Students must apply through the Academic Registry to transfer credits into the Common Core Program. Credits can be transferred through course-credit transfer, where a transferred course is equivalent to a specific course in the HKUST course catalog, or credit-only transfer, where only credits are transferred. Transferred credits will not be included in the calculation of grade averages. For more information, please visit the Credit Transfer (Undergraduate Studies - UG) section of the Academic Registry webpage.
Credit Transfer on Entry
Students can receive credit transfers for studies completed prior to admission to HKUST, provided that they disclose their prior study in their applications for admission. Certain types of credits will be granted without an application, and students will be informed of the transfer by email in their first term of study.
For students admitted to HKUST based on the following examination attainments, 6 Block credits in Broadening group of the Common Core Program will be granted automatically. Application is NOT required for these credits.
Local Post-secondary Awards
For students admitted to HKUST based on local Post-secondary Awards, such as Local Associate Degrees or Local Higher Diplomas, 21 Block credits will be granted automatically including 6 credits in Broadening group of Common Core Program and 15 unassigned free credits. Application is NOT required for these credits.
Pre-assignment of common core areas for 6 Block credits granted in Broadening group
For example, if students are in any program in School of Science (SSCI), SIS system will pre-assign 6 Block credits for A and H areas as the home common core area of any program in SSCI is S area. If students study in the Global China Studies (GCS) program in School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS), SIS system will pre-assign 6 Block credits for A and S areas while the home common core areas of GCS program are H and SA areas.
Students can use the remaining credits to take courses in the Broadening group to fulfill common core area requirements specified in the program-specific credit requirement. Please note that courses with pre-assigned common core areas can also be used to fulfill the common core requirement as long as the courses taken are aligned with the program-specific credit requirement.
If students later take course(s) listed under common core area(s) with pre-assigned 6 Block credit transfer, the pre-assigned Block credit transfer may be moved to fulfill other eligible common core areas under the Broadening group.
Students can view the records of common core areas of the Block credits granted at the Student Services Center in SIS, and the records will be finalized upon students’ graduation.
Credit Transfer in English Language Course
For students admitted in 2022-23 or 2023-24
Students who have attained the required level of English language proficiency are eligible for 3 credit transfer in LANG 1402 English Language for University Studies (Previous code: CORE 1402) if the information has been presented to the University for admission purpose. The transfer of credits is automatic and application is NOT required. The records of credit transfer can be viewed at the Student Services Center in SIS. For further details and specific criteria, please view here.
For students admitted in 2024-25 onwards
Students are not allowed to transfer credits in the E-Comm area.
For students who wish to submit English Language qualifications for course streaming for the English Communication (E-Comm) area under the Common Core Program, please bring the physical true copy of your public exam results to Academic Registry (Room 1381, 1/F, Academic Building, Lift 17-18).
Credit Transfer During Study
Students completing studies elsewhere during their study at HKUST may apply for credit transfer. Those who plan to take courses elsewhere which have not been approved before may apply for assessment for new course mappings before the actual study. Application procedures are published on Credit Transfer (Undergraduate Studies - UG) of the Academic Registry webpage.
Eligibilities of credit transfer for different common core groups (i.e., Foundations, Broadening, and Experiencing) are listed in the following sections:
Common Core Courses in Foundations Group
Students admitted in 2022-23 or 2023-24 are not allowed to transfer credits into the following courses in the Foundations group:
Students admitted in 2024-25 onwards are not allowed to transfer credits in the Foundations group.
Common Core Courses in Broadening Group
Students are allowed to grant a maximum of 6 credits in the common core areas in Broadening group according to the program-specific credit requirements at HKUST. However, if students have already received 6 Block credits in the Broadening group, they will not be able to transfer any additional credits in that group. This means that the maximum of 6 credits for credit transfer in the Broadening group includes both block transfer on entry and exchange studies.
Common Core Courses in Experiencing Group
Students are not allowed to transfer credits for any common core courses in the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP) in the Experiencing group.
