Overview

University Town College Programme (UTCP)

The University Town College Programme (UTCP) emphasises multidisciplinary learning and active small-group learning. Students from different disciplines, cultures, and nationalities are put together in each class, which helps them to assimilate and synthesise cross-disciplinary knowledge, facilitating multi-perspectival thinking.

Through its multidisciplinary curriculum, the UTCP will help students develop effective communications and strong writing skills, critical thinking skills, and intellectual breadth and rigour to tackle the complex, inter-related challenges confronting the world today. A host of informal learning activities, such as talks by distinguished visitors, as well as social and sporting activities, complements the formal curriculum.

AY2021/2022 Onwards

Fulfilling UTCP Requirement with RC4's academic curriculum (For Cohorts AY2021/2022 onwards):

The UTCP curriculum comprises five courses read over four semesters: a Junior Seminar, Ideas & Exposition, two Senior Seminars (UTC-coded & UTS-coded) and a fifth course* from the 21st Century Competencies pillars: Digital Literacy or Data Literacy.

The first four courses will be taken within our College while the fifth course* (either Data or Digital Literacy) shall be read with students' home faculty during their two-year UTCP residency and can be used to count towards the completion of UTCP.

Please visit UTCP Bulletin for more information on how UTCP fits into your faculty curriculum. For more details on the fulfillment of your degree programme graduation requirements, please check with your respective faculty.

Students admitted as part of the Semester 1 UTCP freshman intake will be offered a two-year residency during which they are expected to complete the UTCP curriculum (4 UTCP courses + 1 21st Century Competencies Pillar course).

For students from Dentistry, Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, Nursing and other programmes with curricular constraints, an alternative pathway has been approved for them with the following arrangement:

  • Students from Dentistry and Medicine will read two UTCP courses (as Enrichment) over two years.
  • Law students will read two UTCP courses (as Enrichment) over two years. However, reading the 2nd UTCP course with the college is subject to the Law Vice-Dean (Academic Affairs)'s approval.
  • Students from Pharmacy (Cohort AY23/24 onwards) and Nursing will read two UTCP courses (as Unrestricted Electives (UE)) over two years.

AY2020/2021 & Before

Fulfilling UTCP Requirement with RC4's academic curriculum (For Cohorts AY2020/2021 and before):

The UTCP curriculum comprises five modules read over four semesters: a Junior Seminar and an Ideas & Exposition 1, typically read in the first year; as well as a Senior Seminar, a Singapore Studies Senior Seminar and an Ideas & Exposition 2, typically read in the second year.

Fulfilling Degree Requirement with UTCP
The UTCP is designed to co-exist as an alternative pathway to fulfilling the University Level Requirements which most NUS degree programmes require as part of graduation. 

In some instances, UTCP students who read Ideas & Exposition modules are not required to read their Faculty's compulsory writing / communication modules (also offered by the Centre for English Language Communication). As I&E modules may not be double-counted towards both University Level Requirements and Faculty requirements, such students may have to read another module to meet the modular credits needed for graduation, as advised by their Faculties.

Students whose degree structure do not have University Level Requirements (namely Law, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and students on Joint Degree Programmes with overseas universities) should check with their respective programme administrators on how the UTCP modules may be classified for graduation.

Cohorts 2016/2017 to 2020/2021 only 

Students who complete the UTCP (20 MCs) are exempted from four of the five modules (16 MCs) of the GE curriculum.

    • With effect from AY2016/2017, the University requires all undergraduates (with the exception of Law, Medicine (including Nursing) and Dentistry) to complete the GER1000 Quantitative Reasoning (QR) module. This is the fifth GE module, and serves to complete the GE requirements for UTCP students. GER1000 will be pre-allocated for students in their first or second semester. Four UTCP modules will be read in place of the GE modules to fulfil the University Level Requirements, and the fifth UTCP module will be read as an Unrestricted Elective (UE) or Faculty requirement if applicable (new: RC4-FOE students to also note about IE2141).

    • UTCP students from Engineering, Arts and Social Sciences, or Science (except Pharmacy and Environmental Studies) are not required to read their Faculty's Level 1000 compulsory writing/communication module if they have read any Ideas & Exposition module. 

    • It is compulsory for FASS and BES students to read GET1050 to fulfil the Thinking and Expression pillar of the GE requirements. RC4-FASS and RC4-BES students do not need to read GET1050 if they have read a Junior Seminar module with RC4.

    • FOE undergraduates from cohort AY2019/2020 onwards are subject to the common core and have IE2141 as a graduation requirement. RC4-FOE students do not need to read IE2141 if they have read a Junior Seminar module with RC4 but will be required to take an additional 4 MCs of Unrestricted Elective Modules in place of IE2141 to meet the minimum number of MCs required for graduation.

    • For all the 4 points above, please consult and confirm with your faculty.

FAQ