Course Selection
Online Application - Preliminary List of Subjects
At the point of online application to NUS under the Non-graduating Students Application, you would have completed a course selection form that required you to list the subjects you wish to read at NUS. This list of subjects was based on the course descriptions for elective subjects that were available in Semester 2, AY 2008-2009. The Admission Offer Letter of offer from the Registrar’s Office in your offer package should reflect the modules you originally selected.
Please note that the list of available subjects is indicative only and is for the purpose of application to NUS as a non-graduating student. The list of subjects will not be applicable for the purpose of confirming the actual courses you will study in Semester 1, AY 2009-2010.
Subject Registration 2009-2010
Following on from the preceding paragraph, you will have to participate in a separate subject registration exercise which takes place from 1 July 2009 (Wednesday, 0900hrs) – 6 July 2009 (Monday, 1200hrs). The reason for this separate registration exercise is that new courses may have been added and occasionally some courses may have been cancelled.
All students, including NUS and exchange students, will be registering at the same time based on the updated list of courses available in June 2009. The Law Exchange Team will be in contact with you to provide you with details on how to participate.
All non-graduating students are generally expected to choose from the same elective subjects that are available to NUS Third and Final year LLB students.
The NUS Faculty of Law offers a wide range of elective subjects. Non-graduating students are advised to read elective subjects that are not available in your home university, especially subjects that will provide an Asian or Singapore perspective on legal issues. The following are popular categories of subjects:
- advanced subjects in Public and Private International Law, especially those with a Singapore or Regional perspective;
- advanced subjects in IP & Technology Law;
- small-group seminars with 100% continuous assessment
Non-graduating students from law schools in non-common law countries would, however, usually not have studied basic common law subjects such as the Law of Contract, the Law of Torts, Principles of Property Law, and Equity & Trusts, and you may not be familiar with common law methods of reasoning and analysis. You may thus be at a severe disadvantage if you choose to read advanced elective subjects that require a background in the common law. Such subjects have a very heavy reading list of cases, and experience has shown that students from non-common law jurisdictions who opt for such subjects suffer a huge disadvantage.
Consequently, non-graduating students from non-common law jurisdictions are generally precluded from the following subjects:
- Principles of Conflict of Laws
- Personal Property Law
- Principles of Restitution
- International Commercial Litigation
Non-graduating students have in some cases had difficulties when they choose advanced technical subjects in the corporate and commercial areas because they lack the requisite background for such subjects.
Some elective subjects also have specific prerequisites. For example, several advanced subjects in the corporate and financial services area are only available to students who have done Company Law or an equivalent course in Corporations Law in a common law jurisdiction.
You are therefore advised to ensure that you have the necessary prerequisites before applying for such subjects.
Subjects in Other Faculties (Non-Law Modules)
Non-graduating students may also, with the approval of your home university, take subjects in other Faculties at NUS, if your timetable permits and if spaces in those subjects are available.
You are required to register directly with the relevant NUS Faculty to take these subjects and inform the Faculty of Law for our records. Please download the CAP (Changes to Academic/Personal Particulars) Form from: https://share.nus.edu.sg/registrar/info/ng/NGSCapformms.pdf
If you choose to do non-law modules, you are also to note that you are responsible for, and will have to abide by the add /drop timelines of NUS.
Number of Subjects and Credits
Most exchange agreements state that it is the home institution which decides how many subjects or credits their students must read at NUS. In some instances, home institutions reserve the discretion to approve the list of subjects taken by their students at NUS.
Thus, in determining the number of subjects to list, non-graduating students must seek advice and permission from their home university on the list of subjects as well as the minimum or maximum number of credits they are required to read while on exchange at NUS.
An NUS law student typically takes 20 credits per semester, which is the maximum allowable load. The minimum credits required for the purpose of obtaining a Student’s Pass to do an exchange at NUS is 12 credits. Exchange students at NUS thus normally take 12 to 16 credits of subjects per semester. Students who have never studied law in English or who come from civil law jurisdictions are advised to take 12 credits if their home university permits it.
Please select law electives with module codes of Level 4000 ie. LL 4XXX.
Course Descriptions / Class Timetable / Examination Timetable
The Course Descriptions for all elective subjects offered in Semester 1 of AY 2009-2010, as well as the Class Timetable and Examination Timetable is available on the Faculty of Law’s website at: http://law.nus.edu.sg/current/LLB/curriculum_courses.htm. [Link will be updated in June 2009]
Before you select your courses in the subject registration exercise, non-graduating students are advised to read the general policies on elective subjects, which are set out on the website under "General Information on Elective Subjects" at http://law.nus.edu.sg/current/LLB/subjectreg.htm. [Link will be updated in June 2009]
Course Selection Consultation Session
You will be scheduled to meet with the Vice Dean and Assistant Dean overseeing the Faculty of Law’s exchange programme on your course selection on 12 August 2009. The details of your session will be sent to you by email.
Subjects Unavailable to Non-Graduating Students
Elective Subjects
Non-graduating students are precluded from reading the following:
- International Legal Process
- Negotiation
- Mediation
LLB Core Compulsory Subjects
Non-graduating students are generally not permitted to read the compulsory law subjects that NUS students read during their first two years of law studies. Exceptions may be granted only if you have sufficient reason for doing so and have obtained the prior approval of your home university as well as the permission from either the Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) or the Vice Dean (International Programmes) to do so.
Non-graduating students are strictly not permitted to read the following:
- Legal Analysis, Writing and Research I & II (LAWR)
- Introduction to Trial Advocacy
- Legal Case Studies
- Singapore Legal System
- Comparative Legal Traditions
- Introduction to Legal Theory
Post-Graduate Compulsory Subjects
Two post-graduate subjects that are designed specifically to meet the needs of foreign LLM students from non-common law countries are also unavailable for selection by non-graduating students. These subjects are:
- Common Law Reasoning & Writing
- Common Law Legal System of Singapore
