(Archived) NUS BBA Curriculum AY2016/2017 & Before

PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA) AND BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WITH HONOURS [BBA (Hons)] DEGREES FOR STUDENTS IN 2012 OR LATER COHORTS.

The B.B.A. programme requires students to complete 120 Units to graduate. After completing at least 80 Units worth of courses, students with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 and above will be streamed into the BBA Honours programme, which requires 160 Units to graduate.

When registering for courses, students are to note the prerequisites, which indicate the base of knowledge on which the subject matter of a particular course will be built. Before taking a course, students should complete any prerequisite course(s) listed for that particular course. Where prerequisites are specified, equivalent courses will also be accepted. If in doubt, students should consult the BBA Office regarding the acceptable equivalent prerequisite courses.

The degree requirements for the BBA programme and the BBA (Hons) programme are listed in Tables 1 and 2 below.

Table 1: BBA Programme Requirements

* Students who are not completing a Specialisation are required instead to complete 24 Units of Business courses in any combinations of areas, consisting of at most 4 Units at level-2000 and at least 20 Units at level-3000 or above.

Table 2: BBA (Hons) Programme Requirements

* Students who are not completing a Specialisation are required instead to complete 24 Units of Business courses in any combinations of areas, consisting of at most 4 Units at level-2000 and at least 20 Units at level-3000 or above.

There are 16 core courses in the B.B.A. programme. These are listed in Table 3 below

Table 3: List of Core Courses

Each student may choose to specialise by taking six courses (worth at least 24 Units) in one of the four specialisations listed in Table 4.

Kindly note that the courses listed are non-exhaustive and may not be offered every semester. Students should always refer to NUSMods or the Module Outlines page for the latest course offerings.

Table 4: List of Required Specialisation Courses

Students who wish to read two specialisations may use Unrestricted Elective Courses to freely complete a second Specialisation within the B.B.A. or B.B.A. (Hons.) programme. There is no entrance requirement (e.g. no GPA cut-off) for reading additional specialisations. No course can be double-counted for more than one specialisation. Students admitted into the university from 2007 onwards may read up to a max of 60 Units of level 1000 courses. Any level 1000 courses taken in excess of the 60 Units will not count towards the fulfillment of the degree requirements. For Polytechnic graduates, 12 Units of advanced placement credits (exemptions) awarded under Unrestricted Electives from work completed at the Polytechnic level, will NOT be counted against the 60 Units limit. Table 5 below lists the set of specialisation elective courses that a student may choose over and above the required specialisation courses listed in Table 4.

Table 5: List of Specialisation Elective Courses

* Depending on the specific topics/seminars offered, the course may be worth 1, 2, 3 or 4 Units. ** TR are NOC courses. Any level 3000/4000 business courses that are not listed above can also be counted towards that particular specialisation according to the course prefixes e.g DSC, FIN, MNO and MKT. Core, essential and specialisation elective courses are worth four Units each unless otherwise stated. Additional elective courses of one, two, or three Units may be introduced as and when necessary.

The dissertation requirement will be offered in two tracks: a more research-oriented track that will focus on theoretical and empirical research at an appropriate level, and a more applied version that focuses on the application of theory to managerial and business issues.  The dissertation topic must be within the student’s area of specialisation.

The dissertation requirement may be met by 12 Units of level 4000 business courses, with at least 8 Units from the student’s area of specialisation. Honours students have to take another 40 Units worth of courses that will include an Honours Dissertation (12 Units), compulsory Field Service Project (8 Units), and another 20 Units of Unrestricted Elective requirements. (Please see the BBA (Hons.) Programme table above for details)

For more information on Honours dissertation and Field service project, please click on the links below:

1. Honours Dissertation
2. Field Service Project

The University Level Requirement (ULR) is a graduation requirement that comprises General Education aimed to connect disciplinary knowledge and perspectives with the skills needed for lifelong learning beyond the university.

For cohort 2016/17 onwards:
All students are required to read and pass five General Education (GE) courses, one from each pillar:

1. Human Cultures
2. Asking Questions
3. Quantitative Reasoning
4. Singapore Studies
5. Thinking and Expression

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the GE courses within the first two years of their candidature

For 2015/16 cohort :
All students are required to read and pass five General Education (GE) courses, one from each of the 4 pillars, and a fifth from any of the 4 pillars:

1. Human Cultures
2. Quantitative Reasoning
3. Singapore Studies
4. Thinking and Expression

Students are strongly encouraged to complete the GE courses within the first two years of their candidature.

For cohorts 2010/11 to 2014/15:
The ULR consists of
(a) 2 General Education (GE) Courses,
(b) 1 Singapore Studies course and
(c) 2 Breadth courses (i.e. electives outside Business School).

GE Courses cover two broad subject groups:
Subject Group A: Science and Technology
Subject Group B: Humanities and Social Sciences

BBA students are required to read at least one GE Course from Subject Group A, including polytechnic diploma holders who are granted advanced placement for one GE Course.

Students may take any courses to fulfil the “Unrestricted Elective Courses”. That is, they may take courses offered by the School of Business and/or courses offered outside the School to fulfil this requirement.

The School has been organising seminars and workshops to help students prepare for the working world. They will learn job search strategies, resume writing, interviewing skills, understanding one’s strengths and job motivations, networking techniques as well as business etiquette and corporate dressing. Such training is now offered to all business students as the BFS1001 Personal Development & Career Management and BFS2001 Personal Development & Career Management courses.

For more information on Advanced Placement Credits (APC), please click here.