Curriculum Structure and Award Classification

Curriculum Structure of Bachelor's Degree Programmes

Depending on their entry qualifications, applicants may be admitted to first-year studies or with advanced standing. Students have the flexibility to enrich their studies by taking double degrees/majors or minors to prepare for challenges in the globalised community.

The curriculum structure of a four-year degree programme is as follows.

	Credit Requirements
	First-year Entrants	Advanced Standing I Entrants	Advanced Standing II Entrants (available to local students only)
Gateway Education	30 credit units	21 credit units	12 credit units
College/School Requirement (see notes)	54-72* credit units (major ≥ 27 credit units)	54-72* credit units (major ≥ 27 credit units)	54-72* credit units (major ≥ 27 credit units)
Home Major
Minor (optional)	15-18 credit units	15-18 credit units	15-18 credit units
Free Electives	Taken to fulfil the remaining credit requirements for graduation, if necessary	Taken to fulfil the remaining credit requirements for graduation, if necessary	Taken to fulfil the remaining credit requirements for graduation, if necessary
Minimum Credit Units for Graduation	120 credit units, depending on major	90 credit units, depending on major	60 credit units, depending on major

* To exceed 72 credit units, approval must be obtained from the Senate.

Notes:

Students are also required to fulfil English language and Chinese language requirements, and may be required to take additional language courses depending on their entry qualifications in English/Chinese.
Students admitted with Advanced Standing I or II will not be entitled to additional credit transfer on the basis of qualifications attained prior to admission to the University. Instead, students may apply for course exemption based on their prior study. Credit units are not earned for exempted courses.
For the curriculum structure of the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme, please click here.

Award Classification System

The University has introduced a new degree award system starting from 2020/21. Under the new system, the top 15% of departmental/school graduates (based on CGPA ranking) will be recognised under three award categories: summa cum laude (Highest Distinction), magna cum laude (High Distinction) and cum laude (Distinction).

This new degree award system is applicable to first-year entrants (from 2020/21), Advanced Standing I entrants (from 2021/22) and Advanced Standing II entrants (from 2022/23). Changes have also been made to the minimum graduation CGPA and termination rules starting from 2020/21. Click here for details.