CityUHK and Columbia launch Joint Bachelor’s Degree Programme
Uniquely and for the first time, high school students from Hong Kong and around the world can apply directly for Year 1 entry to the elite Joint Bachelor’s Degree Programme (JBDP) run by City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) and Columbia University, starting from the 2026/27 academic year, enabling students to earn degrees from both institutions upon graduation.
The JBDP includes 12 four-year dual-degree programmes offered by CityUHK. Students admitted through this programme will spend the first two years at CityUHK, followed by their third and fourth years at Columbia University, where they will complete major-specific and Core courses, spending two years at each institution, enabling them to earn degrees from both institutions upon graduation. Upon enrolment, both CityUHK and Columbia University will assign dedicated academic advisors to provide students with academic and personal guidance and support.
Ranked as the “Most International University in the World” by Times Higher Education (THE) in 2024 and 2025, CityUHK is committed to providing outstanding students with opportunities to study at world-class institutions and welcomes high school graduates from diverse academic backgrounds to apply. This innovative programme will accept applications from students with qualifications such as the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Level), and Standardized Assessment Test (SAT), allowing them to plan their academic journey early at the high school graduation stage.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the brightest students from Hong Kong and around the world to earn a transformational double degree, enabling them to secure international exposure at an earlier stage. The JBDP is also highly recognised in local, regional, and global job markets.” said Professor Alan Wan Tze-kin, Associate Provost (Academic Affairs) at CityUHK.
He added that students holding this joint degree will benefit from being immersed in a wide range of cultures and experiences, greatly benefiting their future growth.
“As an alumna of the School’s first joint programme, I am delighted that we are expanding our partnership with CityUHK, which is consistently ranked among the best academic institutions worldwide,” said Dr Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Dean of the School of General Studies (GS) at Columbia.
The CityUHK joint programme is now aligned with the current portfolio of highly-regarded international undergraduate dual and joint degree programmes that Columbia University’s School of General Studies has established with Sciences Po, France, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Tel Aviv University, Israel.
This JBDP’s multidisciplinary educational experience, focused across the humanities and the natural and social sciences, provides students with a strong liberal arts education while empowering them to succeed in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world.
The programme integrates the rich and rigorous core undergraduate curricula of both institutions, covering the following academic disciplines:
• Business Decision Analytics (Business Decision Analytics Stream only)
• Business Economics
• Computational Finance and Financial Technology (Computational Finance and Financial Technology Stream)
• Computer Science
• Computing Mathematics
• Global Business
• International Relations and Global Affairs
• Linguistics and Language Applications
• Management
• Physics
• Psychology
• Public Affairs and Management (Public Affairs and Governance Stream only)
Mr Curtis Rodgers, Vice Dean of the School of GS, and Ms Jessica Sarles, Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships of the School of GS at Columbia University, will attend CityUHK’s Undergraduate Info Day on 4 October to host an information session on the JBDP, providing an in-depth overview of the programme’s features, strengths and future prospect.
About the CityUHK-Columbia partnership
CityUHK and Columbia have been recruiting talented students from four of CityUHK’s Colleges in twelve eligible majors* (listed above) for over a decade. The JBDP partnership transcends traditional study abroad opportunities by providing the opportunity to pursue a rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education spanning two continents. Upon completion of the four-year programme, graduates earn two bachelor’s degrees, one from each institution.
About City University of Hong Kong
CityUHK is an innovative hub for world-class research and education with 11 Colleges and Schools: Biomedicine, Business, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Science, Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, Creative Media, Energy and Environment, Law, and Graduate Studies, together with 29 academic units. CityUHK is the most International University in the world for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, ranked in the top 100 globally, and top 10 in Asia.
We aim to unleash our students’ passion for learning through inspirational learning, help them work as a team through inspirational, interactive, and innovative learning, and encourage them to explore outside the academic world and embrace their inspiration and inventions through innovative learning. Moreover, we pursue research that has a scientific, technological and social impact. For more information about CityUHK, please visit: www.cityu.edu.hk.
About Columbia University
Among the world’s leading research universities, Columbia University in the City of New York, US, continuously seeks to advance the frontiers of scholarship and foster a campus community deeply engaged in the complex issues of our time through teaching, research, patient care, and public service. The University comprises 17 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, four affiliated colleges and seminaries in Manhattan, and a wide array of research institutes and global centres around the world. More than 40,000 students, award-winning faculty, and professional staff define the University’s underlying values and commitment to pursuing new knowledge and educating informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia is the fifth-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. For more information about Columbia University, please visit: https://www.columbia.edu.
About Columbia University School of General Studies
The Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the premier liberal arts college in the United States for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League undergraduate education. GS students take the same courses, study with the same faculty, and earn the same degree as all other undergraduates at Columbia University. While GS is rooted in the liberal arts tradition, the School embraces a wide range of disciplines, within the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, offering students a comprehensive and interdisciplinary education.
For more information about GS, please visit: https://www.gs.columbia.edu.
