Frequently Asked Questions

While other BASc programmes require students to take a series of fixed courses, our BASc programme is more flexible and open-ended. This BASc programme gives you the flexibility to choose what to study across the Arts, Science and Social Sciences faculties to fulfil the core Major in Interdisciplinary Studies. This means you have the freedom to create your own degree based on your passions and ambitions. You will also have 96 credits to use on free electives or to declare another major or minor.

When we say we “declare a major” in a certain discipline or field (available from completing year 1), it means that we are committed to focus our studies on that subject. A major in HKU usually implies taking 12 to 16 courses (72-96 credits) and it is often considered comparable to someone who has completed a specific degree in that field. A minor, in contrast, requires less commitment; it usually means taking 6-8 courses (36-48 credits) only. This would give them more room to declare a double minor or take other free elective courses in other subjects that interest them.

This list is too long to be listed here! You can choose from majors/minors in diverse subjects such as Computer Science, Fine Arts, Business Design and Innovation, Psychology, Food and Nutritional Sciences and many many more. In 2020, there will be 70 majors and 84 minors available for you to choose from, and the number is still expanding.

For a full list of major and minor choices see here:
http://aao.hku.hk/sy3/plan-of-study/major-and-minor/

The BASc programme is jointly offered by the three faculties as our programme gives students the unprecedented opportunity to take courses across the three faculties. Unlike the other, faculty-specific programmes such as BSocSc, BA or BSc, we do not require students to take a particular number of credits or to declare a major within a specific faculty; our students have great flexibility in choosing what they want to study than students in these other programmes.

Besides this flexibility, the BASc programme also includes some additional, unique, courses that will train each student to become a world leader. We also offer tailor-made internship experiences that are not typically offered to students on other programmes.

Each student will also have personal mentorship with the BASc programme director, who will help them plan for their degree and their future thereafter.

Finally, students on our programme will also be able to benefit from a close connection with other BASc family students on other BASc programmes so that they will be able to develop a network of friends from diverse disciplines. You may refer to this page that illustrate the special features of this unique programme in Hong Kong.

This is a common concern among many students. However, as most university subjects are not offered in secondary school and the majority of students also have little exposure to the subjects they come across, the university curriculum is designed to allow students to start from introductory courses and advance further.

In our BASc programme, each student can have access to their mentor and receive personal advice on designing the curriculum path that best fits them, which most current students appreciate.

There is no particular subject requirement other than those set by the university. However, HKDSE applicants should achieve level 5 or above in English.

That said, we do give preference to those placing this programme as their first choice (non-JUPAS applicants) or in Band A (JUPAS applicants).

Please refer to here for the latest information

Though it is not a compulsory graduation requirement in our programme, you are strongly recommended to join one!

For our BASc programme, there are broadly 3 exchange programmes available to each student.

Besides the popular HKU Worldwide Undergraduate Student Exchange Programme (HKUWW) and the more prestigious HKUWW Plus that includes University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Yale University, amongst others, students in the BASc programme can also participate in different exchange programmes organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences. This innovative arrangement allows you to study overseas for various lengths of time in different top-tier universities!

HKU also offers financial subsidies to students who need some extra support whilst they are on their exchange. In the BASc programme, we encourage our students to become global citizens who are exposed to ideas and solutions from across the world, not just here in Hong Kong.

At HKU, applicants will be competing with all other students within the University/Faculty based on their GPA and interview performance etc., the programme you study generally does not affect this consideration unless the host institution has an explicit preference (say, business school preferring business major students). However, you can also make yourself eligible for these experiences through picking an appropriate second major. So, there is no disadvantage when compared to other traditional programme. In fact, you will benefit from our small class size as we can give you more advice on exchange opportunities.

What "qualifies you" for the job you want often has little to do with your degree/major (though it is the entrance ticket for some professions). In recent years, employers are placing more emphasis on one’s interpersonal and communication skills, critical thinking ability as well as adaptivity to deal with novel situations. This is also why universities throughout the world are shifting away from offering fixed curriculums, which usually tend to focus on ‘hard skills’, to becoming more open-ended in their programme structure in a way that incorporates more teamwork and problem-solving opportunities (soft skills).

If you have checked with the job advertisements, most multinational and large companies have no requirements on applicants’ disciplinary background in the most thriving positions; some even implicitly exclude applicants trained in specialised programmes as often they can only see things from a narrow point of view. Our BASc degree would allow you to choose the field you want to study while equipping you with ability to handle complex tasks that we will face in the 21st Century.