FAQ - For Non-JUPAS Students (including Non-Local Students)

From 2025 entry onwards, the HKUST School of Engineering changes from a solely school-based admission framework to a dual track admission framework.  Under the new dual track framework, you can enter the School of Engineering through either school-based admission or department-based admission.  There are altogether 8 application choices for you to choose from –
 

If you already have a clear interest in a specific engineering discipline, and do not plan to explore other disciplines, you should apply directly to one of the 7 choices under department-based admission (please refer to the choices in the table under Q.1 above).  This would enable you to start taking courses required by your major program early and thus offer you greater flexibility in mapping out your study pathway for the 4 years of study.  With such flexibility, you can also adjust your pathway to make room for other endeavours that you plan for, such as exchange.  On the other hand, if you are not sure about your academic aspirations and would like to understand various engineering disciplines in greater depth before committing yourself to a major department or program, then you should apply for school-based admission.  As a student admitted through school-based admission, you will join the School of Engineering instead of an engineering department upon entry.  You will select your preferred engineering department (or a joint-school/interdisciplinary program) through the major selection exercise no later than the end of Year 1.  During your time in the School, we not only have professional advising staff to support you, but also professors serving as your academic advisors to guide you in exploring your academic interests and potentials.  You will also be assigned to peer mentors who are senior engineering students themselves.  These peer mentors will share their experience with you to help you make your choice. There will also be a specially designed introductory course to enable students to make an informed choice about your engineering major.  As students entering through School-based admission will have an Extended Major in AI, the first year is also a time to learn the basics of AI and how it is applied in different engineering disciplines. In a nutshell, neither of the admission track is better than the other one – it all depends on what you look for.

You can drop the Extended Major in AI anytime throughout your 4 years of study with us if you are determined that you don’t like it.  However, you may understand that AI is all around us nowadays.  It is definitely something good for students to learn.  Our Extended Major in AI is not intended to train specialists in AI.  Rather, we want to equip our graduates with knowledge in AI by integrating AI into the engineering curriculum.  Graduates with AI knowledge can apply it to their major engineering domain and enjoy a competitive edge over their peers.

Sure, students admitted through department-based admission will be able to apply for opting in the Extended Major in AI at the end of Year 1, except those admitted to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), the BEng in Computer Engineering (CPEG) Program, as well as the BSc in Data Science and Technology (DSCT) Program which is jointly offered by our School with the School of Science. The CSE Department, CPEG Program and DSCT Program do not offer the option of Extended Major in AI to their students due to the close proximity of the programs.

Don’t worry.  We ensure that departments will reserve a quota for the school-based admission students, and will not use it up for department-based admission.  However, as far as the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and the BEng in Computer Engineering (CPEG) Program are concerned, the quota reserved for school-based admission students will be small.  If you are seriously interested in CSE or CPEG, you are recommended to apply directly to CSE or CPEG through department-based admission.  The situation with the BEng in Microelectronics and Integrated Circuits (MEIC) Program is similar.  Owing to limited quota, students keenly interested in MEIC should apply to the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE) through department-based admission.

You can select 2 admission choices from all admission choices offered by HKUST.  For each of the admission choices, you can submit 1 alternative choice.  That is to say, you can submit up to 4 choices altogether –

•    1st Choice
•    1st Choice Alternative
•    2nd Choice
•    2nd Choice Alternative

You will be considered for the alternative choice if you are not selected by your admission choice.  The alternative choice must be from the same School as your admission choice.  E.g. if your 1st Choice is the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, then your 1st Choice alternative must be the engineering school-based admission choice or one of the 6 department-based admission choices.  For example:

When the School or the Department evaluates your application, we will interpret your preference in this order, using the above example –
 

There is no fixed quota between JUPAS and Non-JUPAS students. Offers are made based on the academic standing of applicants.  As long as an application presents a good profile, we’ll consider it.

You will be notified by our University’s undergraduate admissions office – the Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office (URAO).  For better coordination, you are advised to contact them at ugadmit@ust.hk on all matters related to your application. 

Whatever documents or information you feel can support your application are welcome.  You can upload them onto our online admission system after you start your application process.  We consider all applicants and select the outstanding ones for offer.  Successful candidates will receive a notification from our online system.

The deposit paid will be refunded only if you fail to meet the admission conditions specified in the admission offer letter.  You need to produce proof for it.   For more details, please contact our University’s undergraduate admissions office at ugadmit@ust.hk. 

