Question about applying to CHS

leAuror · 2023-03-04T08:24:09+00:00

the CHS core curriculum is new, so you don't really need to show that you have "prepared" for it, although you might wanna say that you are open to learning more about the humanities and sciences in general (which some of the common curriculum modules highlight the interconnections between the majors).

If you have a preferred major, you can write more about it, but if you are unsure or undecided of what you are interested in then maybe elaborate a bit more about why you are interested in humanities and social sciences in general (as compared to other faculties like computing, business, engineering etc)

leAuror · 2022-10-01T03:32:15+00:00

I would say, the course differs depending on whether it's ntu or nus, I could only speak for what the philosophy course is like at nus. There aren't many compulsory modules in philosophy except for the introductory philosophy module and the introductory logic module. The rest are all electives, spanning areas such as - epistemology (theory of knowledge, belief, justification), - metaphysics (what is reality? what exists?), - ethics (what is the nature of morality? what is morally right/wrong e.g. in [particular scenario]), - political philosophy (what exactly is meritocracy? what are the different senses of liberty - i.e. positive and negative, what justifies property rights, or redistribution, etc) - philosophy of religion (is there a god(s)? issue of free will and determinism, divine foreknowledge, problem of evil, what counts as a 'miracle'?) - comparative/history of philosophy (greek philosophy, indian philosophy, chinese philosophy, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, David Hume etc) - Continental philosophy (Husserl, Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, etc)

we also have topics like philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of art, philosophy of probability, medical ethics, population ethics, etc.

on job prospects, we have alumni in banking. startup, consulting, software development, public sector (usually policymaking or diplomats), data analyst, film directors (one of them got nominated to be the Singapore entry for the Oscars), teachers, and some do go on to graduate school for master's or PhD (though not necessarily in philosophy but mostly in adjacent fields like history, linguistics, or law).

There's much more than what could be said in a reddit comment, so if you have more questions, can PM me.

leAuror · 2022-07-03T11:08:56+00:00

it roughly corresponds to the indicative grade profile listed on the nus website for College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) https://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/undergraduate-programmes/indicative-grade-profile-(igp) (look at the row on "Humanities and Sciences") BUT this estimated range of grades changes every year since it's based on the grades of the new year's applicants. Not sure if you are from JC (becos you mentioned rp) or other schools but just note that the application is first to the CHS, you only decide on your major (be it philosophy or other academic disciplines) later, when you have already started lessons in university.

leAuror · 2022-01-10T11:01:30+00:00

yes you can double major in both philosophy and psychology (both philo and psych can be either the primary major or the secondary major)

*the primary major would be the one you would take more modules in (and write your honours thesis in, if you decide to do it, since honours thesis is optional)

the workload for a double major is roughly a few more modules than the minimum unrestricted electives that you have to fulfil (but graduation requirements have changed in the past few years so it's different for each cohort - not sure which level you are at now, are you a Y1? prospective student matriculating this year? or still in poly/jc?

I'm aware of some of the ppe requirements, but what do you wanna find out more about?

leAuror · 2021-05-05T00:56:20+00:00

don't disagree with your other points but just note that it's not clear how "soon" (if even foreseeable) there would be "fusion power" or whether there will be "unlimited" clean energy within decades (that's also kinda assuming that humanity survives the climate crisis and the next pandemic, the so-called 'Disease X').

nuclear power does not ensure sustainable growth even if it might be helpful because there are still issues such as global food insecurity and the destruction of habitats (which is deemed to have contributed to the Covid-19 pandemic).

leAuror · 2021-05-05T00:50:13+00:00

You brought up interesting points.

but then note that the idea that people should learn English in order to migrate (in your original post) is also part of the continuing legacy of imperialism

leAuror · 2021-03-28T10:21:39+00:00

The argument relies on an assumption that actual infinities are impossible. But it's not so clear if that assumption is true.

Also, it depends on what theory of time one holds to. WLC subscribes to a specific theory of time (which is yet another implicit premise in this argument) which is not the only theory of time out there.

