Comparing between NUS CNM and NTU WKWSCI

Updated on 20 February 2020 to reflect removal of NM4102 as graduation requirement if student is not doing Honours Thesis, and addition of Cultural Studies area in CNM.

Hopefully this doesn't start a turf war. My intention is to help those who may be thinking of pursuing a communications degree clear up the confusion between the two main local institutions for such training. The views expressed here are mine alone.

First things first: I'm an NUS CNM (Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore) student. So keep that in mind as you read through this post. I've tried to be as objective as possible but my bias may creep in at times because I'm only human.

Without further ado, what's the difference between NUS CNM and NTU WKWSCI?

There isn't a straightforward answer to this, obviously. Both programmes have their own merits. We'll get to that in a bit, but before we do that, let's take a short trip back in time.

History of Communications in Singapore

Not many people know this, but the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is actually a descendant of the Department of Mass Communication at NUS. The department was started in 1991 under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and was moved to NTU in 1992 where it evolved into WKWSCI. In 1999, NUS restarted a similar programme called Information and Communications Management, which became the Communications and New Media programme in 2006. Finally, in 2012, CNM was given full status as a department.

What this means is that Communications in NUS is actually the "parent" of Communications in NTU. If that's surprising to you, it might be because you've always had the impression that WKWSCI is the premier education provider of communications courses in Singapore with an established history and excellent track record. And you would be right. Many of the most prominent figures in the media and communications sphere are WKWSCI alumni. They've done a fantastic job in building up the reputation of WKWSCI to what it is today.

But where does that leave NUS? Is studying Communications at NUS bad? Will it leave you with no future? No, and no. You have to understand that WKWSCI and CNM function in fundamentally different ways.

One is a school, the other is a department

The S in WKWSCI stands for School. WKWSCI is a standalone school inside NTU. In contrast, CNM in NUS is a Department inside a Faculty, which is the word old people use when they mean School. So in terms of administrative structure, CNM is less powerful than WKWSCI, because CNM in just one part of a school, while WKWSCI is a school in and of itself.

Why should you care about this semantics? This distinction has important consequences. Being subject to the whims and fancies of the various Deans and Vice-Deans of FASS, the Head of Department (HOD) of CNM has less of a say in how the programme is run. On the other hand, WKWSCI is free to operate with greater autonomy and its management can make decisions, for instance about curriculum, and have them implemented more easily.

For example, FASS is really obsessed with the idea that its students should "have broad exposure to fields of knowledge beyond their specialisation" and "develop the rhetorical knowledge, the composing practices, and the critical thinking skills that are necessary to understand and shape meaning for different audiences", because of "the inherently argumentative nature of all of the FASS disciplines". In practice, this means that you must take modules in Asian Studies, Humanities, Academic Writing, and Public Writing and Communication as part of your graduation requirements. Being a policy that applies across FASS, CNM has to respect this decree.

But Communications is a very different discipline than, say, literature or philosophy. Some would call Communications an "applied" field while the traditional arts and humanities fields are "academic". Many students pursue university courses in Communications because they aspire to join the communications industry as corporate communications executives, public relations account managers, social media content developers, website administrators, application designers, copywriters, journalists, and so on. They may have completely no interest in writing thousand-word essays arguing abstractly for the abolishment of the death penalty based on the sociological theory of anomie. But they have no choice if they are CNM majors, because they are also FASS students and have to follow FASS rules. Don't forget that the whole of NUS also has some rules in place, such as General Education and Unrestricted Elective modules, and CNM students must fulfill those too!

WKWSCI doesn't have another hierarchical layer on top of it except the university itself. So students of WKWSCI only need to follow NTU rules, such as taking the General Education and Unrestricted Elective modules, but don't need to worry about school or faculty rules, because they are themselves the school. The school, specialised as it is in producing communications practitioners, makes rules that it feels best contribute towards this goal of preparing its graduates for the communications workforce. It can do so with a lot more leeway and flexibility without having to accommodate other unrelated modules that its students are forced to take.

To put it concretely, WKWSCI students take a total of 17 modules related to Communications over four years and graduate directly with a Bachelor of Communication Studies with Honours. CNM students take a total of nine Communications-related modules over three years, have to qualify for Honours based on grades, then take another eight Communications-related modules over one year before graduating with a Bachelor of Social Sciences with Honours majoring in CNM. If they graduate after three years, they get a Bachelor of Arts majoring in CNM without Honours.

What's in a name?