Classification is based on definition determined by the HKSAR Government.  It is not at discretion of applicants or HKUST.  If you are holding a HKID card and you have the right to abode in Hong Kong, you will be regarded as a local student.  Some students holding a dependent visa and meeting the HKSAR Government’s definition for local students will also be given the status of a local student, if admitted.  For enquiries related to your status in Hong Kong, please contact us at ugadmit@ust.hk or the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government.

The University has a credit transfer framework for students (depending on their basis of admission) admitted to our bachelor’s degree programs. Students with high school leaving qualifications may be granted up to 30 transfer credits which will count towards the minimum graduation requirement of 120 credits.

There are 2 categories of credit transfer for new students:

a.    University Common Core credits – up to 6 credits and 9 unassigned free credits (only applicable to students admitted on basis of IBDP and GCE A-Level / International A-Level results)

b.    Course-by-course mapping – credits are granted for specific subjects taken in specified exams on condition that students have obtained the required grade / mark.  Students who have been granted block transfer of credits to University Common Core as explained in point (a) above cannot transfer additional credits to common core courses through course-by-course mapping

While the actual numbers of transfer credits granted vary from students to students depending on the admission basis, the subjects that have been taken, and the level of attainment, our experience shows that most students admitted to the Engineering School with GCEAL / IAL / IBDP / AP are granted more than 20 credits.

We don’t have preference for any of these qualifications. Applicants have to declare which qualification they are using for seeking admission right at the beginning.  Students holding 2 complete sets of qualifications can choose either one of them as basis of admission, while the other will be treated as supplementary information to support their applications.

Math is a must.  The other subject should be engineering-related, e.g. physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.  We will evaluate the overall profile of each application to assess the applicant’s suitability for the admissions choices that he/she applies for.  After admission, if students lack background in a certain subject but wish to catch up with it, we offer fundamental courses to bridge the gap between their high school education and the coursework at HKUST so that students can proceed smoothly to subsequent years of their degree programs.

It’s difficult to tell as applicants’ quality varies from year to year.  You may refer to our University's undergraduate admissions website for the competitive score range for various qualifications.

Yes, you have to submit official English test scores. We accept a wide range of English tests – you can find it on our University's undergraduate admissions website (go to “Requirements”).  You can fulfill our English requirements for undergraduate admission as long as you can meet any one of the listed qualifications with the minimum marks/grades attained.

We don’t really waive it for the JUPAS students.  All JUPAS students are required to obtain Level 3 in the HKDSE English exam.

Interview is not a requirement for the School of Engineering.  So, don’t worry if you are not invited to an interview by us.  If we find interview helpful, we’ll contact you to set up an interview.  For 2025 intake, exact details of interview arrangements will be announced by the University in due course.  Applicants will be contacted by our University’s undergraduate admissions office if they are shortlisted.  

Whatever documents or information you feel can support your application are welcome.  You can upload them onto our online admission system after you start your application process.

We’ll look at the information and it helps us to understand you better. Do let us know of your MAJOR interest and achievements, but be selective in your entry. 

Anything about yourself that will enable us to understand you better, e.g. why you are interested in engineering. 

Academic reference is an important source of information to enable our School to understand your strengths and interest.  Therefore it is an important document to support your application.  Normally 2 would be sufficient. 

Of course you should apply.  We will give students who do not yet have final results a conditional offer.  The conditions will be specified explicitly on the admission offer letter.  If you accept our offer, you pay the deposit and the place will be kept for you.  When your final results are released, and you meet our conditions, the offer will be converted into a firm offer after we verify your final exam results.  (That’s why it’s very important for you to upload your final exam results on our online admissions system.)  On the contrary, if you fail to meet the conditions, the offer will be withdrawn but the deposit will be refunded.

In general, no application is required for scholarships based on academic merits.  We consider all applicants and select the outstanding ones for award.  If you are selected for a scholarship, you will be notified at the same time when you receive an admission offer from us. 

However, there are a few non-academic scholarships that are not based on academic merit, e.g. Student Athletes Admissions Scholarship (SAAS), Beyond Academic Admissions Scholarship (BAAS), etc..  These scholarships are open for applications.  Students who meet the eligibility requirements need to submit an application to HKUST.  For more details of these scholarships, please visit the University's undergraduate admissions website. 

We accept any one of the following IBDP Math subjects:

•    Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (HL)
•    Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (SL)
•    Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (HL)

No, we accept both higher level and standard level for all science subjects – physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.

SAT / ACT / AP are not required if you apply on strength of IBDP. But if you do well in the tests, you can supply the scores to us as supplementary information to support your application.