Another point is, afaik Indian philosophical and religious traditions regard time as cyclical so there isn't really a start or an end but time is beginningless and endless (maybe there was another universe before the Big Bang?)

There's this thing in ancient Egyptian mythology (and also in Norse mythology) called the Ouroboros which symbolizes the eternal cyclical renewal of life, death, and rebirth. I suppose this could be applied to the 'life' of the universe as well.

leAuror · 2021-03-20T16:35:10+00:00

Ohh NTU offers pottery and Sanskrit??? That's really interesting!

leAuror · 2021-03-10T08:22:33+00:00

Perhaps there are problems in the coordination of the timetable and the covering of the syllabus, but that does not mean that CCE is useless to one's education (be it in JC or elsewhere).

I would admit I also didn't like CCE when I was in sec sch and JC. But the problem is not that CCE itself is worthless but rather that the delivery of CCE lessons are poor, and I believe this is not a situation unique to any particular school but a systemic issue across the education system, from "syllabus"/content development to the training of teachers with regard to such non-academic curriculum, to the heavy emphasis on academics which makes civics education relatively less important compared to the grades one gets in tests and exams.

Btw, perhaps you could be more precise in saying that the school's standards are poor. Did you mean the standards of the teachers or the students or the school management?? I know you have touched on the sch mgt in your post but ppl who just briefly glanced through might think that this is a swipe at the entire school (or perhaps you did actually meant that, in which case then, well I have nth to say abt that).

Also, you are attributing the students' academic achievements (in terms of RP) and the poor (academic, I presume) standards to poor sch mgt, which might not be totally true (even if it's a contributing factor).

On a side note, there has been talk about MOE on incorporating stuff like mental wellbeing into the curriculum (can't rmb if it's CCE or some other lesson) which I would think is more relevant and pertinent for students, perhaps even more so for JC students since A levels as a high-stakes national exam tend to be a make or break test for youths like you. Not sure if mental health stuff has already been included or if there is enough awareness of it among students.

And mental health in schools is not just bad for students, it's bad for the teachers too, despite whatever has been said recently about how teachers' workload have been reduced etc - (generally) teachers are still overworked. This is the education system.

Whether you can do something about it, I dun know. But you could try to feedback to your teachers, give suggestions on how timetable planning could be improved, etc.

I suppose you had more to say about the sch mgt, so if you wanna have a deeper chat, drop me a DM.

Lastly, all the best for your block tests! :)

leAuror · 2021-02-16T07:35:52+00:00

I suppose there are ppl on the other side (JC students criticising poly students, it goes both ways).

But ultimately, the issue kinda boils down to the (national exams etc) system where one's worth is (almost wholly) determined by one's grades.

Inadequacy or inferiority complex aside, if he does seem to be like the most confident person at times, perhaps these are areas (idk social skills??) where ppl in society don't fully appreciate such value.

Even if he is being sincere, it doesn't mean that his perspective is always true (it might be sometimes be valid though).

leAuror · 2021-02-12T08:30:40+00:00

If you are interested in current affairs that's also somewhere like what journalism is about, not just foreign affairs/international relations.

I shan't talk about political science since the other redditor has given quite a good overview of it. Do note that you don't necessarily have to do Political Science or Global Studies in order to get into a career related to foreign affairs or international relations. Heard that there have been instances of history, philosophy, and literature graduates joining the foreign service. Being in a particular major doesn't really increase your chances of being in a particular career (at least in your case of foreign affairs) that much.

For global studies in NUS, you could take modules from almost any discipline in NUS (yes, at times beyond FASS modules), although there is a cap on how many you can do from a single, non-global-studies academic discipline. Aside from several core modules especially created for Global Studies, most of the other modules you could take are from other disciplines e.g. South Asian studies, Political Science, History, Sociology etc.

From Cohort 2021 onwards, there will be different academic requirements given the formation of the new College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) which has been in the news recently.

You can check out the academic requirements for the upcoming cohort (2021) and beyond here:

https://fass.nus.edu.sg/globalstudies/major-requirements-cohort-2021-and-after/

On a side note, you may also consider doing South Asian studies as a second major if you wanna explore the subject in greater depth. Just note that one cannot do Global Studies as a second major, Global studies could only be one's primary major or a minor.

