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Residential Living

Where will NUS College students stay on campus?

All NUSC Year 1s are required to reside in the NUSC residential wings. Registration for housing is an important part of the enrolment process into NUSC. NUSC students fulfilling their two-year residential requirement also reside in the NUSC residential wings.
Is it mandatory to stay on campus if I join NUS College?

NUSC students must stay in one of its residential wings for two years during their candidature, one of which must be their first year of studies. This enables students to develop a close-knit intellectual community through shared and common experiences, interacting with one another and with the Residential Fellows to broaden their horizons and enrich their learning experiences.
Can international students stay in NUS College for more than two years?

All NUSC students will be required to spend two years in residence. Due to limited campus housing, we are unable to guarantee accommodation for all four years.
What are the housing costs?

Please click here for estimated costs for housing. NUS College is committed to providing opportunities for all deserving students. Students are strongly encouraged to apply to the NUS Office of Financial Aid if affordability is a concern.
What are NUS College’s housing options?

NUSC students stay in one of three NUSC residences — Cendana, Elm or Saga. All the rooms are in a suite format with either 4-room, 5-room or 6-room options. Each room comes with air-conditioning (charged on a pay-per-use basis) and is furnished with basic amenities (desk, chair, cupboard, bed frame and mattress etc.).

Students are also allowed to opt for either a single-gendered or mixed floor. Every 3 floors in Saga and Cendana (2 floors for Elm) constitute a neighbourhood. Each neighbourhood comes with a Sky Garden, which is a communal seating area with greenery surrounding it.
What forms of residential support are offered to students staying on campus?

Residential Fellows:

The Residential Fellows are NUS and/or NUS College staff who stay on campus with their own families, taking charge of two neighbourhoods each. They provide invaluable support in their various capacities, which include jointly organising neighbourhood events with their Residential Assistants, as well as offering advice to residents in need.

Residential Assistants:

The Residential Assistants are responsible for strengthening the support network for students residing in any of the three residential wings. They provide peer pastoral welfare for students and serve as an information resource for them. Importantly, they support the Master, Residential Fellows and Residential Student Life Managers (RSLMs) in policy enforcement and administrative duties. Each neighbourhood is assigned one Residential Assistant who will act as a point of contact for all residents under their care.

Residential Student Life Managers:

Residential Student Life Managers act as mentors, advisors and community builders for residents across the college. They actively contribute to the vibrancy of student life by encouraging social interaction, facilitating students’ personal growth and organising meaningful engagement opportunities.
Is there a meal plan for NUS College residents?

Yes, meal plans are compulsory for all NUS College residents staying on campus. The meal plan includes breakfast and dinner six times a week (excluding Saturday dinners and Sunday breakfasts).

Operation Hours & Food Options:

Breakfast
  • Muslim, Western, Asian, Non-Halal Vegetarian, Cereal, Daily Counter (sliced bread, coffee, milo etc.)
  • Monday to Saturday, 7.00am to 10.30am

Dinner
  • Muslim, Indian and Halal Vegetarian, Western, Asian and Non-Halal Vegetarian, Noodle, Daily Counter (salad, soup, cordial drink etc.)
  • Monday to Friday (and Sunday), 5.30pm to 9.30pm
How is NUS College different from an NUS residential college (RC; UTCP and RVRCP)?

NUSC is first and foremost a faculty; an honours college with a four-year broad-based interdisciplinary common curriculum consisting of a typical academic requirement of 14 course units (or fewer for programmes with waivers). NUSC also has an integrated residential component (under which students are required to spend two years in one of its residential wings).

NUS Residential Colleges, on the contrary, offer two-year academic and residential programmes with about four course units.
Can students apply concurrently to NUS College and the NUS Residential Colleges (RC) Programmes (UTCP and RVRCP)?

Candidates applying to NUSC can apply concurrently to the Residential Colleges (RC) Programmes (UTCP and RVRCP). As applications for admission to the RC Programmes are conducted separately from NUSC, UTCP and RVRCP will evaluate your application independently of your application to NUSC.

However, do note that concurrent offers from NUSC and from the RC Programmes will not be made. In particular, NUS will assume that any candidate applying to both NUSC and the RC Programmes prefers to enrol in NUSC rather than the RC; NUSC will evaluate the candidates first and candidates who are offered a place in NUSC will not be offered a place in the RC Programme.
With NUS Law co-sharing the former Yale-NUS College campus with NUS College, how will this impact the availability of shared spaces for NUSC students?

From Semester 2 of AY25/26, NUS Law and NUSC will co-locate in the former Yale-NUS College premises.

In preparation for this, the College Deanery and staff team have worked closely with the Student Management Committee (MC), in consultation with the student community, to optimise the NUSC spaces within the campus grounds.
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