Academic Information

• Students are recommended to take 24-30 credits per semester (generally 6 credits per course) unless otherwise permitted or required by their home institution and host faculty.
• At least 50% of the course load must be selected from a single faculty (your intended host faculty). Students have the option to take the remaining credits from other faculties. Common Core courses will not be included in the 50% course enrolment requirement for incoming students.
• Students admitted to the Faculty of Law can only select up to 12 credits of non-law courses (i.e. two courses) per semester.
• Students may take up to two Common Core courses from a selective menu, with each course chosen from a different Area of Inquiry: 'Scientific and Technological Literacy', 'Humanities', 'Global Issues' and 'China: Culture, State and Society'. Approval of courses is determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Approval for taking Common Core courses is granted on a first-come-first-served basis during the Course Selection Period and by auto-ballot during the Add/Drop Period. More details are available here.

• All courses are taught in English, except for those offered by the School of Chinese.
• The HKU credit system follows the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) model. Under normal circumstances, a semester of study at HKU is considered equivalent in credit value to a semester at an ECTS-compliant institution. However, the actual transfer of credits will be subject to the policies and procedures of your home institution.
• Students are advised to check the course pre-requisites before selecting their courses.
• Taught postgraduate-level programmes are generally not available to incoming students. If you wish to conduct research under a supervisor, please contact the relevant faculties to make appropriate arrangements.
• Course approval is determined on a case-by-case basis and is subject to faculty approval. Actual enrolment depends on class availability, courses offered in the first semester, quotas and class schedule. [This information is subject to change without prior notice]

The following programmes/courses are NOT opened to incoming students:

• Faculty of Dentistry
• Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
• BSc (Exercise and Health) Programme
• Most final year project courses offered by all faculties

The confirmed course list for each academic year will only be available in August. For your course study plan, please refer to the courses offered in the previous academic year.

For more information on course syllabi, please contact the respective course-offering faculties/departments directly.