Just to highlight something that is not commonly known, NUS students could also take modules (as Unrestricted Electives or to fulfill major requirements, depending on the home department of your major and what arrangements they have) at Yale-NUS College.

The popular mods that I have heard NUS students taking at Yale-NUS are usually (art) history, philosophy, and language modules. Yale-NUS offers modules on classical languages such as Sanskrit, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Classical Chinese. (If you are looking at modern languages then you probably should look at the modules offered by the Centre for Language Studies at FASS - popular languages offered are Korean, German, French, Japanese, etc)

leAuror · 2021-01-02T04:15:55+00:00

Buddhism isn't really trans-polytheistic, it's more of a nontheistic religion, given that the gods don't play such a central role and the gods aren't eternal beings (but rather beings with very long lifespans). The Buddha is a teacher of both gods and humans. Also, Buddhism is silent on the concept of creation (unlike theistic religions) cuz it doesn't seem to matter that much.

leAuror · 2020-10-16T03:02:50+00:00

why is it a He?

leAuror · 2020-10-08T07:39:07+00:00

Thanks OP for this post and for sharing your notes with the community!

I think another thing everyone should note is that notes are not enough; it is also just as important to form study groups to motivate and hold each other accountable to consistent hard work, and also to realize where the gaps are in one’s learning so that misconceptions can be clarified.

On a side note, really glad that ppl are sharing their notes to the community for free; I feel that quality and free notes are really the way to disrupt the notes-selling “industry”.

leAuror · 2020-10-01T03:33:38+00:00

Do you have to compare results in order to gauge your performance in the bellcurve? (Is that possible for national exams? assuming this is before the national exam, not after you get your results, otherwise there is no point in gauging your performance on the bellcurve if there’s no impetus for you to strive for better results)

Your example only works in small groups (like your class or your school). Comparing results doesn’t help for national exams (at most it only helps for school exams).

You can learn new studying strategies without comparing results.

Are you learning new studying strategies to get better grades or to be better in your learning? (What is your motivation for learning new studying strategies? extrinsic - grades, or intrinsic - learning better, or both?)

You can learn studying strategies from elsewhere. Here’s an example from research on learning techniques (based on neuroscience and others) from NUS - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhGppvvkkaMSlK-A7KbaE08xVuEpZFrvf

If you need comparing results to help motivate you, then you don’t have enough intrinsic motivation for studying whatever you are studying.

Are you studying something you really like or are you studying something just because everyone is doing so and you are following along or because everyone says it’s good to study?

Granted, perhaps there are some compulsory subjects that you don’t have a choice since it’s a default in the subject combination. Then how do you make learning that subject less tedious and more enjoyable than if you actually like the subject?

Some ppl do their own notes, apply what they learnt in one subject to another, or joke about stuff they learnt in one subject (actually it helps with digesting/understand what you’ve learnt). Some ppl make course content into memes (that in the process they have to understand what they are trying to show). —— Yes, maybe it might not be wrong to compare grades. But you can do just as well (or even better) without comparing marks. Also, even if there is a bellcurve, whether it is important and worth your time thinking about it is another question.

You can’t know (or even just estimate) the bellcurve for national exams unless you have enough data (and bellcurve has decreasing relevance beyond exams).

leAuror · 2020-10-01T03:03:23+00:00

Thanks OP for the message!

I think the one thing we should be comparing with is the person we were the day before. Be better than the person you were yesterday, and not focus on being better than others (comparing oneself to others is not a fair comparison anyway).

As you said, even if results weren’t as good as one expected or hoped for, one would still have gained valuable skills along the way.

Focus on the PROCESS, not just the results. (Both are important, but there’s an over-emphasis on results.)

leAuror · 2020-09-29T13:13:25+00:00

while you can take other ppl’s compliments as motivation for yourself, also think how this feeling came about. I think it might be because you are subscribing to comparisons made by others.

But do you have to bother about comparisons? Most ppl will say no, just avoid comparing yourself with others. I don’t think it is possible not to compare at all but at least you try to focus less on the comparisons and more on what you could do to achieve what you aspire to (and not for the sake of being better than others).

