Maritime Studies

Mariners

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Hi all, I here to provide some insights about this course since it is relatively new and there is lack of information on it.

Firstly, there are two courses for Maritime Studies, one is the "normal" course while the other with biz major. The difference btwn the course is obviously the modules taken. For the "normal" one, you'll be taking basic maritime modules with some minor business modules. Whereas for biz major, it would be basic maritime modules + biz modules which are taken by NBS (business) students which can make it rather challenging and competitive. If you are discipline enough and want a wider range of job opportunities in the future, MSB would be good for you. If you prefer a lighter workload, then take MS.

In the 3rd year of this course, you'll be heading to Norway, Oslo to attend a semster of study there. Sounds pretty fun huh? But, you'll need to fork out money for the expenses, such as air tickets, accomodation, books, food blabla.. which can come up to 8000$ so do get ready to start saving:x According to seniors, study hours in rather short over there as compared to NTU, which means working part time is feasible and can help cover some expenses.

The number of students per cohort is rather small (50-80approx.) as compared to the other courses which can have up to 300 students. So, it is very easy to find and make friends even if you did not attend any camps. (even if you did, you may not find any MS people in the camps since the cohort is small) That being said, this course can be rather competitive since you cant really moderate much with small groups and some modules do not have moderation.

Overall this course is really interesting as there are a lot of issues that many do not know unless they are in the industry itself. This includes how ships operates, procedures, law, conventions and so on. This course is more of a business course imo as there is not much or rather no technical work so this might clear up some of your doubt as to whether is this an engineering course. For those of you who do have some interest or do not know what course to pursue you may want to consider this course.

The marine industry is always needing people so finding a job in this industry is not difficult :)
 

Mariners

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Unfortunately, I am unable to post links and images but for those who are interested can look up the internet for the modules to take for the course. Just google 'ntu maritime studies curriculum'. There you go.
 

YuzuJuiceDrink

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study hours in rather short over there as compared to NTU, which means working part time is feasible and can help cover some expenses.

What sort of part time jobs can you find over there if you do not speak Norwegian?
How many hours are you permitted to work on a student visa?
 

Mariners

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I'll try to give a review of the modules that MS ppl take in first year, first sem.

MT1001, Maritime Maths:
This module is pretty easy for the first half, esp for those of you who have taken 'A' level maths. The first half of this module is basically differentiation, simple. There would be topics on interest too. However, the second half is much tougher. Second half is on integration, but only about 30% is from 'A' level maths and the rest are new stuff such as partial integration, finding volume using double integral.

Tips: Do all your tutorials faithfully and attend all lectures and tutorials. Borrow the reference book from the library for the second half of the module cause you'll definitely need it since the notes are quite terrible (short and lack explanation)

MT1002, Intro to Marine Industry:
Pretty easy and interesting module, as the title mentions, it is just an introduction to the Marine Industry. You just have to attend 2hrs of lecture every week. Most of the lectures are taught by guest lecturers so you can get some insights from them about how the industry outside classroom is like. Maritime students normally have no problems scoring since they attend another module MT1003.

Tips: No tutorials so YAY! But do attend all lectures! You'll find that tips are given along the way so try to be attentive.

MT1003, Trade and Incoterms:
This course can be pretty confusing, since we are only learning theory stuff so it can be pretty difficult to relate to real life situations. You learn more in-depth stuff over here than MT1002 and a lot of things pretty much overlaps with MT1002. You will learn about contracts, the terms used, insurance, and so on.

Tips: Ask questions when you don't understand, it is really important esp for this module. Do your tutorials tho it can be quite tough. Read all the extra materials so that you'll be able to understand better.

Cont..
 

Mariners

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HW0110, Effective Communication:

This module is about communication, duh:x 1hr or lecture and 1hr of tutorial every week. The tutorials can be fun, role play, brainstorming but the lectures are pretty use**** imo. You can just read it yourself. There is no exams for this module but there are three assignments: Reflection paper, Group Project and Speech. Do put in more effort for Group Project and Speech as they take up 65% total weightage.

Tip: For speech, try to think of something that everyone can relate to so that you can grab audience's attention. The way you present your speech > content, so be confident and don't stammer if possible. It is alright to bring a cue card.