I don't think it matters that much that the NTU degree is a "professional" degree where the word "Communication" appears in the degree name itself while the NUS one is a "general" social science degree where the word "Communications" is tacked on at the end, seemingly an afterthought. Employers understand the concept of majors and are willing to accept that someone who majored in something should have adequate domain knowledge in that thing to do the job asked of them. But it is pertinent that WKWSCI offers a four-year direct Honours programme while CNM, again being tied down by the way the rest of FASS does things, is a 3+1 system. If you graduate with the basic three-year degree, you'll be at a huge disadvantage in your search for a job in the communications sector as your domain knowledge will be extremely shallow. At least you'll be able to impress people by telling them about the sociological theory of anomie... Not!

More importantly, let's examine the breakdown of what Communications modules a student would take at each institution.

NUS CNM:

• NM1101E Communications, New Media and Society
• NM2101 Theories of Communications and New Media
• NM2103 Quantitative Research Methods
• NM2104 Qualitative Research Methods
• five more NM-coded modules of student's choice
• if student does Honours: NM4102 Advanced Communications and New Media Research + NM4401 Honours Thesis + four more NM-coded Honours-level modules of student's choice OR any eight NM-coded Honours-level modules of student's choice

NTU WKWSCI:

• CS0209 Media law, Ethics and Policy
• CS2005 Speech and Argumentation
• CS2024 Web Design and Technologies
• CS2400 Foundation of Information Analytics
• CS0201 Foundation of Communication Studies
• CS0204 Basic Media Writing
• CS2025 Image & Sound Production OR CS2031 Creative Strategies OR CS2044 Photojournalism OR CS2403 Information Visualization & Presentation OR FL8001 Introduction to Film Studies
• five more lower-level CS-coded modules worth 3 Academic Units each of student's choice
• five more upper-level CS-coded modules worth 4 Academic Units each of student's choice

One criticism that's often levelled at CNM is that it's too theoretical, and based on this breakdown it's easy to see why. The focus of the compulsory modules is skewed heavily towards research. Students don't have many module spaces left free to explore the vital hands-on aspects of communications like public relations or visual design, particularly in their first three years. The compulsory modules at WKWSCI seem to be more helpful for future communications professionals. For example, CS0209 Media law, Ethics and Policy helps them stay out of trouble and avoid getting sued, CS2024 Web Design and Technologies is increasingly relevant given the prominence of the internet as a communicative platform, and CS0204 Basic Media Writing trains them in fundamental skills that every communications practitioner worth their salt must know.

Putting it into practice

The industry-relevance of WKWSCI's curriculum is further enhanced by its six-month Professional Internship (PI) programme as well as the Final Year Project (FYP). CNM also has a six-month Compulsory Internship Programme (CIP) but lacks the FYP.

CNM's Honours Thesis is not the equivalent of the FYP. An Honours Thesis must be a piece of academic research. But for their FYP, WKWSCI students are free to do almost anything they want. They can run a public awareness campaign, shoot a mini-movie, write a big feature story, compile a photojournal, or conduct academic research. A while back, I watched a Facebook Live stream by my friend and her groupmates from WKWSCI. It was part of their FYP and they played games in which viewers could respond in real time through the comments section and win prizes such as shopping vouchers. Honestly, I forget what their campaign was about but their tactics were really fun, enjoyable, interactive, and memorable.

Said friend is now working full-time in some boutique social media marketing agency where she runs online contests for a living similar to what her group did for their FYP. Besides that, she also produces silly graphics for social media pages. Don't scoff. Silly graphics are potent weapons in the battle for the ever-shrinking attention spans of modern consumers. They are eye-catching, easy to understand, and highly shareable content. Applied social media techniques such as these are hands-on skills that WKWSCI imparted her with, and they are now lining her pockets.

So far, it seems as if WKWSCI is the no-brainer option for anyone looking to embark on a communications career. The education is a lot more practical and industry-focused, allowing you to jump into the workplace immediately upon graduation and find your feet in your new job. Also, WKWSCI has a stronger brand name in the industry and among the wider public. They don't lose out on the academic rankings either. NUS and NTU have been swapping positions at the pinnacle of Asia for the past few years. Within the Communications discipline, CNM and WKWSCI have been playing out a similar battle at the top of the Asian league table.

And I won't lie. If you're really sure about what specific type of job within communications you want, go to WKWSCI. Do you want to be a public relations professional? An advertising strategist? A journalist? A television producer? WKWSCI is the place for you. They will give you the in-depth training you need to excel in your chosen subfield right from day one. Oh, while we're at journalists and TV producers, let me correct a misconception. WKWSCI has traditionally been seen as "that journalism school" or "that place where the Mediacorp people come from". Historically this is true, but such stereotypes are outdated. WKWSCI now offers lots more than just traditional media courses and has produced many public relations professionals who have risen to managerial and directorial rank. So if you're keen on other types of jobs in media and communications besides journalism and production, don't rule out WKWSCI.

