Exchange Plus Programmes​

Course Preclusions & Pre-requisites​
Students interested in the NUS-IE Exchange Plus programme must strictly read Law courses only during their first three years of studies at NUS (i.e. students may not read any Unrestricted Electives).​​

Credit Transfer​
The credits completed at IE for the Master in Digital Business & Innovation (MDBI) or Master in Sustainability and Business Transformation (MSBT) will count towards the NUS LL.B. degree as 40 NUS units of Unrestricted Electives. Courses completed at IE will not count towards the calculation of the LL.B. Class of Honours​.

Completion of IE MDBI/MSBT and the Conferment of NUS LLB degree​

Both MDBI and MSBT programs end in July. If you enroll in the NUS-IE Exchange Plus programme, you should expect that you would not graduate with your LLB cohort in June/July. Rather, depending on when your results from IE are released, you can generally expect to be conferred your LL.B. degree (assuming you pass all your IE courses, which is a pre-requisite for graduating with the LL.B.) in end August and you will only be eligible to attend the Commencement ceremony in the following year.

Implications to enrolment for Part B at SILE in view of the late degree conferment

Most NUS LLB graduates start their Part B course in mid-July each year. Students must have graduated with the LL.B. in order to be eligible for the Part B course. In view of the late degree conferment, NUS Law has worked with SILE to institute an arrangement where students would be able to apply and enroll for the Part B installment that begins in July of your graduation year. NUS Law has also worked with IE to send us early notification of your results as soon as they are available so that NUS is in a position to issue this certification within SILE's stipulated deadline (which SILE has stressed is a strict deadline). These arrangements have been designed to allow students to enroll for and start Part B in their graduation year.​

​Students should note that there is a small chance the notification from IE may not be received in time. This may arise if any assessment submission requires extended review. In such instances, students may have to start Part B in January. The risk is small but it does exist.

Implications of Late Degree Conferment on Eligibility for JLC Positions and Academic Prizes​
NUS Law has also worked with the Legal Service Commission ("LSC") to institute an arrangement where students would be considered for Justices Law Clerk ("JLC") positions based on their "provisional Class of Honours". Each student's "provisional Class of Honours" and "provisional ranking" within the cohort will be determined by the student's cumulative weighted numerical average which have already been "locked in" at NUS Law.​

This arrangement will allow qualifying students to participate in the same set of JLC interviews as their cohort. JLC offers will be subject to: (a) the student enrolling in Part B together with his/her cohort; and (b) eventual conferment of the LLB in August. Note that LSC rules do not permit JLCs to start work until they have been conferred their degrees. This means that, although students will essentially be able to join the programme in the same year as their cohort, their actual work start date may be delayed by a month or two.​

Please note, however, that the "provisional Class of Honours" and "provisional ranking" will NOT entitle the student to consideration for Academic Prizes that are based on such criteria.

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Applications for the inaugural batch is open from now till 25 December 2025.

For this special launch, we are accepting applications from all eligible LL.B. Year 2 students through this online form. Please note that LL.B.-MDBI and LL.B.-MSBT are two different programmes.

• Students with an existing EP application submitted on EduRec should submit their updated preference order to include IE. The new submission on this form will automatically supersede the preferences previously indicated in EduRec.
• Students who did not submit any EP application via EduRec but are interested in the new arrangement with IE may apply to this programme only. Please upload a personal statement together with the form. If nominated, you will need to prepare referee letters as part of IE’s application process in January.

Students nominated for this programme will be required to submit a formal application to IE and attend an ‘in-person’ selection interview in January. Application instructions and relevant deadlines will be provided to nominated students in due course. IE will interview all nominated students and will have the discretion to make (or not make) offers to them. Students are expected to maintain good grades over 5 semesters to keep your place of admission at IE.

​For queries, please write to lawsep@nus.edu.sg. 

• Can I go for student exchange (SEP) AND the LLB-MDBI/MSBT?​

  No, you have to choose one or the other, as you cannot spend more than 2 semesters overseas. Hence, students must choose EITHER SEP OR the LLB-MDBI/MSBT Exchange Plus programme.​

  ​Students in Year 2 may concurrently apply for the SEP and the Exchange Plus programmes (EP) but can only go for one programme. The application outcome of SEP and EP are normally made known sometime in January/February. At that point, if you are selected for both programmes, you must decide which programme you will opt for and you must withdraw from the other programme. You cannot hold on to both options.​

  Thus, students who accept a SEP place will be precluded from pursuing the LLB-MDBI/MSBT. Students who withdraw from SEP to pursue the LLB-MDBI/MSBT programme but fail at the IE application stage will be allowed to re-apply for exchange in Year 3 to go on exchange in Semester 1 of Year 4. Re-application for exchange at this point will be subject to available places and  partner universities’ application windows.​

• What are the selection criteria?​

  The selection criteria include your academic grades, character and personal statement, and your performance at the interview with IE. We will normally nominate up 2 student per IE master program, a total of 4 students per academic year . While you apply for the programme in Year 2, you are expected to maintain good grades over 5 semesters to keep your place of admission at IE.​

• How much will it cost me?​

  You will pay the same amount in tuition fees to IE as any other student in the MDBI/MSBT program. For an estimate, please find out here: MDBI Fees / MSBT Fees. NUS LLB tuition fees will not be payable for the semesters away at IE.​

• Will there be scholarships or financial aid available?​

  IE will confer a financial benefit equivalent to 25% of the applicable tuition fee to a maximum of 3 students accepted under the EP arrangement per academic year. The confirmation of financial benefit will be given together with the admission offer.

  In addition, the NUS NASA Degree Scholarship or Bursary may be available for application if you are accepted into the programme. The scholarship/bursary aims to help defray a small fraction of the cost of studying abroad. You will be invited to apply when the application opens, usually the year prior to your commencement of the programme.