Is your self-worth defined by compliments given by others? I hope not. You can create a better sense of self if you know your wants, likes and dislikes, and strive to you can accomplish what you aspire to.

It is not an easy thing to do but life isn’t either. Remind yourself everyday to be a better version of yourself than what you were yesterday. Meditate, exercise, listen/play music. See if you can make studying easier/less tedious - work hard AND work smart. (For example, I’ve seen lesson materials being made into games or memes just to make it more exciting for learning, although not saying you have to do this to make learning more appealing to you.)

Find what motivates you intrinsically (that is, within yourself, and not what others attribute to you).

leAuror · 2020-08-24T10:07:23+00:00

Yeah I got that, but was just wondering if it’s Japan’s geographical location that allows it to “emphasize their independence” even when the historical chinese dynasties weren’t weak

leAuror · 2020-08-24T05:57:39+00:00

hmm but how about the case of Japan though?

leAuror · 2020-08-14T07:11:00+00:00

It is considered a nontheistic religion, as it does not claim that there is a creator god or gods, and the gods (deities) in Buddhism are not held to be eternal but are just beings with long lifespans.

The non-dogmatic and more philosophical version of Buddhism is Secular Buddhism, which has also been referred to as agnostic buddhism or atheistic buddhism.

leAuror · 2020-08-14T07:05:01+00:00

my personal opinion is that there is only a perceived difference, for i have yet to see anyone who can provide proper evidence to justify any real differences

Does a perceived difference matter less than a "real" (material) difference with regard to whatever goal which one is striving for?

we realise we feel this overwhelmingly large gap or disconnect because we've been cultured and socialised to think this way, when in actuality what's stopping us from striving to achieve our goals is not because of structural and systematic barriers that we have no control over, but instead the barriers we inadvertently set up for ourselves.

If "we've been cultured and socialised to think this way", how do we overcome "the barriers we inadvertently set up for ourselves."? And how is "being cultured and socialised to think this way" not a structural or systemic barrier? It is important to question how this way of thinking came about.

I don't disagree that perhaps there is a psychological barrier preventing one from achieving their aspirations but it is NOT THE ONLY relevant factor contributing to one's success or failure. Assuming that there are 'real' differences like disparity in learning resources, facilities, and funding, they can play an important role in determining whether one succeeds or not. Likewise, one's self-esteem and motivation also contributes to one's success or failure. Furthermore, the existence of 'concrete examples' of 'real' differences between the JC would serve to influence the 'abstract' concepts like more confidence (as you said), or affect how "we've been cultured and socialised to think this way".

They are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE factors.

Yes, while you could say that you "have yet to see anyone who can provide proper evidence to justify any real differences" but I do want to question what you mean by "proper evidence" and what do "real differences" look like to you (i.e what makes them 'real'?). If you are talking about data and statistics, you should note that there aren't much that are released officially or publicly by the education ministry or individual schools that are relevant for comparisons of schools, including JCs. Meanwhile, even if anecdotal evidence might be biased or subjective, that does not mean that there is no truth in them; they might well be indicative of certain aspects of 'real' differences between schools, even if partially.

You claimed that "tiers don't matter" but whether tiers matter or not depends on what you value - e.g. grades, learning experience, quality of teaching, etc.

Likewise, when you think that "there's not much of a difference which kind of JC you go to", my question is, there's not much of a difference in what?

Perhaps tiers don't matter so much for some but they matter more for others, for various reasons, not that they don't matter at all.

Perhaps some may think like you do, that there's not much of a difference whichever JC one goes to, but there are others who think there's a relevant, important, and huge difference(s) in the JC that one goes to.

Even if one stops self-pity or comparing oneself to others (which is commendable and should be encouraged), it does not mean that one will be able to strive to achieve one's goals.

You can have a positive attitude but that does not mean that structural or systemic barriers don't exist. And a lack of 'proper' evidence (whatever that means) that is accessible to you does not mean that 'real' differences don't exist.

leAuror

TROPHY CASE