Student Classification
The three types of students are as follows:
| Student Type | Examples of Entry Qualifications |
| Normative 4-year degree | Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, 12-year school-leaving qualification |
| Advanced Standing I | 13-year school-leaving qualification [e.g. an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, a General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCEAL)], Associate Degree/Higher Diploma graduates admitted to a non-senior year place |
| Advanced Standing II | Associate Degree/Higher Diploma graduates admitted to a senior year place |
As the degree requirements for the above three types of students vary, please check your admission offer letter to ascertain your ‘student type’. Please also refer to the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Degrees for the relevant degree requirements.
Degree Requirements
The following provides a summary of the degree requirements for normative 4-year degree, Advanced Standing I and Advanced Standing II students. For a bachelor's degree with a normal study duration longer than 4 years, the minimum credit units for graduation and the maximum credit units for the degree shall be approved by the Senate based on individual programme needs. For detailed requirements of individual majors, please visit: Programmes and Courses.
| Category | Normative 4-year Degree | Advanced Standing I | Advanced Standing II |
| 1. College/School Requirement and Major Requirement | 54-72 credit units, and the major should not be less than 27 credit units | ||
| 2. Gateway Education (GE) Requirement | 30 credit units | 21 credit units | 12 credit units |
| 3. Minor | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| 4. Free Electives | Remainder to fulfill the credit requirement for graduation, if any | ||
| Minimum graduation requirements: | 120 credit units, subject to the requirements of individual Colleges/Schools | 90 credit units, subject to the requirements of individual Colleges/Schools | 60 credit units, subject to the requirements of individual Colleges/Schools |
| Maximum credit unit permitted: | 144 credit units | 114 credit units | 84 credit units |
If you have fulfilled the minimum credit unit requirement specified by your major and degree as well as the University Language Requirements, you may apply for graduation. Alternatively, you can choose to take further courses for personal or career interests as long as your credit load does not exceed the maximum credit units permitted for a degree, and you have not reached the maximum period of study.
The maximum number of credit units permitted for a degree is as follows:
Students who have completed the maximum credit units permitted as mentioned above cannot register for further courses in subsequent semesters/terms except for (a) those pursuing a double major paying the extra credits exceeding the above maximum credit limit on a self-financing basis; (b) those pursuing a double degree paying the additional year(s) of study on a self-financing basis; or (c) students who have been granted special permission to exceed the maximum credit limit.
Please note that except for the above, students who cannot complete all the degree requirements for graduation within the maximum number of credit units permitted will be required to discontinue their studies.
Majors
| Category of Students | Majors for Selection | Application Round |
|---|---|---|
| Year One Normative 4-year degree students | Any majors except those within the students’ home academic units | 2 |
| Year Two or above Normative 4-year degree students and those admitted with advanced standing | Any majors except those not open for application as stipulated by individual academic units | 1 and 2 |
Add/Drop of Minors
Students who have already been granted extra credits above the maximum credit limit (i.e. 144 for normative 4-year degree / 114 for Advanced Standing I / 84 for Advanced Standing II) will not be allowed to declare a minor.
You can submit your add/drop of minors request in AIMS within the periods specified by the University. For details of the add/drop periods and related procedures, please visit: Minors.
You can add only one minor in each application round. If you wish to declare two minors, you can do so in two separate application rounds.
No, late requests for add/drop of minors will not be accepted. You have to submit your request for add/drop of minors in the next round of exercise.
No. Double counting of courses is permissible between minor and college/school requirements, as well as minor and College/School-specified courses under the Gateway Education (GE) requirement only.
Yes, you can. In fact your application for graduation previously submitted will be automatically withdrawn as you cannot complete the requirements for your confirmed academic curriculum. For details, please visit: Application for Graduation.
Yes, you can do so by submitting an “Application for Change of Academic Curriculum and Graduation” by the specified deadline, indicating your intention to drop the minor and graduate as originally planned. For details, please visit: Application for Graduation.
University Language Requirements
Do I need to fulfill any University Language Requirements in order to graduate?
Yes, in order to graduate, students need to fulfill the following University Language Requirements in addition to the degree requirements for their major:
Course Registration
In each semester, full-time students must register for courses summing to a total of at least 12 credit units, and for not more than 18 credit units; and part-time students must register for courses summing to a total of no more than 11 credit units. In the Summer Term, students may register for courses but the total load must not exceed seven credit units.
Your pre-registration schedule is mainly compiled with the essential courses for fulfilling your degree requirements. You may use this as a draft version to further compile your class schedule in accordance with your study plan. However, you are advised to meet your Advisor before making any adjustments to the pre-registration schedule.
You can check for the list of courses being offered for the entire academic year from the Master Class Schedule which is accessible from the CityU Portal. Please note that the class schedules are subject to changes prior to the start of the respective semester/term.
You can add or drop a course during the add/drop period prescribed by the University. For details of the course add/drop period and related procedures, please visit: Course Registration.
You have to apply for a leave of absence by the end of the course add/drop period of the semester. If your application is approved, you will need to pay a continuation fee during the period of your leave of absence. For details, please visit: Leave of Absence.
