FAQ

Applicants seeking admission to a TPg program should have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution, or an approved equivalent qualification.  Individual program may have specific requirements on the major of a bachelor degree.   Please refer to the program curriculum for details. 

Yes, final-year undergraduate students can apply. Please submit your latest transcript online for consideration. You may receive a conditional admission offer if the Admissions Committee considers you suitable before the required qualifications are obtained. The deadline for submitting official documents to the Fok Ying Tung Graduate School will be stated on the conditional admission offer letter.

All in-class lectures and materials are in English.  Applicants from Universities where English was not the medium of instruction must meet English Language requirements.

As admission is competitive, individual programs may request additional supporting documents on language proficiency.  Please contact the program office for further information.

If IELTS or TOEFL scores are available, it will help the Program Admission Committee to assess your language proficiency and suitability for the program.

Generally, applicants are not required to provide the English Proficiency Test result if they obtained their bachelor’s degree, or equivalent qualification, from an institution where English was the medium of instruction.

As admission is competitive, individual programs may request additional supporting documents on language proficiency.  Please contact the program office for further information.

Yes, applicants without a valid English language proficiency test result may receive a conditional admission offer if the Admissions Committee considers them suitable.  The deadline for submitting official documents to the Fok Ying Tung Graduate School will be stated in the conditional admission offer letter.

However, since admission is on a competitive basis, applicants are advised to provide a valid English language proficiency test result at the time of application.

Most of the taught postgraduate programs do not require GRE or GMAT scores, except for the Master of Science in Financial Technology (MSc FinTech) program.  Applicants to the MSc FinTech program are highly recommended to submit a satisfactory GMAT or GRE score in support of their application.

Yes, you may apply to multiple Taught Postgraduate (TPg) programs. You must submit a separate application, upload the required supporting documents, invite referees, and pay the application fee for each program.

Admission decisions are made independently for each program, and applying to one program does not automatically transfer your application materials to another

The latest application status will be available online. Please log in to the Online Admission System to keep track of your application status.

Admission offers will be made starting in October and will continue on a rolling basis. Due to keen competition, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

The referee should be a respected person who knows you well (or has known you well) and is able to comment on your character and suitability for this program. For example, a senior colleague, manager or supervisor from your work, an instructor or Professor from your school or a respected professional acquaintance who you know or a leader in your community. 

After the application has been submitted, referees will be invited by email to complete a reference report online. Referees may attach additional reference letters to the online report. 

Yes, students from outside Hong Kong are welcome to apply for both full-time and part-time programs. The part-time program is especially designed for working professionals who need to balance their studies with a full-time job. Both full-time and part-time students will receive the same high-quality education and assessments.

Please note that students from outside Hong Kong must apply for a student visa, whether for full-time or part-time study. For visa details, please refer to the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government. Additionally, students holding a part-time student visa are typically required to leave Hong Kong after each lecture.

Non-local students who do not have a valid visa to study in Hong Kong are required to apply for a student visa.  A valid visa may be a work visa or a dependent visa that allows the visa holder to study in Hong Kong. 

Non-local students who graduate in Hong Kong may use an IANG visa to study.  However, it may be preferable to use a student visa in some cases.  For non-local students who would like to apply for certain recognition in mainland China, sometimes, a student visa is required.  For non-local students who would like to stay in Hong Kong without conditions after completing the taught postgraduate program, perhaps applying for an IANG visa after completing the taught postgraduate degree is more appropriate (instead of applying for an IANG visa immediately after completing the first degree). 

Please refer to the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government for further details. Successful applicants who are admitted will also be offered details on the required documents to apply for a student visa in due course. 

After accepted the admission offer, students may send the official documents and / or student visa application to HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School (FYTGS) directly.

Yes, you can upload supplementary documents and upload the documents on Online Admission System.

Applicants are required to submit official documents only after receiving an admission offer.  Further details will be provided in the admission letter.

A personal statement or curriculum vitae is not mandatory but will facilitate Program Admission Committee to consider student’s potential and motivation to pursue the master’s degree in corresponding discipline.

HKUST has not engaged any third-party intermediaries (e.g., agents, consultants, etc.) to manage admissions applications or related matters, nor has it established any relationships with such intermediaries that would provide them or their applicants any preferential treatment.  All admissions applications must be submitted directly through HKUST’s online admission system.  For submitting admissions applications, HKUST only requires applicants to pay to it the prescribed application fee.

Applicants have to complete and submit their own applications by providing their own personal information.  Please visit our website for more details on submitting an online application.

Meanwhile, to instantly understand the integrity culture of Hong Kong and the application of anti-corruption laws in school admissions and other aspects of daily life, please visit the “Understanding Integrity in Seconds” webpage of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong.

Unless prior permission from the Academic Registrar is obtained, students are not permitted to concurrently register in two programs at this University or at another tertiary institution.  If students are found to be registered elsewhere without seeking prior approval, they will normally be required to discontinue their studies at this University.

