The Common Curriculum is the unique Yale-NUS approach to general education. This foundational sequence of 10 interdisciplinary courses introduces students to multiple modes of thought from global perspectives. Transformative works of literature, philosophy, history, and social thought, and focused training in writing, quantitative reasoning, and scientific inquiry prepare students to question, analyse, and critique with precision.
Through the Common Curriculum, students develop new intellectual capacities and passions, while learning more about themselves and the world they inhabit. This shared intellectual background is the basis of our academic community.
2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Maria Ressa in 2013
ON CITIZEN JOURNALISM, POLITICAL ACTIVISM, AND CSI
In the opening year of the College, Maria Ressa visited Yale-NUS to run a student workshop on citizen journalism, social media, and how liberal arts training and courses like CSI can empower students to participate more critically in the world.
Renowned Shakespeare scholar, Stephen Greenblatt
AN ADDRESS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN THE COMMON CURRICULUM IN 2017
Harvard Professor Stephen Greenblatt delivered a lecture in the President’s Speaker Series and a special talk to first-year students titled, “Human Nature, Radical Innovation, and the Value of Humanities”.
Booker Prize winning author, Amitav Ghosh in 2019
PRESIDENT’S SPEAKER SERIES
Dr. Ghosh discussed his book on the climate crisis, The Great Derangement, with Yale-NUS students and faculty. In his public lectures, he explored how literature represents the Anthropocene.
Hear from our Students and Alumni
Crystal Yong
CLASS OF 2019
The Common Curriculum gave me the largest epiphanies in my life! Learning about the human pursuit of knowledge made my existence feel small yet I feel an infinite connection to this human journey of deep inquiry into our universe.
Ng Yi Ming
CLASS OF 2021
To me, the CC is a way of living – to inhabit diverse lives in LH & HI, deconstruct reality in PPT & SI, and imagine better societies in CSI & MST. It teaches the patient exploration of human wisdom, and the promises of our common humanity.
Dasha Ropion
CLASS OF 2022
The Common Curriculum provided me a breadth of knowledge that spans cultures, times, and human stories. I encounter the thinkers I read everywhere, and each time I’m thankful that I can approach the world with more understanding than before.
Vanessa Koh
CLASS OF 2018
The CC instilled in me the curiosity to sit with befuddling questions; the courage to grapple with ambiguity; and the resilience to embrace that growth occurs through both failures and triumphs. It gave me space and time to pursue self-actualization.
The Common Curriculum prepares all students with a shared intellectual foundation for further academic development and lifelong learning. After this broad interdisciplinary exposure, students select a major to pursue more deeply while exploring additional electives in other fields that may be added as a minor.
