About

Tembusu College is one of four residential colleges at University Town (UTown), an extension of the main NUS campus at Kent Ridge. The colleges, the first of their kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia, provide an exciting alternative to undergraduate campus living.

In addition to co-curricular activities, *most incoming freshmen will take four of their classes at the College over a two year period, helping them fulfill part of their General Education requirements. Some students from non-modular faculties (whose course requirements may be reduced or waived), and students on semestral exchange programmes add to the residential mix. Students from any NUS faculty are eligible to apply.

Freshmen normally reside in Tembusu College for two years during which they complete our four-module schedule. Additionally, the College provides many opportunities for learning on a daily basis.

Faculty members and visiting scholars from prestigious overseas institutions also live at the College and take meals in the same dining hall as students. There are regular ‘Master’s Teas’ and other events at which small groups of students can interact with distinguished visitors in a relaxed, non-classroom setting.

Tembusu College students also enjoy easy access to a wide array of UTown facilities, and are invited to participate in a myriad of exciting sporting and social activities. The three buildings of the College house approximately 600 undergraduates, a small number of graduate student advisors, as well as Residential Fellows, their families, and distinguished guests. UTown is connected to the Kent Ridge campus by frequent shuttle buses and a pedestrian bridge. Many regular NUS classes, especially those for freshmen, also take place at UTown’s Education Resource Centre and the Stephen Riady Centre, both just opposite Tembusu College.

* For Cohort AY2021/2022 and after:

The University Town College Programme (UTCP) is designed as an alternative pathway to the General Education programme at NUS. Please refer to this link for more information.

The Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) is a large evergreen tree in the family Gentianaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia. Its trunk is dark brown, with deeply fissured bark, looking somewhat like a bittergourd. It grows in an irregular shape from 10 to 25m high. Its leaves are light green and oval in shape. Its yellowish flowers have a distinct fragrance and the fruits of the tree are bitter tasting red berries, which are eaten by birds and fruit bats.