Use assessment style as one factor when choosing a university course, alongside the curriculum, prerequisites and your interests. Examine how you will demonstrate learning across the degree, not only whether it has final exams. A course with more projects can still require demanding independent work and regular deadlines.
Did you know? NUS’s assessment guidance describes several methods, including continuous assessment, project presentations and final examinations. Continuous assessment may include reports, essays and tutorial presentations. Assessment is determined at course level, so a broad degree label cannot tell you the exact mix.
Ask for current outlines of several compulsory courses at different levels. Compare the tasks, weighting where published, individual or group components and expected feedback. That gives you a more realistic picture than calling an entire degree exam-based or project-based.
eduKateSG · School-choice guide
Find your next step
Guidance checked on 10 October 2026. Confirm arrangements and requirements with the school or university for the intended intake, admission cohort and examination year.
An examination may ask you to solve problems or build an argument under time constraints. A project may ask you to design, investigate or communicate something over a longer period. Look at what the task requires, not just its name.
Review examples across introductory and advanced compulsory courses. An elective you find appealing may not represent most of the degree. Ask whether the information applies to the intended academic year.
Record questions for the department: what students produce, how work is judged and how they prepare. You do not need access to confidential examination papers to ask for a useful overview.
It is reasonable to prefer one kind of work, but ask why. Perhaps you enjoy developing an idea over time or perform well when explaining it verbally. Those are useful observations to compare with the course.
Also identify the skills you want to develop. Avoid rejecting every course that asks you to practise something unfamiliar. A suitable programme can stretch you when there is a realistic route to improvement.
If a disability or established access need affects assessment, discuss the applicable support process with the university. General claims about an assessment style cannot confirm an individual accommodation.
Projects and continuous assessment can distribute work across the semester. Ask how deadlines interact with other courses and whether group coordination is required. Fewer final examinations does not automatically mean more spare time.
Check how individual and group contributions are assessed where relevant. Understand the expectations for participation, communication and academic integrity before assuming that shared work is easier.
NUS notes that continuous assessment also has a formative role, with comments or discussion where appropriate. Ask how feedback works in the particular programme, rather than assuming every assignment offers the same opportunity to revise.
Compare assessment with the subject matter itself. A comfortable format cannot make an unsuitable curriculum interesting for several years. Likewise, an attractive subject deserves a careful look at the work needed to learn it.
The university open-house guide helps organise questions for staff and students. Use students’ experiences to identify questions, while confirming current requirements with the department.
Our How Studying Works guide offers wider learning support. Choose a degree with meaningful content and assessment demands you understand well enough to prepare for.
Previous · Contents · School-choice hub
Sources and next steps
- NUS Registrar: Academic assessment and feedback
- NUS Registrar: Undergraduate information and resources
Explore the Singapore school-choice hub
The featured photograph is a representative learning scene, not a photograph of a school or university discussed here.