Department of Media and Communication Center for Communication Research

Student Exchange

International Exchange
BAMDCM and BATVB

Frequently Asked Questions


Part I: Eligibility

1. Who is eligible?

Full-time students in government-funded bachelor's degree programmes at CityU can apply for the Student Exchange Programme. Applicants must have attained a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of at least 2.5 in their recent semester prior to application. For details, please refer to GEO's website.


2. Are mainland Chinese students eligible?

Yes. We have sent mainland Chinese students to the overseas countries for a semester in the past academic years.



Part II: Scholarships and Financial Issues

1. What are the scholarships for outgoing exchange students?

Outgoing UGC-funded students who are Hong Kong permanent residents may apply for sponsorship from the Student Exchange Fund (SEF) administered by the Global Engagement Office (GEO).
 

For outgoing non-local exchange students, please refer to GEO website for information about the special fund.
 

To be entitled to the approved fund, students will need to successfully complete the exchange programme (with the proof of transcript issued by the host university) and fulfill GEO's requirements.


 

Part III: Credit Transfer and Graduation Time

1. How many credits can I transfer?

In most cases, you can transfer as many as 15 credits. If credits are earned from universities in Australia, you may get as many as 28 credits calculated in a different system. However, we will convert them into only 15 credits.


If your study plan is well made and approved by the major leader prior to or during your stay in the exchange partner, all the credits can be transferred. Therefore, you can be assured that you will graduate on time.


2. How should I make a study plan and get approval for credit transfer?

We require each of our exchange students to complete a relevant study plan and have this plan approved by the major leader before their departure. For this purpose, please download and fill in the relevant study plan form below. After you make your study plan, please submit the form to your major leader for approval. For BAMDCM students, your major leader is Prof. NAH, Fui-Hoon Fiona (Semester A)/ Prof. HUANG, Guanxiong (Semester B). For BATVB students, your major leader is Prof KIM, Ki Joon. The Departmental Exchange Coordinator is Prof. Shuhua ZHOU (BAMDCM and BATVB). After you confirm an exchange offer and start to register for courses offered by the partner university, please complete the pre-approval form for credit transfer below and submit it to your major leader and non-COM course leader (if applicable) for approval. The study plan made before your departure is tentative. When you arrive at the partner university, you may find that some of the planned courses are unavailable or clash with each other. In that case, please update your pre-approval form for credit transfer and email it immediately to your major leader for approval.

For Minor Programmes, please seek approval from Minor Coordinator Prof KIM Ji Won (Minor in Media Communication and Minor in Public Relations and Advertising).

Pre-Approval Form for Credit Transfer of Outbound Exchange Student: Click HERE


3. Which courses can I take during the exchange?
When submitting the pre-approval form for exchange credit transfer, you should carefully select corresponding courses at CityU that clearly align with the courses you intend to take abroad. For instance, "Communication Regulations and Ethics" at NCCU and "Communication Law and Ethics" at CityU are apparently compatible even without reviewing their syllabi, whereas it is evident that "Journalism Theories" at Yonsei and "Video Production and Editing" at CityU are NOT compatible. Please do not assume that "Digital Media Culture" at Northeastern and "Interactive Digital Communication" at CityU are compatible simply because they both incorporate the term "digital" in their titles.

You should choose the corresponding courses carefully. Pre-approval forms with such incompatible courses will not be endorsed, and once disapproved, the number of times you can revise and resubmit the form may be restricted. Once the form is endorsed by your Major Leader, further revisions will not be allowed unless verifiable justification is provided (e.g., the host institution cancels the courses you initially selected). Such revisions should be submitted to your Major Leader for final approval after (not before) you have confirmed the host institution's final course schedule and availability.

 

Part IV: The Language Tests

1. Do I need to take language tests?

If you plan to go to North America, you need to take the TOEFL test. If you plan to go to Europe and Australia, you need to take the IELTS. Generally, the minimum requirements are as follows:

  1. IELTS overall band score of 6.5
  2. TOEFL (iBT) score of 79
  3. Grade C in one of the University English courses approved by the Senate for fulfilling the University English requirement
  4. Level 4 in HKDSE English Language
  5. Any other equivalent qualifications accepted by the University as proof of English language proficiency

In addition to the above, exchange students must also satisfy English language requirement, if any, set by the host university. If you go to mainland China or Taiwan, no English tests are required.


2. When should I take the tests?

Preferably, the tests should be taken before you apply. However, if you haven't, you can take it right after you have applied.



Part V: Departmental Level Exchange Institutions


Country / Region Partner Institutions
The Netherlands University of Amsterdam #
Singapore Nanyang Technological University #
Germany Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich) #
U.S.A. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Belgium Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales
Canada Toronto Metropolitan University (*Formerly Ryerson University)
Taiwan National Cheng Chi University
Taiwan National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Korea Kookmin University
Mainland China Beijing Normal University
Mainland China Communication University of China
Mainland China Fudan University
Mainland China Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Mainland China Nanjing University
Mainland China Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Mainland China Tsinghua University
Mainland China Zhejiang University

# Partners at Institutional Level. TWO exchange places (University of Amsterdam) / FOUR exchange places (LMU Munich) / FOUR exchange places (Nanyang Technological University) are reserved for COM students per academic year.


Remarks: The Department reserves the right on adjusting the student exchange quota, if necessary.


For enquires, please contact the General Office at com@cityu.edu.hk