In defence of NUS CNM

We've seen the might of WKWSCI. Is CNM a minnow in comparison? Certainly not!

The most distinct edge that CNM has over WKWSCI is the strength of its "new media" modules. It's almost as if the CNM department is the NUS School of Computing (SoC) Lite version. You can learn the computer languages of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a module on web coding, or gain fresh insights into your favourite games from a game design module. In a world that spends most of its time online, aspiring public relations professionals can enhance their skillsets by picking up skills in photography and videography, mobile application design, or storytelling through interactive media.

Coupled with the above is the bespoke nature of the FASS curriculum. You know the word "bespoke" that's so trendy nowadays? In addition to your bespoke trousers and handbags, you can now have a bespoke degree. The advantage of CNM over WKWSCI is that CNM doesn't lock you into "tracks". In WKWSCI, you choose from five possible tracks: Advertising, Broadcast & Cinema Studies, Communication Research & Information Analytics, Journalism, and Public Relations. You choose a track in your second year and receive deep instruction in it until graduation. But for those who don't want to commit to one track, CNM is a good fit. The modules in CNM are classified into three areas of interest: Communication Management, Interactive Media Design, and Media Studies. A fourth, Cultural Studies, was added in 2019. But these are just for reference and you don't have to stick to just one area. You are free to mix and match modules from across all three areas in any way you like. If you do this, you may not have as much expertise concentrated in one area, but the diverse range of knowledge and skills you possess opens up more opportunities for you across varied job functions. There's also the possibility that you might fall in love with one particular area. If that happens, you're also free to choose more modules from that area, in essence creating your own track. This almost unfettered self-determination is the strength of the FASS system. It allows you to customise the coverage of your degree to a huge extent and really make it your own.

Of course, there are other types of students who should choose CNM over WKWSCI. For example, those who like theories and research will definitely enjoy CNM more, as there are many more of such module offerings in CNM than in WKWSCI, and FASS also offers plenty of opportunities for undergraduate students to assist faculty members in carrying out academic research projects. Let's be clear, though. CNM may put more emphasis on theories and research than WKWSCI, but that doesn't mean there are no hands-on modules teaching practical skills that you can apply in your future job as a communications practitioner. There are modules to train you in press release writing, brochure design, campaign planning, and other useful stuff. You just have to consciously seek them out and opt for them, as opposed to them being fixed for you to take as compulsory modules like in WKWSCI.

Students who haven't firmly decided on Communications as their preferred field of study should also enroll into FASS because it's easy to change to a different major within the faculty if you find that Communications isn't for you after all. Just click a few buttons during the declaration period between semesters and you can morph into a major in something else. If you enter WKWSCI and don't like it, you can either tough out the four years, regretting your foolishness bitterly throughout, or bite the bullet and wade through the mountain of red tape to transfer yourself out of the school.

Still undecided?

Think about:

• What kind of learner are you? If you prefer doing projects and creating stuff, WKWSCI would be a better match for you. If you prefer reading and thinking about stuff, CNM would be a better match for you.
• Do you know exactly what job you want to do in the future? The more specific the better; for example, "public relations executive" or "video editor". If you can answer this question confidently, WKWSCI would be a better match for you. If you can't, or just answered with a vague "um, something related to communications???", CNM would be a better match for you.
• How committed are you when you make a decision? If you are firmly committed once your decision has been made, WKWSCI would be a better match for you. If you are a fickle sort of person who tends to waffle and dwell on the what-ifs, CNM would be a better match for you.
• Are you interested to explore other areas of humanities, arts, and social sciences like linguistics, culture, economics, geography, and history, while sharpening your critical thinking and argumentative skills at the same time? If no, WKWSCI would be a better match for you. If yes, CNM would be a better match for you.

And that brings us to the end of this post! If you made it to this point, congratulations and thanks for persevering through the entire lengthy article. The purpose of writing such volumes is to pack as much detail as possible into one place. I hope I've clarified some of the doubt surrounding CNM and WKWSCI, and gone a little way towards helping you to make a decision regarding your future in Communications. But if you still have questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment below, or better yet, drop me a message on Twitter or Reddit.

Best of luck for your university studies! Whether NUS or NTU, may the Bell Curve God be always in your favour.