Second Major

There are two rounds for adding/dropping a second major in each academic year, and the periods for 2023/24 are as follows:

Round	Period for Add/Drop of a Second Major	Announcement of Results (for adding a second major)	Effective Term for ADD of a Second Major	Effective Term for DROP of a Second Major
1	1 - 15 November 2023	From 7 December 2023	Semester B 2023/24	Semester A 2023/24
2	25 June - 9 July 2024	From 31 July 2024	Semester A 2024/25	Semester B 2023/24

Note: Requests must be submitted online via AIMS by the deadlines (at 23:00) specified above, and late requests will not be accepted. Students can view the results of their requests for adding a second major in AIMS, and no separate emails will be issued to students.

           Add of a Second Major

• Eligible students can submit an online application to declare a second major, in addition to their home major, during the specified application periods and within the stipulated periods of years of study. The steps for accessing the online system are as follows: AIMS → Study Plan → Major and Minor Applications → Add/Drop of a Second Major.
• Students can submit only one choice of the proposed second major. The double major can be any combination of two majors (i.e., home major + any other major). However, please note that some majors may not be available for declaration as a second major as stipulated by individual academic units.
• Details on individual majors offered by academic units are available on the Programmes and Courses website and the respective academic unit’s website. Students are advised to check the information and consult the Major Leader, especially on the required courses to be completed for fulfilling the requirement of the second major, before submitting an application.
• Applications for declaring a second major are considered on a case-by-case basis, and approval from both the home and second major-offering academic units is required. Please note that there is no pre-approved double major programme, and all applications should go through the aforementioned approval process.
• Apart from the above, the declaration of a second major is also subject to the attainment of a minimum CGPA of 3.00 (or a higher CGPA requirement as specified by the home/second major-offering academic unit) at the end of the semester when the declaration is submitted, and fulfillment of any other stipulated conditions. 
• For applications submitted in 2023/24, the following CGPA will be used for assessing if the students have met the minimum CGPA requirement:

  - Round 1 applications: CGPA at the end of Semester A 2023/24
  - Round 2 applications: CGPA at the end of Semester B 2023/24
  (If the CGPA result is not yet available at the time of announcement of results, the approval of the second major application will be subject to the student's attainment of the minimum or specified CGPA requirement.) 

  Drop of a Second Major
  
  
• Students who have declared a second major can submit a request for dropping the second major, if they so wish, during the specified period for add/drop of a second major.  The steps for accessing the online system are as follows: AIMS → Study Plan → Major and Minor Applications → Add/Drop of a Second Major. 

   

• If the declaration of the second major is approved, students who are undertaking a minor should review if the minor and the second major are exclusive. If so, they will need to drop the minor in accordance with the procedures stipulated by the University.
• Students are required to fulfil both the degree requirements associated with the home major and the major requirement for the second major. If the two majors have some overlap in courses, it is allowed provided that at least 27 credit units are earned by completing new courses for the second major.
• Students are required to achieve a minimum CGPA of 2.0 in the second major in order for them to be granted the award. (For students admitted in 2019/20 and before, the minimum CGPA requirement is 1.70.)
• Students pursuing a double major are also subject to the following requirements stipulated in the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Degrees:
    

  Item	Normative 4-year Degree	Advanced Standing I	Advanced Standing II
  Maximum number of credit units permitted (inclusive of credit units earned from any previous major)#	144 credit units	114 credit units	84 credit units
  Maximum period of study (inclusive of any change of majors, periods of leave of absence and suspension of studies)##	8 years	6 years	5 years

  # Students who cannot complete their second major within the stipulated maximum credit limit permitted may still continue to pursue the double major on the condition that any extra credit units exceeding the limit are paid on a self-financing basis. Please refer to the section "Payment of Self-financed Tuition Fee" for details.
  ## The maximum period of study for degrees with a normal study duration longer than 4 years shall be stipulated by the cognizant academic units.

• To ensure that both the home and second majors can be completed within the stipulated maximum period of study as mentioned above, students are strongly advised to run the 'What-If' audit in DegreeWorks, which allows them to hypothetically add the second major, showing them what courses are required for the second major. Please remember to choose the appropriate ‘Catalog Term’ (i.e., the semester for which the second major will take effect).
• For non-local students only: If the second major has the internship component and students would like to take on an internship later on, they are required to approach the Immigration Department of the HKSAR in person beforehand for a new No Objection Letter.
• If a student who has applied for graduation in the current semester/term cannot complete the requirements of the declared second major, he/she will be considered as not fulfilling the graduation requirements and his/her application for graduation will be withdrawn. If the student still wants to graduate as originally planned at the end of the current semester/term, he/she will need to submit an Application for Change of Academic Curriculum and Graduation to the Academic Regulations and Records Office by the stipulated deadline to indicate his/her intention for graduation and the revised academic curriculum. For details of the change of academic curriculum and graduation, please visit the Application for Graduation website.
• For drop of second major: The dropping of the second major will take immediate effect from the current semester/term upon receipt of the request. The completed courses from the unfulfilled second major may be counted toward the degree as free electives or used for fulfilling requirements for a minor as appropriate.

  Payment of Self-financed Tuition Fee
  

• If a student who is pursuing a second major has eventually exceeded the stipulated maximum credit limit (e.g., 144 for normative 4-year degree, 114 for Advanced Standing I, 84 for Advanced Standing II) permitted by the University, he/she will be required to pay the extra credit units exceeding the maximum limit on a self-financing basis. An example for a normative 4-year degree student is given below:
  
  

  Degree and home major requirement:	93 credit units
  Second major:	45 credit units
  Free electives:	12 credit units
  Total:	150 credit units (vs maximum credit limit of 144 – the six extra credit units should be paid on a self-financing basis. For details on Fees and Charges, please refer to the Finance Office website.)

• If a student who has previously been approved to exceed the maximum credit limit (e.g. change of home major) and is now approved to declare a second major, any extra credit units exceeding the original maximum limit permitted by the University should be paid on a self-financing basis. An example for a normative 4-year degree student is given below:
  

  Degree and revised home major requirement (including unused credit units from the original home major):	150 credit units (special approval for exceeding the maximum credit limit has been granted)
  Second major:	45 credit units
  Total:	195 credit units (vs maximum credit limit of 144 – the 51 extra credit units should be paid on a self-financing basis.)