Isn't the business degree too general?
This constitutes one of the misconceptions of a business degree. However if more carefully analyzed, such an assumption can be attributed to a few reasons: Popularity, relevance, broad-based nature, and perception of the value of the Business degree skill set.
Popular & Relevant vs General
One reason why people view a business degree is its popularity: the fact that so many people have a degree these days, and worst, a business degree. However the popularity of this course stems largely if not completely for the need and value people see in pursuing a business degree. In our modern world, businesses and enterprise form the backbone of any country’s economy, and with that comes great value in being able to effectively build, manage and assimilate into one, hence the need to study business. This then results in a large number of people choosing to read business, be it at a diploma, bachelors or masters level. However as mentioned, it is all in pursuit of the benefit of relevance, and marketability.
The differentiating factor then, of course, is the quality of one’s business degree, essentially where one does it at. At NUS, it is more than a business degree. It is an experience, one that will leave its students with not just a certificate, but a skill set that equips them to exit upon graduation as potentials with passion, initiative, flexibility and dexterity of mind, responsive and positive attitude to change, and a persistent quest for knowledge, ready to take on positions of leadership and responsibility. On top of that, the NUS Business School advantage lies also in its proud legacy of being the oldest and most established Business School in Singapore, thus giving it access to an extensive pool of alumni in all industries coupled with strong alumni relations to enable the faculty to strategically place students in promising positions upon graduation. The Business School’s long-standing ties with large corporations both locally and globally provide students opportunities not available to any business undergraduate. Such is the NUS Business School edge.
Broad-based vs General
Another aspect of the business course is how its broad-based nature and curriculum is often mistaken for being general. As a business student, specifically an NUS Business student, the end goal would be to complete the course with the necessary skill set for effective, innovative business management. As such, having a comprehensive and holistic view of business is crucial to forming the building blocks of analysis, critical thinking and decision-making. At NUS Business School, all areas of business are covered from business strategy, economics, law, finance, banking, accounting, logistics and supply chain, marketing and communications, human resource management, and finally business strategy. Albeit not as narrowed and specialized as technical course like engineering, computing or the sciences, the business degree provides in-depth knowledge and analysis of a highly dynamic and relevant field. Many will say that business skills can be picked up along the way, but a strong working attitude takes time to cultivate, and that’s what the NUS Business School does.
On top of that, a general degree would be one that stops at imparting theory and concepts, but the rigorous coursework at NUS Business School puts students in a position where they push their hardest to achieve excellence and in the process, acquire all the skills and attributes listed above to be effective business managers, a skill coveted by many who graduate from other courses. Technical skills and knowledge can be taught, but attitude, initiative and passion cannot. At NUS Business, we don’t just seek to teach, but above that, instill and inspire. These merits transcend industries and professions, they make up a lifestyle.
So is a business degree general now? Have you acquired the skills and judgment to decide for yourself? Are you ready to take on the business world without an NUS Business experience?
"Our BBA is the contemporary liberal-arts educational experience that broadens the mind, encourages the heart and quickens the spirit." - Assoc Prof Quek Ser Aik, Vice-Dean for Undergraduate (2005-2009)
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Our BBA is generally the hardest to get into, the most rigorous and the most comprehensive & holistic in student experience. NUS provides an environment where the brightest students work together to grow in the skills of critical thinking, analysis, teamwork, and strategy, like how iron sharpens iron. As such, NUS Business School graduates are generally the most accomplished and well-rounded. As the Business program of Singapore's flagship university, we generally attract the best locally and globally. Our students carry an average academic load of 10 modules yearly, one more than others; our academic terms are effectively a little longer: we cut no corners and take no chances when it comes to preparing the future generations of movers and shakers for the global economy. We inherited the U.K.-style focus on specialised contents with functional depths, while our curricular structure, content delivery and assessment rubric are U.S.-style which provide the innovation and rigor.
Our BBA(Acc) program is a variant of our BBA program; it has 13 Accounting modules and 13 non-Accounting Business (including Accounting-related Finance, Information Technology and Law) modules, plus 4 University-Level modules (like Investment Law, Managing Change, Rhetoric, Real Estate Valuation, and Project Control). Hence, our BBA(Acc) is also like an Accountancy program with a Business Administration specialization. Students completing the program can graduate as either BBA(Acc) or BBA.
Our flexible modular program allows students to sequence modules as they like, so long as any module prerequisites are met; there is no prescribed course of study. We customize content delivery to the special needs of students at different levels of study. Entry-level classes generally adopt the didactically sound, effective and consistent lecture-tutorial format (rather than using long weekly discursive and uneven discussion sessions), whereas intermediate and advanced classes benefit from mature interactions found in small-group seminar-style teaching. Almost all modules require at least one project, usually done in groups, for hands-on applications.
