prescribed Electives (MPEs)

Compulsory specialisation courses required to satisfy degree requirements.

Students are required to clear a total of 4 MPEs.

Students can obtain niche specialisations by clearing MPEs e.g. Specialisation in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Acronyms Explained!

General Education Requirements (GER)

Compulsory degree requirement for broadening study.

Divided into 3 categories:

• Core, Prescribed Electives (PE), and Unrestricted Electives (UE).

New University (GER-Core) Courses

Ethics & Moral Reasoning (1 AU) • Reinforce key attributes of an NTU Education –

Character, Creativity & Civic-Mindedness.

• Primary aim to encourage ethical behaviour,

inculcate entrepreneurial mindset, instill social

conscience.

Enterprise & Innovation (1 AU)

Environmental Sustainability (1 AU)

Acronyms Explained!

General Education Requirements (GER)

Revamped Communication Skills (GER-Core) Courses

Engineering Communication I (2 AU) • Revised and enhanced communication skill courses to strengthen academic writing and reasoning.

• Reinforcing key attribute of NTU Education in Communication.

Engineering Communication II (2 AU)

Career-Related (GER-Core) Courses

Absolute Basics for Career (1 AU) • Specially developed under the auspices of the Margaret Lien Centre for Professional Success (MLCPS).

• Comprehensive career preparation modules to enhance career prospects in the competitive workplace.

• Key highlight is the Harrison Assessment where students’ aptitudes and inclinations will be profiled and suitable career paths identified.

Career Power Up (1 AU)

Acronyms Explained!

Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory (S/U) Option

Allows students to read letter-graded general elective courses on an

‘ungraded’ basis.

Elective will be indicated as ‘S’ if the final grade obtained is a ‘D’ or

better, and as ‘U’ if final grade obtained is an ‘F’.

Electives taken to fulfill a Minor programme cannot be S/U-ed.

Year 1 (4-year programme) can S/U up to 12 AU (4 courses).

Year 2 Poly Direct Entry (3-year programme) can S/U up to 9 AU (3

courses).

For more information on S/U Option, please visit the AUS Handbook

AY2015-16.

Acronyms Explained!

Academic Load

The curriculum structure shows the recommended (Normal) load for

each semester.

Freshmen are generally advised not to overload in the first semester,

but stick with the prescribed normal load and do well.

Students who failed to clear any courses in the semester will find

themselves re-taking those courses by overloading in the

subsequent semesters.

Pre-requisites / Co-requisites^

Students must attain at least Grade ‘D’ for the pre-requisite course in

order to register for more advanced courses.

Some requisite courses can be taken concurrently. They are

deemed as Co-requisites, exemplified with a “^”.

Acronyms Explained!

Curriculum Structure

Visit the School’s Curriculum website.

Available Programmes

Minor Programme

Check out NTU’s List of Minor Programmes here

Courses to fulfill a Minor must be read as Unrestricted Electives (UE).

UEs cannot be graded Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U).

For more information on the declaration and filing of Minor visit here

Global Exchange

GEM Discoverer

• Work & Study

• Research

• Prelude

GEM Explorer

• One semester long study/research opportunity in Americas, Europe and Asia

• Transfer Aus back to NTU

Available Programmes

Overseas Internship opportunities

Students have a choice of going overseas for their internship.

Some of the companies which MSE students had gone:

Rolls Royce (UK)

SKF (Sweden)

JFE Steel Corporation (JPN)

URECA (Undergraduate REsearch Experience on CAmpus)

An elite university-wide undergraduate research programme to

acquire the research skills necessary to students’ field of study and

future job.

Challenges students’ knowledge beyond textbook and classroom,

and learn to look at an issue from more than one perspective.

Check out URECA’s website for more information.

Academic Unit System (AUS)

Academic Unit System (AUS)

Basis of the University’s academic structure for its undergraduate

programmes.

For more information, visit the AUS website here.

Study Year Classification

Degree Classification

IntakeNumber of Academic Units Earned

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Year 1 0 – 31 32 – 69 70 – 92 93 & above

Year 2 (Poly) - 0 - 34 35 - 63 64 & above

Class of Honours Range of CGPA

First Class* 4.50 – 5.00

2nd Class Upper 4.00 – 4.49

2nd Class Lower 3.50 – 3.99

Third Class 3.00 – 3.49

Pass 2.00 – 2.99

Academic Unit System (AUS)

GPA Computation (CGPA / YGPA)

‘F’ Grade obtained in a course (as a second attempt and beyond the first academic year) and the new grade for the subsequent repeat will both be reflected in the transcript.