BU8101, Accounting perspective:
Those with PoA background would be at an advantage. If you like maths, this subject would not be that difficult for you. This is the module that i spent the most time on. Doing tutorials and extra questions. Since this course is an elective, but core for MS students, you'll be competing with students from other courses. This also means that there is bell curve moderation (got good got bad).

Tips: Read up before lectures, be attentive during lectures. Read up textbook after lectures and do every tutorials (Must Do!). Ask questions during seminar if you dont understand.

BU8601, Fundamentals of Management:
This is also an business elective module, but a core for MS students. I must say that there are really a lot of content to understand and learn. However, tips are given for exams so please attend all the lectures if you do not want to miss out any hints and study like mad. You'll be studying about human behaviour, leadership and planning in this module which can be really useful in the future.

Tips: Put in effort for your group project (20%), speak up during seminar and ask questions if you have (normally there are no questions cause everyone dont really understand). Read up before lectures and do the tutorials. Dont get disheartened if you cant do the tutorials or find it difficult. The exam questions will be easier and much more straight forward.
 

terrykorkor

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from what my fren told me, marine time is more than marine time and nearer to business/accounting counterpart than engineering one..

and for competitiveness, since the cohort so small.. only a few can get A's and therefore the difficulty.
 

YuzuJuiceDrink

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from what my fren told me, marine time is more than marine time and nearer to business/accounting counterpart than engineering one..

in short, business grads can also do maritime jobs but maritime grads have a harder time switching to general business jobs :s31:
 

Mariners

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you're correct.. but then again in the field of maritime, there are so many different types of jobs, ship broker, ship builder, ship charterer, insurance, finance, law, management.. So not to worry if you're afraid of not getting a job coz employment rate for MS is 100% after graduation. Afterall we're a small cohort.
If you want a specialised course rather than a general one i would recommend this!
 
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What are your insights to the "industry" itself? I took my maritime transpt mgnt at sp and now i'm deciding to switch over to business.

My reason is pretty simple, this field is way too lonely. The people you meet (or the ones i've met) are pretty much realistic. They stick to you when you're doing well, always talking about advantages and stuffs like that.

I mean, it's a good industry where money flows (except for not doing well in recent years), an undying industry no doubt, but the people you'll be working with are pretty much terrible.

Thanks to the years i've spent in my course, my life is partially screwed.
 

Mariners

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What are your insights to the "industry" itself? I took my maritime transpt mgnt at sp and now i'm deciding to switch over to business.

My reason is pretty simple, this field is way too lonely. The people you meet (or the ones i've met) are pretty much realistic. They stick to you when you're doing well, always talking about advantages and stuffs like that.

I mean, it's a good industry where money flows (except for not doing well in recent years), an undying industry no doubt, but the people you'll be working with are pretty much terrible.

Thanks to the years i've spent in my course, my life is partially screwed.

What are my insights to the industry itself? Mm, honestly there isnt much to what I can offer because I have no hands on experience, just hearsay. From what I know the maritime industry will never diminish as long as there is trade and bunkering is one of the major profitting sector. There are definitely a lot of opportunities for the development in the maritime industry.

I believe that it is pretty much the same in life that people sark up to others when they are better and abandon those that are worse off. True facts of life but I think you just gotta deal with it. It is always better to know more people, whether be it purely for studies, project or friendship, because you'll never know that that someone could help you out in the future.

Im fortunate to say that so far I have not encounter such incidents, ok maybe i did (during NS), but things will get better.. And I assure u, NTU Maritime Studies would be much better haha.. We're like a family!
 
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XwolfhoundX

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Hey, I know this is an old thread but do you mind me asking about the current state of the Maritime industry in SG? Reason being, I am considering taking up Maritime Studies in NTU.

It would be great if OP replies as well as I'm curious how is he doing nowadays :s13::s13:
 

darksiedluv

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What about the career progression of this degree

for eg what can u actually do if the shipping industry is not doing well especially when MS is more of a specialise degree as compared to Business.

Was actually seriously considering this programme initially.

Sent from Samsung SM-G955F using GAGT
 

wat8rsp0ut

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Hmm, the 90th Percentile's IGP for Maritime Studies seems a lot lower than the other courses. May i know why is this course unpopular?
It's making me doubt my decision of choosing MS. Thank you !

Isn't that good? Come in, take your 1st class, and go look for job
 

jxxmer

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Hi I know this is an old thread, but I got into to ms so I was wondering is there any change in the industry since the thread was first posted and whether the job prospect has change?
 
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