Undergraduate Curriculum

The Credit Unit System

1. What's good about our four-year (normative) curriculum?
   The curriculum is built on a credit unit system, with flexibility and choices both in the selection of courses and in the sequence and pace of electives.
   
2. How does it work?
   Within the credit-unit system, students are categorized into year-levels based on their year of attendance (that is, a new student enters the University as a Year 1 student) at the University for administrative purposes. However, a student's "year" does not indicate the actual stage of completion of his/her studies. This means that students may, based on individual circumstances and interest, tailor the progress of their studies.
   
3. Outcome
   Students who complete the required number of course units, and satisfy the graduation requirements of the major programme and of the University, will be considered for the award of a Bachelor's degree.
   
   The University's Bachelor's degrees are classified as follows:
   · First Class Honours
   · Second Class Honours Upper Division
   · Second Class Honours Lower Division
   · Third Class Honours
   · Pass
   

   Degree classification is based on the students' grade point averages for Major courses and for all other courses.

Curriculum Design

1. Duration and general structure
   With the exception of a few special programmes, the normative period of study is four years, and students have to complete 123 units and satisfy requirements under separate categories. The overall curriculum structure is as follows:
   · Major (including Faculty Package): 51–72 units*
   · Minor (optional): 18–30 units
   · Language - Chinese language: 6 units
   · Language - English language: 9 units
   · General Education: 21 units
   · Information Technology: 1 unit
   · Physical Education: 2 units
   · Free electives: Remaining units
   · Total: 123 units
   

   *For some professional programmes and programmes of more than 4 years' normative period of study, the maximum exceeds 72.

2. University Core
   A University Core encourages students to pursue not only a specialized or professional discipline, but also to gain an educational experience that will serve to enhance their capacity for life-long learning and competitiveness in the working life. These core skills, comprising numeracy, critical thinking skills and IT literacy, as well as a high level of proficiency in Chinese and English, are developed through courses under the headings of Languages, General Education, Information Technology and Physical Education.
   
   
   • Languages
     To ensure that students graduate with a high level of bilingual proficiency, students are required to fulfill the language requirements of 6 credit units in Chinese and 9 credit units in English.
     
     
   • General Education
     The General Education programme, applicable to students in all programmes, comprises three components: 9 units under University General Education, 6 units under College General Education, and two General Education Foundation Courses totaling 6 units. 
     
     
   • Information Technology
     Students are required to complete a one-unit IT Foundation course which provides students with basic knowledge of information technology and develops their capability in handling and using digital information.
     
     
   • Physical Education
     The Physical Education programme equips students with sports skills and enhances students' physical fitness, and cultivates students' generic skills and desirable personal attributes, so that they can attain a whole-person development. The 2-unit Physical Education requirement is to be satisfied by choosing two different term courses from a comprehensive offering of sports items.
     
     

3. Major Programme
   Through the Major Programme in the subject of choice, each student gains specialized knowledge in a chosen discipline, to a level that enables the graduate to pursue relevant careers or postgraduate studies. The depth and focus of study is also an opportunity to develop high-level academic skills. The new curriculum with an extra year has allowed the systematic inclusion of a capstone course in every Major Programme that provides the opportunity for research and/or internship, or final-year project that can lead to a dissertation.
   
   
4. Faculty Packages
   To encourage students to gain exposure to knowledge outside their Major discipline, each Faculty, except the Faculty of Law which offers only one Major Programme, will provide a Faculty Package: this allows students to take courses normally worth up to 9 credit units outside their Major but within the Faculty, thus broadening their knowledge beyond their chosen fields of specialization. Credit units thus earned will count towards students’ Major Requirements.
   
   
5. Minor Programme
   In the new curriculum, a coherent collection of 18 to 30 units in a discipline can constitute a Minor, and students can take up to two Minors according to their interest and orientation.
   
   
6. Double Major
   Major Programme is a Capstone course or experience, in the form of research, internship or other learning activity that helps students synthesize their learning. Students may elect one or even two Minor Programmes, or even take a Double Major. There is also the opportunity to pursue a Double Degree.