The Fall intake begins in early September, and the Spring intake starts in early February.

Most programs last approximately 1 year for full-time students and 2 years for part-time students, depending on individual's study pace.  For MSc(AIE), full-time students can expect it to last approximately 2 years.

Please refer to the program website for details.

Full-time TPg students, except those from MSc(AIE), must pay the program fee in 2 installments, whereas part-time students must pay tuition in 4 installments.  For details of the program fee, please refer to individual program webpages. 

For the MSc(CIEM) and MSc(EVEM) programs, students who take courses beyond the normal study period (i.e., four terms for full-time, and six terms for part-time) to fulfill the graduation requirements will also need to pay an additional program fee.

Additionally, new students transferring credits must pay the standard program fee.  Any student taking additional courses or retaking courses will incur an additional program fee.

Payment Deadlines

• Fall term:  2 September 
• Spring term: 2 February

Classes are usually held on weekday evenings from Monday to Friday, as well as on Saturday mornings or afternoons. Each course typically meets once a week for approximately three hours.

The course modules will be held either on or off the HKUST Clear Water Bay Campus in Hong Kong. 

Various scholarships are available.  For details, please refer to Scholarships & Financial Aids.

The Program Office does not arrange any accommodation for students.  Students should look for off-campus accommodation directly and may visit Off-Campus Housing Page for useful information.

Full-time students are eligible to apply for taking an optional course of LANG 5030 English Communication for Postgraduate Engineering Studies in the Fall term. LANG 5030 addresses the specific communication needs of taught postgraduate students in Engineering, such as the skills to play an active part in academic seminars. It also allows students to enhance their abilities in speaking, listening to and writing English through intensive practice. Graded P or F. Seats will be subject to availability. Students need to pay course fee before taking the course. 

Taught Postgraduate (TPg) program is particularly suitable for students who prefer taught course delivery.  For students considering further studies for a PhD degree, it also offers an opportunity of exposure to emerging technologies through independent study or project course under supervision of world-class faculty members.  However, this group of students are also advised to consider research-oriented Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programs.  Historically, around 4% of full-time TPg graduates will continue with MPhil or PhD study.

Yes, referring to the Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates (IANG), non-local fresh graduates from full-time program may apply to stay and work in HKSAR. They may be granted 24 months' stay on time limitation without other conditions of stay provided that normal immigration requirements are met.

Master of Science students are not eligible to take up Graduate Teaching Assistantship or Research Assistantship roles.

The University’s Career Centre offers comprehensive career support to students, such as career development resources, Career Mosaic, recruitment events and one-on-one career counselling.

The Government of HKSAR announced that starting from Nov 1, 2023, full-time non-local postgraduate students would be temporarily exempted from the restrictions on taking up part-time jobs.  Eligible non-local postgraduate students will be issued a No-Objection Letter (NOL) by the Immigration Department upon approval of entry that allows them to take up any employment during their program of study.  Non-local students shall observe the conditions for as stated in the NOL.

Meanwhile, full-time students are expected to study full time. Outside work commitments may impede their academic performance.  For details, please refer to the relevant information on the Career Centre’s website related to Non-local students working in Hong Kong.

For a 2-credit course, there are a total of 28 contact hours. There is usually one class per week for each course, so it takes 8 weeks (with the final week allotted for examination) to complete a course of 2 credits; whereas for a 3-credit course, there are a total of 39 contact hours and it takes 13 weeks to complete.

Yes, but credits for exempted courses have to be replaced by electives. Some courses can be exempted for students who have obtained certain qualifications with proof provided, such as transcripts and syllabus of courses taken within the past 7 years, when the content and level of the previous courses are equivalent to those of the exempted courses and satisfactory grades were achieved. Subject to the approval of the MSc FinTech Program Director, students may apply for credit transfer of no more than 6 credits in the program.

We normally do not encourage students to extend their length of study. However, we do offer study extensions for students who cannot complete the program within the defined timeframe because of health reasons. All students must complete the whole program within 5 years.

The part-time study mode is mostly for local students or working executives in Hong Kong or nearby regions whom can only attend classes during the weekday evenings or weekends. It takes normally 18-24 months to complete for the part-time program.

The students of the full-time study mode are mostly recent graduates or junior professionals who dedicate their full attention to the master study. The student body forms a diversified mix of local and non-local students, including the Greater China region, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe. Students attend classes on weekdays with a more intensive full-time curriculum. Students can complete the program by 12-16 months.

Program transfer between the full-time and part-time study modes after program commencement is normally NOT encouraged. Students have to be clear about their interest and time commitment in either study modes at the time of application and admission, and commit to their enrolled study mode throughout the course of study. Transfer between the study modes is considered on a case by case basis only with strong reasons, and is also subject to the approval of the Academic Directors of both study modes.