Physics At NUS!

The Department of Physics in NUS http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/

After going through the website, perhaps you'll like to have some insider information. Starting with the diversity of the modules here, from Relativity, to Biophysics, you can find many physics modules over at NUS Physics Department. There's Particle Physics, Cosmology, Solid State, Remote Sensing, Thin Film Techonology, Photonics, Nanophysics, and various others. Just look at the map below.

And not to mention there's the Centre of Quantum Technology over here! CQT is a very highly funded department concentrating on quantum research. So the undergraduates can do their UROPs (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Programme) under one of the Profs there, like what I'm doing now. This means that you can do 2 research in your 4 years of undergraduate life! The other research being your Honours Project that you'll take up for 1 year in your final year here. If you don't want a Honours Degree, then you can just study for 3 years here.

If however you're the research, destined to be a graduate student guy..... then you should join in the SPS (Special Programme in Science) where you'll get a chance to do one more research topic compared to your peers. And there's always a high concentration of Physics Majors in SPS, so you can enjoy each other's company and (some cool seniors) over here in this multidisiplinary-student-run-research-programme.

If you're more multi-disiplinary than just being in Science, then you can join in the University Scholars Programme where fewer physicist are present but many other people from all over the university are. Being in both SPS and USP also serves to double or triple count some of the modules. Oh, and being in USP means you can be the fully study type, no CCAs and get to stay in PGP for 4 years! Only set back is that you'll have to take some arts module that you can't S/U.

Anyway, back to physics, there's the Physics Society that is composed of very nice people and very nice activities. Just be one of the Management Committee and you can stay in the Physoc room and do your homework there! (for me it's SPS room, and for only USP people it's Chatterbox)

It's really convinent having a secure place to study in between lectures. Other than these, you can study at the Physics Lounge at the Year 1 lab, where the Physics library is located. Yes! a library just full of physics books, (SPS got all sorts of Science books, and so does NUS libraries). And then you can get a part time job at the demo lab where you'll inspire the younger generations towards science. And also there're various labs over here, graphene lab, advanced battery lab, Quantum Optics Lab, just check the website.

Last but not least, there's a lot of Science lunch time talks and Physics Departmental Teas (every friday at 4p.m.). There's also the CHIP and Germany Immersion Trip, where the trip to China or German is subsidised by the Physics Department. I'm going for CHIP. That all for now Thank you. Leave a comment for any questions.

P.S. Ok I just thought of other programmes that can interest you. There's a minor in Nanotechnology, minor in biophysics, and Physics major can second major in Mathematics, or Biology, or Chemistry, or something else, or you can even use your free modules (if you don't wanna minor or second major, or SPS or USP....) for level 5 physics graduate modules!

Other than that, there's the SEP, Student Exchange Programme, where one goes to another University to study for 1 or 2 semesters, the Summer Programme, where one makes use of the 12 weeks or 5 weeks holiday to study overseas (or in NUS), and Caltech SURF, where one uses the 12 weeks holidays to go to Caltech (there's one for MIT, and other Universities too) to do a research internship.

Well you can try to take up as many of the above as possible to make your stay in NUS more fulfilling. There're some headway like
For me I'm in SPS, USP, double major, Physics and Mathematics.
There's also 2 more people that take SPS and French Double Degree Programme.

Talking about Double Degree Programmes, there's plenty of them, the most prestigious one is French Double Degree Programme in engineering diploma (=masters) and masters in Science, where you study 2 years in NUS, learning French along the way, and then 2 years at French Ecole Polytechniqe, then 1 year masters in NUS. Next comes the NUS-ANU double degree, one has to join in USP and SPS and then study 1.5 year in NUS, 1.5 year in

Australian National University

, and then final year in NUS to get double degree in Philosophy and Science. And then there's the

Physics and Materials Science & Engineering Double Degree Programme

Where one can study for 5 years in NUS to get 2 degrees!

Ok, the double degrees Programmes are ussually very time consuming, and therefore it is only possible to take either one of them only and they ussually can't go for SEP, Summer Programme, etc......(for the ones that go to Australia and French)

So take your pick and whatever you do, do it well!