Credit Transfer and Course Exemption
The following provides general information of credit transfer and course exemption. For more details, please visit: Credit Transfer / Course Exemption.
| Credit Transfer | Course Exemption | |
| Eligibility for application | All students: For credits earned elsewhere while enrolling as a student of CityU, including study exchange or arrangements under joint programmes with other institutions For normative 4-year degree students only: For credits earned on the basis of their previous qualifications attained prior to their admission to the University (not applicable to Advanced Standing I and II students) | All students |
| Credits earned? | YES but not counted in the calculation of a student’s GPA unless special arrangements have been made such as under joint programmes with other institutions | NO |
| Take courses? | NOT REQUIRED to take the courses for which credit transfer has been granted | REQUIRED to take other courses to make up the credits required for fulfilling the degree requirements |
| Time to submit application |
| Before the start of the first semester of the student’s admission |
Students are required to download the application form via AIMS and submit the application with supporting documents in accordance with the procedures announced by the University. Please refer to the application procedures for details. | ||
The University has stipulated the following maximum number of transfer credits for different types of students throughout their studies, including transfer credits for study exchange or arrangements under joint programmes with other institutions:
(Please note that transfer credits must have been earned no earlier than eight years before the date of enrolment at the University. Individual academic units may stipulate a more stringent requirement for transfer credits, and please check with the relevant units for their specific requirement, if any.)
No. You don’t need to submit any application. Credit transfer/course exemption of GE1501 will be updated to your student record around the start of semester. Please note that if you have been granted an exemption from GE1501, you are required to take any other Gateway Education (GE) course to make up for the credit units.
Fees
Students studying on a government-funded bachelor’s degree have to settle the tuition fees in two equal installments. For details of the payment arrangements, please visit: Payment Schedule.
Local students studying on a government-funded bachelor's degree are required to pay the tuition fees of $42,100 per annum. For other fees and charges, please visit: Fees and Charges.
Students pursuing a double major are required to pay the extra credits exceeding the maximum credit limit permitted on a self-financing basis. Students pursuing a double degree are required to pay the additional year(s) of study beyond the normal study period on a self-financing basis. Please visit: Fees and Charges for details.
DegreeWorks
Advising worksheet is the default view that you see when you log onto DegreeWorks from AIMS. Your degree requirements will be presented under different blocks. The requirements will be shown on the left side; the courses that you have studied or that you will need to study will be listed against the requirements on the right side. If your Advisor has written down advising notes for you, you will find that at the bottom of the worksheet. For details, please visit: DegreeWorks.
You should review your advising worksheet at least a few times in each semester, particularly:
If you are having issues with viewing your DegreeWorks worksheet, please try to clear cache and cookies in the browser you are using.
For Internet Explorer:
) menu at the top right hand side of the browser.
) at the top right hand corner.
) at the top right hand corner.Plans is one of the features in DegreeWorks that allows you to create a study plan for mapping out your academic journey against the degree requirement. It helps you to stay on track for graduation. The planned courses will also be validated against the tentative course offerings, and can help academic units to better estimate the demand of courses in future. For details, please visit: DegreeWorks.
Study Duration
The maximum period of study (irrespective of mode of study) for different types of students, inclusive of any change of majors, periods of leave of absence and suspension of studies, is as follows:
Students who cannot complete all the degree requirements for graduation within the maximum study period will be required to discontinue their studies. Requests for extension of study beyond the maximum study period will not be granted.
You can apply for a leave of absence to be away from your study temporarily while maintaining a valid enrolment status with the University. Periods of approved leave of absence may not be less than one full semester, and may not accumulate to more than four semesters. A continuation fee for each semester will be charged. For details, please visit: Leave of Absence.
Application for Graduation
You are advised to submit an online application for graduation via AIMS during the specified period for your intended graduation semester/term. Before submitting the application for graduation, please review your academic record using the advising tool (i.e. DegreeWorks) to ensure that you will fulfill all the requirements of your planned curriculum at the end of your intended graduation semester/term. Please note that students who do not successfully complete all their academic requirements by the end of the intended graduation semester/term must reapply for graduation in a future semester/term.
No late application will be accepted. You have to apply for graduation in the coming semester/term.
You may continue to study in order to meet the requirement of your second major and defer graduation to a future semester/term with the submission of another application for graduation during the specified period. Alternatively, you may submit a request to drop your second major or change it to a minor, as appropriate. Upon approval of the curriculum change, you may graduate in your intended graduation semester/term provided that all the academic requirements are met. For more details, please visit: Application for Graduation.
Yes, you can do so by submitting an application to drop the minor. For more details, please visit: Application for Graduation.
To maintain an active status in order to apply for graduation without taking any courses, students should apply for a leave of absence to take effect in that semester. You are advised to observe the deadlines to avoid being charged excess tuition fees. For details, please visit: Leave of Absence.
If you are not sure whether you can fulfill all graduation requirements after receiving the transcript, you should consult your academic advisor to determine what courses you should take in the semester.
If you are confident that all graduation requirements will be met after receiving the transcript, you should take the following steps:No. You should have reviewed your academic progress before applying for graduation. Once you have submitted an application, the only consideration is whether you have completed all requirements by the end of that semester. Your application will be dropped only in case that your curriculum requirement cannot be met.
Others
The University will not release information relating to a student, either academic or personal, to any party without the student’s consent. However, please note that the University may contact the emergency contact person/parents/guardians in relation to students' study, health or medical condition and/or financial circumstances, and release the student’s information at the University under emergency situations as determined by the University. For details, please visit: Personal Information Collection Statement (PICS) - Students.
Basically, ‘below 18’ students are treated equally with other university students. However, the law draws an important line at the age of 18, and therefore there are a number of issues that this group of students should take note of. For details, please visit: Information for Students under the Age of 18.
Remarks: For students enrolled under the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme with a normal study duration longer than 4 years, the above FAQs may not be applicable. In case of questions, please contact the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences or the Academic Regulations and Records Office.
