By Daniel Silverman, Yale-NUS ’17
As a student of Yale-NUS, Daniel gives his perspective on how the two universities are distinct and separate.
Yale-NUS embodies many definitions. Words that come to mind include innovative, diverse, and revolutionary. But “satellite” is not one of them. Yale and NUS both contributed massive amounts of time and energy into setting up the college and, as the name indicates, it is a joint venture. Nevertheless, despite a similar name and the role that Yale fulfilled, Yale-NUS cannot be considered part of the “Yale Empire” despite many having recently described Yale’s recent ventures to expand itself in an increasingly global world in this way.
Whether Yale is taking part in the recent race among American universities to establish overseas campuses is one point of concern skeptics have about Yale-NUS. After all, Yale has lent its name to a school outside the US. However, Yale-NUS doesn’t have the same relationship to Yale as actual satellite campuses have with their “mother campuses.” Yes, Yale-NUS students do have access to privileges previously only available to Yale students, the most notable one being able to participate in various Yale summer programs around the world. Additionally, Yale-NUS students have the option to study as a transfer student at Yale for up to year or spend a summer in Yale’s Summer School, thus allowing us to experience the New Haven campus itself. Yale-NUS’ Governing Board even includes Yale representatives nominated by the Yale Corporation. These benefits to Yale-NUS help attract prospective students and expand the opportunities for students willing to study in Singapore, but in no sense does Yale-NUS exist as a “Yale in Asia.”
Satellite campuses, like NYU Abu Dhabi or Georgetown University in Qatar, were built to recreate the conditions and environment of their mother campuses in their respective host countries. Those who planned Yale-NUS, however, never intended to establish a Yale in Asia. To mirror Yale and its relationship with New Haven in an area outside the US would be difficult if not outright impossible. Both the Yale Corporation and Singaporean government were aware of that, which is one of the reasons why Yale-NUS doesn’t issue Yale degrees. One should view Yale-NUS as a separate school, an independent ship exploring the waters of education rather than a rowboat tied along the galleon of Yale. We have our own faculty, our own unique curriculum, and we plan to create our own vision for how a liberal arts undergraduate education should work.
However, Yale-NUS is not alone as it spreads its wings and takes its first flight into the world of education. There is a mother bird that continues to oversee and guide Yale-NUS, but that mother bird is NUS rather than Yale. As expressed in the Yale-NUS charter, Yale-NUS is not an independent institution, but rather a school that exists as an autonomous institution within NUS. As reflected by our student cards, our future degrees, and whom we pay tuition to, Yale-NUS lies within NUS. While being an autonomous school within NUS rather than a separate institution altogether does raise some questions as to Yale-NUS’ own identity and institutional independence, there are also invaluable benefits that arise from the deal which allow Yale-NUS students to greater enhance their education. For example, Yale-NUS students have the opportunity to enroll in NUS courses in addition to what is found at Yale-NUS. As Yale-NUS discovers its own identity as an institution, we can count on NUS to lend us its expertise, facilities, and guidance.
Thus, Yalies’ worries about any limitations that Yale-NUS could inflict on the New Haven campus can be put to rest. Yale’s interests or ambitions won’t conflict with commitments to Yale-NUS, nor will Yale’s policies be affected by Yale-NUS graduates since Yale-NUS alumni can only participate as non-voting observers in Yale’s alumni body.
While Yale-NUS has stronger ties to NUS than Yale, Yale will always have a special relationship with us compared to other universities. In addition to sharing a name, Yale provides a vital service to Yale-NUS by allowing Yale College applicants to simultaneously apply for Yale-NUS. Yale-NUS significantly depends on this option, because without it the diverse and talented student body we have today may not exist in the future. That is, until Yale-NUS develops its own reputation in the world.
At the end of the day, Yale-NUS is still a new project. Like an adolescent who has yet to discover his or her own interests or identity, people must treat Yale-NUS with patience and understanding. Eventually, Yale-NUS will develop into a fully-grown institution with its own traditions and culture. But whatever Yale-NUS becomes, one thing it will not transform into is a Yale clone. Yale, by nature of its collaboration with NUS, will always have an influence over Yale-NUS. That influence will never be as great as that of NUS, but wherever Yale-NUS goes, Yale will undoubtedly be watching close by. We at Yale-NUS will always appreciate any opportunity to work with Yale, but we must stress to both Yale and the world that we are not a branch campus. The greater question at hand isn’t whether Yale-NUS is a part of Yale, but how the relationship between Yale and Yale-NUS will develop in the future.
