Non-JUPAS Year 1 Admission
Overview
Local applicants with secondary qualifications other than HKDSE or post-secondary qualifications are welcome to apply for admissions to CityU via the non-JUPAS route.
- current students or graduates of a recognized associate degree (AD) or higher diploma (HD) programme at a post-secondary institution in Hong Kong or from overseas
- graduating students or graduates of high school following non-HKDSE curriculum (e.g. IB, GCE)
- transfer students from local or overseas bachelor’s degree programmes from other universities
Entrance Requirements
Applicants applying to CityU must meet the minimum General Entrance Requirements.
In addition to the General Entrance Requirements, individual degrees / majors may have programme-specific entrance requirements.
General Entrance Requirements
| Minimum Grade E or above in three GCE A Level (or A2) / International A Level subjects (Two AS subjects are considered to be equivalent to one AL subject. The same subject cannot be counted at both the A Level and AS Level). AND Grade C / Grade 4 or above in GCSE English Language or English Literature, or a TOEFL score of 79 (Internet-based test), or an overall IELTS band score of 6.5. | Eligible to apply for:
|
An IB Diploma for admission to first-year studies. For Advanced Standing I admission, a minimum diploma point score of 30 (out of 45) is required. Remarks: Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (HL / SL) and Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (HL / SL) are | Eligible to apply for:
|
Graduating students or graduates of high school following non-HKDSE curriculum are accepted.
| An accredited Associate Degree / Higher Diploma (AD / HD) or equivalent qualification (final year or graduate). Bachelor's degree study of one year or more / postgraduate study. | Eligible to apply for:
|
| Completion of one year of AD / HD (non-final year, with CGPA ≥ 3.0 or an equivalent overall mark). (For applicants with a 13-year high school qualification [e.g. IB, GCEAL], advanced standing may be considered.) | Eligible to apply for:
|
Refer to the respective programme webpages for details of programme-specific requirements.
Applicants who obtained their entrance qualifications in a language other than English will need to have achieved an acceptable result in an approved English language test, such as TOEFL, IELTS, SAT.
View the admissions score of our entrants holding IB / GCEAL qualifications in the past three years.
Admission is competitive. Possession of the minimum qualifications in no way guarantees acceptance.
Applicants who do not receive offers in the Early Round will be considered with other applicants in the Main Round.
Admission Arrangements
Applicants holding a 12-year school-leaving qualification, or a partially completed sub-degree qualification
Applicants holding a 13-year school-leaving qualification, IB Diploma, GCEAL/IAL, Associate Degree, Higher Diploma, Bachelor's degree study or equivalent qualifications
Applicants holding a school-leaving qualification or a partially completed sub-degree qualification may apply for admission to Year 1 in a Bachelor's degree programme. Depending on the programme, students are either admitted directly to a major in their first year or admitted to a college / school / department with an undeclared major (enter a major after one year of study).
Students admitted to the University with Advanced Standing I take fewer credits units for graduation (minimum 90 credit units instead of 120 credit units for a four-year degree curriculum, depending on majors).
Students admitted with Advanced Standing I will not be entitled to further credit transfer on the basis of qualifications attained prior to their admission to the University. Instead, students may be granted exemption from specific courses based on prior study. Credit units are not earned for exempted courses.
Application Procedures
CityU offers a great variety of undergraduate programmes covering 60+ majors. Refer to our programme lists to find the programmes you are interested in.
If you hold the recognized qualification which is acceptable for admission to first-year studies and admission with Advancing Standing I, please separately select the programmes.
Applicants should possess one of the following qualifications to fulfill the minimum entrance requirements. Individual programmes may have additional specific requirements.
- Current students or graduates of a recognized associate degree (AD) or higher diploma (HD) programme at a post-secondary institution in Hong Kong or from overseas
- Graduating students or graduates of high school following non-HKDSE curriculum (e.g. IB, GCE)
- Transfer students from local or overseas bachelor’s degree programmes from other universities
- Academic transcripts and public examination result / English result certificates
- Document proof of achievements and awards, if applicable
- A personal statement
- A credit card or an online payment account (AliPayHK, WeChat Pay, Fast Payment System) for online payment of HKD200 application fee for one programme choice
Input your email address, personal details and a password to create an account on the CityU online application system.
Select the programme you wish to apply for admission. You can apply for more than one programme by paying an application fee of HKD200 for each programme choice. Enter your application information following the instructions in the relevant sections in the application.
Scanned copies of supporting documents should be uploaded via your application account before submitting your application. Click here for a list of the required documents by qualification type for application review.
Applicants for School of Creative Media (SCM) programmes should submit a portfolio of creative work via the SCM online system.
- Documents that are not in English must be accompanied by an officially certified English translation provided by the awarding body or your school or university.
- Documents that do not show the name of applicant or with non-matching names will NOT be accepted. However, if the difference in names is due to special reasons, please upload a written explanation with documentary proof (e.g. deed poll, certificate of name change).
- If you wish to provide additional information after submitting your application, please use the "file upload" function in your application account. Please note that once the selection process has begun, additional / updated information provided to the University may not be considered, at the discretion of the relevant programme department.
- If requested by the University, you should present the ORIGINAL certificate / official certification of your qualifications as stated in your application for verification before starting your studies.
