An A+ is the highest possible grade, typically indicating exceptional academic achievement in a particular course.
The grading system at NUS is as follows:
- A+: Excellent
- A: Very Good
- A-: Very Good
- B+: Good
- B: Good
- B-: Good
- C+: Satisfactory
- C: Satisfactory
- D+: Marginal Pass
- D: Marginal Pass
- F: Fail
- CS/CU: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (for modules taken under the S/U grading option)
The NUS modular system combines the rigour and depth of the British university system with the flexibility and breadth of the American system. Under this system, workloads are expressed in terms of Modular Credits (MCs)2, and academic performance is measured by grade points on a 5-point scale. Students can progress at their own pace and choose from a wide range of modules offered by different Colleges/Faculties/Schools. The modular system offers students the possibility of accelerating their programmes of study by taking more modules per semester (i.e., above the average of 20 MCs per semester), subject to the approval of their home Faculty.
Workload
The weekly workload of each module is given in the full module description. There are five workload components to each module. In the module description, these components are given in a series of five numbers. For example, NM2217 Creating Interactive Media has a workload of ‘2-2-0-3-3′. If we represent the five numbers in a workload series as ‘A-B-C-D-E’, each letter would refer to:
| COMPONENT | DESCRIPTION | REMARKS |
| A | No. of Lecture hours | Actual contact hours per week |
| B | No. of Tutorial hours | Actual contact hours per week |
| C | No. of Laboratory hours | Actual contact hours per week |
| D | No. of hours for projects, assignments, fieldwork, etc | This caters to assignments, independent studies, fieldwork, and other forms of continuous assessment that contribute towards the final grade of the module. |
| E | No. of hours for preparatory work | This refers to the number of hours a student is expected to spend each week in preparing for lectures and tutorials. |
Modular Credits (Will be renamed Units from 1August 2023)
A modular credit (MC) is a measure of the effort, stated in terms of time, expected of a typical student in managing his/her workload. The MC-value of a module is derived by dividing the estimated total number of workload hours per week for that module by the credit factor of 2.5 (i.e., one MC is equivalent to 2.5 hours of study and preparation per week). Thus, a 4-MC module would require 10 hours of work a week, including lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, assignments, and independent or group study.
Grade Points
Students receive letter grades for each module taken, except for the cases listed below. Each grade corresponds to a grade point as shown below:
| GRADE | GRADE POINT |
| A+ | 5.0 |
| A | |
| A- | 4.5 |
| B+ | 4.0 |
| B | 3.5 |
| B- | 3.0 |
| C+ | 2.5 |
| C | 2.0 |
| D+ | 1.5 |
| D | 1.0 |
| F | 0 |
As the above table indicates, a plus (+) or minus (-) suffix added to a grade raises or lowers the grade point value, except in the case of A+, which carries the same grade points as the A grade.