Basically, we need a full IB diploma for admission.  But we can consider IB certificate on a case basis.  If you do not have a full IB diploma but have some other public exam results (such as AP, GCE A-Level), do upload them together with your IB exam results.  We will review the application on a case basis.

HKUST has a scholarship for holders of IB Diploma program, up to full tuition plus living allowance of HK$60,000*, tenable for the normal duration of the study program at HKUST.  Applicants may also receive top-up scholarships from the School of Engineering based on academic merit.
(* subject to revision for 2025 intake)

For details, please visit the University's undergraduate admissions website.

We require Math at Advanced Level since good mathematical skills and solid preparation are essential to engineering studies.  While Further Math is not required, it can nevertheless be accepted as equivalent to Math or Pure Math in meeting our admission requirement.

Basically 3 subjects would be good enough if they are science and engineering-related subjects. But more STEM subjects taken and with good results achieved will help strengthen your profile.

Yes, HKUST has a scholarship for students who obtain outstanding results in GCE A-Level or International A-Level exams, up to full tuition, tenable for the normal duration of the study program at HKUST*. Applicants may also receive top-up scholarships from the School of Engineering based on academic merit.
(* subject to revision for 2025 intake)

For details, please visit the University’s undergraduate admissions website.

Sorry, we do require AP subjects.  If you have SAT or ACT Test, the number of AP subjects required is 2.  On the other hand, if you don’t have SAT or ACT test, 5 AP subjects are required.    There is also a score requirement on the AP subjects.  Please refer to details on our University’s Undergraduate Admissions website on International Qualifications.

No, we don’t.  You can apply with either of them.  Even if you haven’t taken any SAT or ACT test but you have completed 5 AP subjects with a score of 4 in each of them, you are still eligible to apply to us.  

Cal AB is acceptable.  We don’t have preference between AB and BC. 

No, we don’t have any preference.  Also, each physics subject is counted separately.

Yes, HKUST has a scholarship for students who obtain outstanding results in AP exams, up to full tuition, tenable for the normal duration of the study program at HKUST*. Applicants may also receive top-up scholarships from the School of Engineering based on academic merit.
(* subject to revision for 2025 intake)

For details, please visit the University’s undergraduate admissions website.  

If you will have finished only the first year of an associate degree or higher diploma program by the end of the 2024-25 academic year, you should apply for Year 1 entry through School-based admission or Department-based admission.  If you will have finished the entire associate degree program or higher diploma program by the end of the 2024-25 academic year, then you should apply to Programs (not Departments), and admission is normally to Year 2.  However, if you wish to explore other engineering areas (which is different from the associate degree/higher diploma program that you will have completed), you can also apply for admission to the School for Year 1 entry (i.e. through school-based admission).
 

You can choose to apply through either route but can’t take both routes at the same time.  If you decide to apply through direct admission to HKUST, make sure that you provide information of your associate degree program in your on-line application. This also applies to students who are enrolled in higher diploma programs. 

No,  no matter whether you are in the first year or second year of study in the associate degree (or higher diploma) program, you don’t have to present results in the Chinese Language exam when applying for direct admission to HKUST.  However, if you apply through JUPAS again, then a minimum of Level 3 in Chinese Language is expected.

The School of Engineering adopts the Alternative Offer mechanism. If you do not receive an offer from our engineering programs that you apply for, you may be given an Alternative Offer in Engineering with Extended Major in Artificial Intelligence (ENGG+AI) if you have a good academic profile.  In this case, you will start your study in the School of Engineering from Year 1.  You will go through the major selection exercise no later than the end of Year 1, which will determine your major department from Year 2 onwards.  Courses that you have completed in the associate degree or higher diploma program may be recognized and transferred if the courses are deemed equivalent to the HKUST courses after a course-by-course mapping evaluation by relevant Departments.  The alternative offer to ENGG+AI for year 1 entry does not require completion of the entire associate degree/higher diploma program.  Therefore, the credit transfer arrangements for holders of local Post-secondary Awards in relation to common core and unassigned free credits will NOT apply to your case.  (Also please see Q.42 below on credit transfer policy for holders of local associate degree/higher diploma)

Associate Degree / Higher Diploma holders (i.e. students who will have completed the entire associate degree/higher diploma program prior to admission to HKUST) admitted directly to a program may be granted credit transfer up to 60 credits.  This credit transfer arrangement only applies to associate degrees or higher diploma awarded by local post-secondary institutions.  Most of our students who are associate degree or higher diploma holders can graduate in 3 years.  As different programs have different graduation requirements, you are strongly encouraged to discuss with the Department to which you are admitted regarding your study pathway after admission offer is received.