Our lecturers are almost all full-time career academics who are therefore easily accessible by students outside of class; professors can be met in the corridors, or students can simply knock on their doors. NUS Business School faculty members hold PhDs from well-known universities in continents around the world. The quality of our Business research output ranked 4th outside North America, and our dons are much sought-after for management consulting and executive education.
Our students leverage on the inter-disciplinary fabric of our comprehensive national university, and are thus able to broaden their curricula with random samplings or with structured Minor (or even second Major) programs (like Psychology, Economics, Statistics, Communications, or Financial Mathematics) from 10 other faculties and schools. Since Business is a popular area with other NUS students, Bizaders learn from other specialists having different majors even while taking Business modules. Our Double Degree, Concurrent Master's and dual Master's programs (+MSc(+MIM), +MPP(+MPA)) for undergraduates are truly cross-discipline, and capable students can also take advantage of a unique NUS provision to put together their own ad hoc double degrees with most departments across campus.
Visitors to our open, expansive and serene suburban campus (159 hectares straddling a motorway) quickly sense the intellectual intensity and comprehensive academic breadth. NUS' Centre for Language Studies, for example, will even have classes for Korean, Hindi and Arabic. There are more student clubs, special interest groups, and residential options on our campus than others'. Our libraries, built up over the years, are unparalled in their extensive collections. NUS' community life and learning environment are the richest; students feel at home here. Our enviable Business alumni network of over 27,000 is built up over more than four decades, and is an invaluable resource for internship and career opportunities.
With heavy Government subsidy, our tuition is kept low so that more deserving students can enjoy the life-transforming education experience together with other burgeoning leaders and managers. There are many full entrance scholarships available, both from NUS and our School, for local and international students. We have a single-minded focus on career preparation right from matriculation to beyond graduation, while we care for students' social, intellectual and leadership developments.
Both NUS and our Business School are generally better ranked internationally. BBA (MBA's namesake) is the definitive name for undergraduate management education in the U.S. Our degree is recognised for entry into relevant top graduate schools the world over. Graduates of our double-degree and concurrent-degree programs gained two separate degree scrolls for having completed the full requirements of two distinct degrees.
Since NUS tends to be the natural first choice for the best foreign universities seeking a partner in this region, exchange students among us are therefore generally from partner universities a league apart from the rest, and BBA students have better options for studying abroad. Students can expect to be invited to more international events, including conferences and competitions. Top students may join the international Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) Honor Society and participate in its activities.
We hold one another to the utmost honour standards. We emphasize leadership skills, experiential learning and a global perspective, hence develop in students among us a marked level of confidence and strategic capability. Bizaders are spoilt for choice in our flexible and comprehensive program for leadership, management and consulting:
BBA+Acc+Hon+EP+CFA+LKY+USP+Trip+Case+LPP+SEP+Oxf+iLEAD+NOC+CP+
Intern+Lang+2Sp+Minor+2Major+DDP/Comm/Comp/Engg/Law+MSc(+MIM)+MPP(+MPA)
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The NUS Business School offers the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Business Administration with Honours (BBA(H)) programs. Students who perform well academically in the BBA program will be offered places in the BBA(H) program. This distinguishes it from NTU's 3-year direct-honours business program. Students in the BBA(H) or BBA(AccH) program invest in an additional year of rigorous training, which may include features like an additional Business Specialisation, a Minor from outside the Business School (e.g. Real Estate), an extra semester abroad, a group Consulting Practicum, an individual Honours Thesis, or completion of the intellectually rich University Scholars Programme (USP). NUS' modular BBA is normally completed in 3 years, but may be covered in 2 years with acceleration. The better BBA students graduate in 3 years with a 30-module Merit degree that corresponds to NTU's 27-module honours.
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Passive, overly cerebral, lacking in ambition, lacking in motivation and individualistic.
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The NUS degree shares the name with the popular MBA. Just like the MBA, BBA started as the term most commonly used in North America and then, increasingly, elsewhere, hence making it internationally more established and recognized.
Admission to our pre-eminent leadership and management talent program has always been very competitive. We facilitate students' social, intellectual and leadership developments, thus gaining alumni that are well-connected and much sought-after. An applicant's academic and other preparations are used to compute an admission score. Our high admission cut-off fluctuates with the quality of each cohort, but is on an upward trend.
Please refer to: http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/IGP/igp.htm.
For transfer applicants, we may consider their CAP/GPA, particular subject grades, CCAs, interview performance, etc., on top of their A Level results / polytechnic GPA.
