About the Scheme

 

The Hongkong Bank Foundation offers the HSBC Overseas Scholarship 2023/24 to local full-time undergraduate students to spend one year (2023/24) studying at one of the designated overseas universities. It is definitely a precious opportunity to experience different cultures, meet new friends and further broaden your global perspectives with substantial support from HSBC. 

 

 

Value of Scholarship

 

The value of the HSBC Overseas Scholarship 2023/24 is a maximum of HKD300,000.

 

  • Tuition fees and mandatory college fees
  • Economy class return airfare
  • Reasonable room and board costs, books, and a small portion of living expenses
     

However, the scholarship amount does not cover insurance, personal expenses and other incidentals. The final amount is subject to the recommendation by HKU and HSBC's approval.

 

 

Who Can Apply

 

  • Non-final year full-time undergraduate students.
  • Permanent residents with right of abode in Hong Kong.
  • Those with a minimum grade point cumulative average (CGPA) score of 3.7 or above/first class honours/top 3% in class/distinction (or equivalent) in the first semester of 2022/23.
  • Those with no extensive experience living or studying overseas.
  • Priority will be given to candidates who are in a financial situation that does not permit overseas study or extensive overseas travel.
  • A commitment to Hong Kong is required.
  • Those with a minimum total TOEFL score of 90 (Internet-based test) with scores for individual sections not lower than 22 on listening, 17 on writing, 21 on reading and 21 on speaking; or a minimum IELTS overall band score of 6.5, with no component below 6.0. Both tests must be dated 12 February 2021 or later. This requirement is irrespective of the admission requirement of the intended overseas universities.

 

 

Notes for Applicants

 

  • Students who are currently studying any one of the following disciplines may apply. To enable students to have more exposure to their fields of study, applicants will have the flexibility to major in a discipline other than that currently studied while abroad. The discipline, however, must be in the approved bachelor degree courses listed.
    • All disciplines under architecture, business and economics, communication, computer science/information systems, construction and land use, dentistry, design, education, engineering, health care, hotels and tourism, law, medicine, science (basic and applied), social sciences, textiles, arts subjects (linguistics and languages, translation, history, geography, fine arts and applied arts) and environment.
  • Students who apply for HKU Worldwide Plus Visiting Programme are highly recommend to apply for HSBC Overseas Scholarship at the same time.
  • The scholar must return to Hong Kong after the year overseas to complete his/her degree at HKU. Scholars who do not comply with this requirement must reimburse the full cost of the scholarship.
  • As scholarships will be awarded only to candidates who fulfil all selection criteria and are selected by the HSBC panel, there is no guarantee that any or all candidate(s) nominated by HKU will be invited to the interview or receive the scholarship.
  • All awardees under this scholarship must submit a written report and their transcript for their term of study to HSBC within one month of their return to Hong Kong via IAO.
  • All awardees must also agree to acknowledge by naming and tagging the Hongkong Bank Foundation when posting relevant contents on social media.

 

 

Reference Materials

 

 

 

 

Application Procedure

 

  1. Click HERE to Apply Now, the application is open until December 16, 2022
     
  2. Upload the supporting documents:
  • HKU official transcript
  • TOEFL or IELTS test report. (Both tests must be dated 12 February 2021 or later.) This is irrespective of the admission requirement of the intended overseas universities.
  • Application Form 
  • Student Undertaking Form
  • Pro-forma Summary along with all reference documents:
    • Tuition fee, mandatory college fee, room and board fee, etc. could be referred from the institution's website
    • A minimum economy class return airfare should be provided based on a minimum of three quotations

 

The forms are in writeable word format, so please complete the application electronically. For documents needing signatures, please scan and save the document in PDF format before uploading it to the application system.

 

Nominated students must submit original application forms and an official HKU transcript, with TOEFL/IELTS reports submitted at a later stage.

 

Selected students will be nominated to HSBC and might be invited to an interview with an HSBC selection panel in March 2023.

 

Conditional offers will be extended to candidates selected by the HSBC panel with endorsement by the Foundation in April 2023.

 

 

Important Notes

 

Applicants must apply to the overseas universities directly for admission in 2023/24 as soon as possible. Please check the application deadlines of the overseas universities carefully. HSBC Overseas Scholarship will not be offered to students who fail to gain admission to overseas universities. Applicants who are recipients of the scholarship are therefore also recommended to apply for leave of absence from their faculties AFTER they are formally accepted by the overseas university.

 

 

Conditional and Confirmed Offer

 

Conditional offers will be extended to candidates selected by the HSBC panel with endorsement by the Foundation in April 2023. These offers will be confirmed upon receipt of the following documents:

 

  • The official admission letter from the overseas university
  • An application form for the Hong Kong Young Ambassador Scheme or a similar programme that HSBC has approved in writing.
  • A letter from the university confirming the number of credits that the student will take during his/her year abroad. This submitted figure will be regarded as final. Costs of any additional credits taken during the academic year will not be covered.
  • A letter from the overseas university outlining the duration of the academic year and information on the number of courses/credits that a full-time overseas student should take.
  • A completed Pro-forma Summary providing a final cost breakdown, which is reviewed by HKU.

 

 

Click here to return to Worldwide Plus Visiting Programme main page