Check the data you have entered before submitting your application. The online application fee for local applicants is HKD200 per programme that the payment is made online by credit card, AlipayHK or WeChat Pay via your application account.
The application fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and must be paid before your application can be processed.
Individual programmes may conduct interviews for selected applicants. Shortlisted applicants will be notified by email or phone. Please ensure that the e-mail address and telephone no. provided in your JUPAS application are valid and check e-mail regularly. Click here for the interview arrangements.
Admission offers are mostly made from January to May. The selection process is normally completed by the end of July for local applicants. Offers will continue when vacancies arise, until the start of Semester A. You can access your application account using the electronic ID and password created at the time of application to check the outcome of your application. If your application is successful, we will notify you by email, and you will be able to retrieve your admission offer letter via your application account.
To accept an admission offer, you must pay a deposit of HKD5,000 (not refundable or transferrable) and accept the offer via your application account by the acceptance deadline (usually 2 weeks).
If you receive more than one admission offer from the University, the acceptance of a later offer will supersede and cancel the previous acceptance of any other offer(s). Note that at any one time, you can accept one admission offer only. Upon enrolment, the non-refundable acceptance fee paid at the time of admission will be credited towards your tuition fee. The balance of the fee required for the first semester of study will be collected following the University's fee payment schedule.
- when the applicant subsequently accepts another offer of an award programme of the University in the same semester of admission and has paid the acceptance fee;
- when the applicant fails to meet the condition(s) of the admission offer, resulting in a withdrawal of the offer by the University
(a refund request should be submitted in writing to the Admissions Office before the commencement of your entry term, along with the documentary proof that the condition(s) cannot be met.); or - when the programme for which an offer is made is subsequently cancelled by the University.
If requested by the University, you should present the ORIGINAL certificate / official certification of your qualifications as stated in your application (e.g. transcripts, award certificates, English test results and an officially certified English translation where applicable) for verification before starting your study.
Applicants who receive a conditional offer should also supply the documentation certifying the fulfilment of conditions before the deadline indicated in the admission offer letter. The University reserves the right to decide whether the submitted documents are acceptable.
If you fail to provide the documentation acceptable to the University for verification, your admission offer will be withdrawn and your enrolment at the University will also be rescinded. Any fees paid will not be refunded.
After you have accepted the admission offer and paid the acceptance fee, the Academic Regulations and Records Office will contact you from July onwards regarding the arrangements for enrolment, student ID card, class schedule and course registration. If you fail to complete the enrolment procedure by the specified date, you will be considered as having given up the place for admission, and any fees paid will not be refunded.
Please read the Notes for New Students after Accepting Offers.
Interview Arrangements
Individual programmes may conduct interviews for selected applicants. Shortlisted applicants will be notified by email or phone.
Please ensure that the e-mail address and telephone no. provided in your application account are valid and check e-mail regularly.
Fees and Scholarships
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 | |
|---|---|
| Gateway Education | 30 credit units |
| College / School and Major Requirements | The major requirement, plus any college / school requirement , should fall within the range of 54 – 72 credit units; and the major should not be less than 27 credit units. However, the college/school may propose a higher limit to meet the requirements of professional accreditation, or for a degree with a normal study duration longer than 4 years, subject to Senate’s approval. Please refer to the respective majors webpages for details. |
| Minor (optional) | 15 - 18 credit units |
| Free Electives | Taken to fulfil the remaining credit requirements for graduation, if necessary |
| Minimum Credit Units for Graduation | 120 credit units, depending on major |
| Credit Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Gateway Education | 21 credit units |
| College / School and Major Requirements | The major requirement, plus any college / school requirement , should fall within the range of 54 – 72 credit units; and the major should not be less than 27 credit units. However, the college / school may propose a higher limit to meet the requirements of professional accreditation, or for a degree with a normal study duration longer than 4 years, subject to Senate’s approval. Please refer to the respective majors webpages for details. |
| Minor (optional) | 15 - 18 credit units |
| Free Electives | Taken to fulfil the remaining credit requirements for graduation, if necessary |
| Minimum Credit Units for Graduation | 90 credit units, depending on major |
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.
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). Click here for details.
Special Consideration / Admission Schemes
SAAS aims to recognize student athletes with outstanding sports achievements for pursuing higher education at CityU. Applicants would receive special admissions consideration based on their sport achievements under the scheme. Contact our PE section for more information.
SALSA is initiated by the University Grants Committee to offer university education opportunities to elite athletes of Hong Kong in quest of their dual career development in sports and in academics. Firm offers will be given to successful applicants under the scheme. Contact our PE section for more information.
Use of Application Information
Application information, including your HKID card/passport number, will be used in the admission evaluation process. Upon your enrolment in the University, such information will become part of your student record and may be used for any purposes relating to your study in accordance with University procedures.
In accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, you have the right of access to and correction of the information contained in your application, as well as the right to request a copy of such data. If you wish to obtain more information, please write to the Admissions Office. You may be charged a fee for each request.
The application data of unsuccessful applications and unenrolled applicants will be destroyed at the end of the admission exercise.
Please note that the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Privacy Notice which may apply to you, where applicable.