Both grades will be counted in the computation of the CGPA and YGPA.

Visit AUS Handbook under ‘Examinations and Grades’ on the calculation of GPA.

Freshmen Year GPA Exemption• 1st unsuccessful attempt exclude from GPA computation, but grades will still be

reflected on transcript.

• Auto-limited to 6 courses taken in freshmen year (students’ first two semesters only).

• Applicable to all course categories and regardless of course AU.

• Not eligible for study year promotion if CGPA is nil (even if AU criteria is met).

• Not eligible for Dean’s List and ABP.

Objective• Mitigate impact on GPA of unsuccessful first attempts.

• Focus on learning rather than on grades.

• Benefit students who may need more time to adjust during transition to university

education.

Academic Unit System (AUS)

Academic Standing

Students with poor standing will be subjected to the following

performance review:

Academic Warning

Semester with CGPA<2.00

Academic Probation

2nd Consecutive Semester with CGPA<2.00

Academic Termination:

3rd Consecutive Semester with CGPA<2.00

Criteria for Satisfactory Academic Standing

Maintain a minimum CGPA of 2.00

Complete at least 75% of the normal workload.

Seeking Help

Peer Tutoring Scheme

To assist students with academic challenges.

Students with excellent results are invited to be Tutors.

• They must score at least an ‘A-’ or above for the subject.

• Tutors are paid $15/hour

• For more information, please visit the School’s website.

Work & Study Scheme

To assist students with financial challenges.

Working in School lessens the burden of travelling and the jobs are less demanding.

Freshmen are generally not encouraged to work as they have major adjustments to make in their first year.

Term Time: Max. working hours/week – 10 hours

Vacation: Max. working hours/week – 16 hours

School pays between $7 - $14/hr depending on job scope

For more information, please visit the School’s website.

Seeking Help

Academic Mentoring Scheme

To help students adapt to undergraduate life.

To establish rapport and encourage interaction between faculty and

students.

To provide a channel for student feedback.

To guide students in choosing appropriate courses of study and career

options.

Find out who’s your mentor via Studentlink > Academic Matters >

Academic Mentoring System.

Meet-Your-Mentor

Sessions

Period

Lunch session Sep 2015

Tea session Feb – Mar 2016

School’s Administrator (Academic) /

School Counselor

Mr Aikland Oh Ms Chee Ai Lay (Counselor)

Office of Associate Chair (Academic)

A/P Hng Huey Hoon

Associate Chair (Academic)

A/P Madhavi Srinivasan

Assistant Chair (Academic)

Office of Associate Chair (Students)

A/P Joachim Loo

Associate Chair (Students)

Asst/P Lydia Wong

Assistant Chair (Students)

Important DatesActivities Date

Class commencement (Teaching Week 1) 11 Aug 2015(No classes on 10 Aug, Monday)

Add/Drop period*Finalise and print out timetable

11 Aug – 23 Aug 2015(10a.m. – 10p.m. daily)

Matriculation card collection 06 Aug 2015 (outside LT 19)11 Aug – 21 Aug 2015 (MSE General Office)

Lab Coat Purchase (Year 2 Poly students) 06 Aug 2015 (outside LT 19)

MSE Day 11 Aug 2015(Classes will be cancelled from 11.30am – 2.30pm) (Applicable to MSxxxx courses only)

NTU Union day 10 Sep 2015(Classes will be cancelled from 10.30am to 2.30pm)

Recess Week 28 Sep – 02 Oct 2015 (1 week)

Revision and Examination 16 Nov – 04 Dec 2015 (3 weeks)

Important DatesActivities Date

Calculator Registration 11 Aug – 04 Dec 2015 (Semester 1)

MSE General Office (N4.1-01-30)

Upcoming Briefings Schedule

Internship Briefing by CAO October 2015

Overseas Exchange Briefing by OGEM January 2016

Course Registration May 2016

Queries on Academic Matters, please email: mseacad@ntu.edu.sg

CHECK YOUR NTU EMAIL ACCCOUNT REGULARLY!

Thank You