NUS makes AI courses compulsory, gives all students and staff free ChatGPT Edu access
The moves are part of a new AI strategy announced by the university on Aug 11.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has made artificial intelligence (AI) courses compulsory for all undergraduates starting from August 2026. Every student, regardless of their field of study, will need to complete a minimum of two AI-related courses before graduating. This includes a new introductory AI course for incoming students and the integration of AI into existing curricula across various schools and majors.
All current and incoming students, as well as staff, will also gain free access to ChatGPT Edu, a university-controlled version of ChatGPT from OpenAI, enhanced with higher message limits and improved privacy features.
NUS aims to ensure that all graduates become "AI fluent," while also fostering essential human qualities such as judgment and communication. Proving overseen by the university's provost, Aaron Thean, the initiative seeks to enhance human potential through AI integration rather than replacing it. Starting from the 2026 intake, a new module titled "Applied Generative AI: From Prompting to Evaluation" will become compulsory for all undergraduates.
Moreover, over 85% of the university's undergraduate population, comprising students from the College of Humanities and Sciences, the College of Design and Engineering, the Business School, and Healthcare Professional Education, will also take compulsory AI-related courses as part of their common curriculum. These students will cover a range of AI applications relevant to their respective majors, such as "Decision Analytics using Spreadsheets and AI" for business students and "Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy" for political science majors.
In addition to the new compulsory courses, NUS will expand access to AI tools. From August 31, all students, faculty, and staff will have baseline access to ChatGPT Edu. The university plans to pilot more advanced AI tools in select courses that require deeper AI integration, particularly in fields such as computing. NUS is also developing seven in-house AI tools tailored for teaching, including a scenario generator for AI-powered simulations and a Socratic coach that asks questions to prompt students rather than providing direct answers.
Other tools will assist instructors in identifying learning gaps, tracking class participation, and helping students engage with AI-generated content critically. These developments are part of NUS' broader AI strategy aimed at enhancing human capabilities within each discipline while ensuring graduates are prepared for an increasingly AI-driven world.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
