The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced today the launch of the most flexible engineering student admission scheme among Hong Kong's tertiary institutions. The new scheme, incorporating the current "program-based" arrangements and the new "school-based" option, gives students the best of both worlds.
The new School-based Admission (SBA) scheme will be available to both Joint University Programmes Admission Scheme (JUPAS) and Early Admission Scheme (EAS) applicants starting from the 2009 to 2010 academic year. In addition to the existing individual 13 programs offered by HKUST School of Engineering, students are given the opportunity to explore their interest further before they select a program under the SBA, adding up a total of 15 programs for students to choose from.
SBA means that students will not have to choose any particular program for admission application. They need only to choose one of two streams for the first semester. Thereafter, they can choose their favorite program from within that stream.
Stream A comprises Chemical Engineering, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Bioproduct Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
Stream B encompasses Computer Science, Computer Science (Information Engineering), Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Electronic Engineering (Information and Communication Engineering), Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, and Logistics Management and Engineering.
In brief, Stream A is more focused on chemical, civil and mechanical engineering, while Stream B is more on computer and electronic engineering as well as engineering management. The 13 individual programs are all included in Streams A and B.
For the 2009 intake, the number of places for Stream A is 61 students and that for Stream B is 100 students. The current "program-based" admission scheme will admit 486 students.
"We are incorporating the School-based Admission Scheme into our admission options to provide applicants with greater flexibility in making their program choice. In addition, applicants admitted to either stream will be given a broader foundation in engineering disciplines before they specialize in their chosen program," said Prof Charles Ng, Associate Dean of Engineering (Undergraduate Studies).
"Under the SBA, students will have more time to consider before deciding which engineering field to pursue," he added.
"As we do not have a specific quota for each engineering discipline, students admitted through the SBA will stand a higher chance to be admitted to their favorite program than if they were admitted through the program-based scheme," he said.
Under the SBA scheme, students admitted to Stream A or Stream B at the start of the first semester will prioritize their favorite programs at the end of November.
To provide prospective students with more details about the SBA scheme, a special seminar will be held at 12 noon in LG1031 at the HKUST's Student Outreach Day on Saturday, 20 September 2008 on its campus.
For media enquiries, please feel free to contact :
Diana Liu
(Office of the Dean of
Engineering, HKUST)
Tel: 2358 8982
Email: egdiana@ust.hk
Ross Lai
(Office of University Development
and Public Affairs, HKUST)
Tel: 2358 6306 / 9103 2928
Email: rosslai@ust.hk
