By Sumathi V. Selvaretnam

WHEN Ms Hafizah Amid entered the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), she decided to major in engineering because of her strengths in maths and science.

However, after taking three English electives, she switched majors in her second year.

'Maths and science classes felt like a chore but I did not want to miss any of my English lessons,' said Ms Hafizah, 23, who enjoys theatre.

Today, she will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English.

She is part of a pioneering batch of 56 undergraduates from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) to receive their degree scrolls.

Theirs is the first of 15 convocation ceremonies at NTU this week.

Set up in 2004, HSS started off with bachelor programmes in language studies, behavioural psychology and economics.

This year, it introduced a degree programme in linguistics and a double degree in economics and engineering.

After starting off with just over 50 students, the school now has more than 500 enrolled in its programmes.

This year's graduates have landed jobs in the civil service, as well as corporations such as Citibank and JP Morgan.

A key strength of the school is its small classes, said HSS acting chair Euston Quah.

'We have a closer relationship with our students and we can implement new policies and programmes faster,' said Professor Quah, who also heads the economics department.

The school is also focused on research with special emphasis on issues related to Asia, he added.

It is looking to hire more faculty members who are passionate about research and expects to increase its student enrolment by 10 per cent every year, he said.

More than 7,300 NTU graduates will receive their degrees this week - about 2,400 of whom will receive higher degrees.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on July 21, 2008.