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Please visit our admissions page for details. All admission criteria are formally published on NUS Office of Admissions' web site: http://nus.edu/oam/apply. Generally, for Singapore A-level applicants, GP is used to compute the University Score, but Mother Tongue need not be used; the latter is, however, a requirement.
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Students who scored well in relevant subjects at A-Levels or Polytechnics may be given Advanced Placements, i.e., exemptions should they perform up to required standards for the individual papers. This may translate into students being able to graduate earlier.
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The number of students admitted into the BBA program is determined by NUS following guidelines from the Singapore Government.
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Including dual-degree students, there were about 720 new students in August 2007, 600 students in August 2008, and 750 in August 2009. Henceforth, only up to 700 very select students are projected for each August intake, with a significant portion having no-string-attached scholarships. About a quarter of each cohort is expected to be directly admitted to a Double-Degree (Bachelor + Bachelor) or Concurrent-Degree (Bachelor + Master) program.
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NUS' educational governance ensures that, unlike a Minor in an additional field which only requires 6 modules (subjects), a second degree will only be gained when a student has met all its requirements as if it were the only degree. Thus, a judicious cap on double counting allows two degrees to be completed in less than 8 years, but not less than 5 years unless accelerated.
Other local universities do offer double degree programs that can be completed in 4 years, but these only apply to courses with a significant overlap in modules, which results in more double counting (i.e. Business and Accountancy)
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NUS' Accountancy programme has a very broad base in Business, so completing the Accountancy programme also satisfies the requirements of the Business degree. The Accontancy degree is like a Business degree with a double-weighted Accounting, and which can be completed in a short 3 years without honours
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International students and transfer students may apply from October. Polytechnic and IB students can apply from early February. GCE A-Level students can apply as soon as they know their A-Level results in March. Applicants under all categories should refer to http://nus.edu/oam. Announcement and invitation to apply are made in the newspapers.
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Appeals can be lodged online at http://nus.edu/oam, usually from end of May to first week of June. NUS students and students from other local universities are welcome to apply online to transfer to our BBA or BBA(Acc) from about mid-October to mid-November and in February.
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The NUS Business School operates on a modular system. Students have the flexibility to design their curriculum and to pace their studies. They also have the freedom to take modules (including Specialisation modules) in the sequence they prefer, provided any module prerequisites are met. While students may freely customize their learning experience, they have to plan their modules so that they can fulfill the degree requirements without delaying their graduation.
Students may opt into or out of a Specialisation at the beginning of any Semester, including immediately after matriculation. There is no quota for the number of students who can specialise in each area, except for Accounting.
BBA students may freely opt at any time to complete a second Specialisation within their degree requirements; BBA(Honours) students may even freely opt at any time to complete a third Specialisation within their degree requirements. There is no obligation to complete a second or third Specialisation, and students may freely opt out of either at any time.
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On average, only 1 student is asked to go each year.
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More than half of our 3-year BBA students graduate with Merit, which corresponds to 3-year honours in other universities.
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The streaming of students into the BBA Honours program is based on their academic performance in NUS. There is no quota. Given the performance of recent cohorts, about half of our students are eligible for admission into the BBA Honours program, and between a third and 40% of all recent BBA students eventually graduated with Honours.
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After completing 56 MCs of business modules, students' academic performances will be reviewed every semester. If their results improve and meet prevailing criteria, they will then be offered places in the BBA Honours program.
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We have much more than 300 exchange seats in over 120 select universities and business schools. Students go to universities in US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Selection is competitive and based on how well a student can benefit and also be a good ambassador of NUS and our School, as well as on academic merit.
Students can gain valuable international exposure when studying and living in a foreign country. This adds another dimension to the BBA experience as it enriches their academic life and enhances their personal development.
Students who have gone on exchange are also highly sought after by prospective employers, especially multinational companies, as they prefer students who are geographically mobile and who have adapted successfully in a foreign environment.
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Yes, we do. Throughout the academic year, the Business School also organizes overseas programs, sometimes in conjunction with other institutions. These include the annual case competitions held in established overseas universities. These initiatives enable Business School students to broaden their outlook and to develop an awareness of and appreciation for other cultures and their approaches to doing business.
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The Business School's well-staffed Career Services Office provides assistance to students among us by creating internship and placement opportunities for them. Its activities also include conducting of career-development workshops and seminars, organising of recruitment talks, and distribution of resume books and job postings.
BBA Honours students can also opt for the Consulting Practicum that is worth 8 Modular Credits. The Practicum provides students an opportunity to be attached to a company to work on a real-life consulting project, while being supervised by a faculty member from the Business School.
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In a survey by an independent NUS unit published in 2007, the top 20% of our 4-year graduates drew an average salary of $5046, with the top salary hitting $11,500, before bonuses.
For more queries related to NUS, please visit the NUS FAQ page.
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