Media enquiries:
Julian Ng, Communications and Institutional Research Office, CityUHK (Tel: 3442 2569)
The JBDP includes 12 four-year dual-degree programmes offered by CityUHK. Students admitted through this programme will spend the first two years at CityUHK, followed by their third and fourth years at Columbia University, where they will complete major-specific and Core courses, spending two years at each institution, enabling them to earn degrees from both institutions upon graduation. Upon enrolment, both CityUHK and Columbia University will assign dedicated academic advisors to provide students with academic and personal guidance and support.
Ranked as the “Most International University in the World” by Times Higher Education (THE) in 2024 and 2025, CityUHK is committed to providing outstanding students with opportunities to study at world-class institutions and welcomes high school graduates from diverse academic backgrounds to apply. This innovative programme will accept applications from students with qualifications such as the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Level), and Standardized Assessment Test (SAT), allowing them to plan their academic journey early at the high school graduation stage.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the brightest students from Hong Kong and around the world to earn a transformational double degree, enabling them to secure international exposure at an earlier stage. The JBDP is also highly recognised in local, regional, and global job markets.” said Professor Alan Wan Tze-kin, Associate Provost (Academic Affairs) at CityUHK.
He added that students holding this joint degree will benefit from being immersed in a wide range of cultures and experiences, greatly benefiting their future growth.
“As an alumna of the School’s first joint programme, I am delighted that we are expanding our partnership with CityUHK, which is consistently ranked among the best academic institutions worldwide,” said Dr Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Dean of the School of General Studies (GS) at Columbia.
The CityUHK joint programme is now aligned with the current portfolio of highly-regarded international undergraduate dual and joint degree programmes that Columbia University’s School of General Studies has established with Sciences Po, France, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Tel Aviv University, Israel.
This JBDP’s multidisciplinary educational experience, focused across the humanities and the natural and social sciences, provides students with a strong liberal arts education while empowering them to succeed in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world.
The programme integrates the rich and rigorous core undergraduate curricula of both institutions, covering the following academic disciplines:
• Business Decision Analytics (Business Decision Analytics Stream only)
• Business Economics
• Computational Finance and Financial Technology (Computational Finance and Financial Technology Stream)
• Computer Science
• Computing Mathematics
• Global Business
• International Relations and Global Affairs
• Linguistics and Language Applications
• Management
• Physics
• Psychology
• Public Affairs and Management (Public Affairs and Governance Stream only)
Mr Curtis Rodgers, Vice Dean of the School of GS, and Ms Jessica Sarles, Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships of the School of GS at Columbia University, will attend CityUHK’s Undergraduate Info Day on 4 October to host an information session on the JBDP, providing an in-depth overview of the programme’s features, strengths and future prospect.
About the CityUHK-Columbia partnership
CityUHK and Columbia have been recruiting talented students from four of CityUHK’s Colleges in twelve eligible majors* (listed above) for over a decade. The JBDP partnership transcends traditional study abroad opportunities by providing the opportunity to pursue a rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education spanning two continents. Upon completion of the four-year programme, graduates earn two bachelor’s degrees, one from each institution.
About City University of Hong Kong
CityUHK is an innovative hub for world-class research and education with 11 Colleges and Schools: Biomedicine, Business, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Science, Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, Creative Media, Energy and Environment, Law, and Graduate Studies, together with 29 academic units. CityUHK is the most International University in the world for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, ranked in the top 100 globally, and top 10 in Asia.
We aim to unleash our students’ passion for learning through inspirational learning, help them work as a team through inspirational, interactive, and innovative learning, and encourage them to explore outside the academic world and embrace their inspiration and inventions through innovative learning. Moreover, we pursue research that has a scientific, technological and social impact. For more information about CityUHK, please visit: www.cityu.edu.hk.
About Columbia University
Among the world’s leading research universities, Columbia University in the City of New York, US, continuously seeks to advance the frontiers of scholarship and foster a campus community deeply engaged in the complex issues of our time through teaching, research, patient care, and public service. The University comprises 17 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, four affiliated colleges and seminaries in Manhattan, and a wide array of research institutes and global centres around the world. More than 40,000 students, award-winning faculty, and professional staff define the University’s underlying values and commitment to pursuing new knowledge and educating informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia is the fifth-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. For more information about Columbia University, please visit: https://www.columbia.edu.
About Columbia University School of General Studies
The Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) is the premier liberal arts college in the United States for students pursuing a nontraditional path to a rigorous, traditional, Ivy League undergraduate education. GS students take the same courses, study with the same faculty, and earn the same degree as all other undergraduates at Columbia University. While GS is rooted in the liberal arts tradition, the School embraces a wide range of disciplines, within the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, offering students a comprehensive and interdisciplinary education.
For more information about GS, please visit: https://www.gs.columbia.edu.
Media enquiries:
Julian Ng, Communications and Institutional Research Office, CityUHK (Tel: 3442 2569)