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  4. International Qualifications Applicants

International Qualifications Applicants

1. Should I choose school-based admissions (Business & Management) or specific major programs in my application choices? 

The Year 1 curricula of all business programs are identical. If you are interested in business studies in general and would like to take time to explore your program interest and aspiration, you should choose Business & Management to enter the School first and select your desired major(s) by the end of the 3rd semester. About half of the program seats for each major are reserved for students admitted into Business & Management to enter the programs via the major selection exercises.
If, however, you have particular interest and understanding in a specific business major program (e.g. Marketing), you should put BBA Marketing as your 1st choice and Business & Management as the alternative choice to 1st choice to maximize your chance to be admitted to HKUST Business School (given the smaller intake size of program-based admissions versus that of school-based admissions). 

2. If I apply to a specific program through program-based admissions, will I be automatically considered in the school-based admissions as well?

You will be considered for school-based admissions only if you have included the application choice "Business and Management" as the alternative choice to your 1st or 2nd business program application choice in the application paper.

We strongly encourage applicants who have particular interest and understanding in a specific business major program (e.g. Marketing) to put BBA Marketing as your 1st choice and Business & Management as the alternative choice to 1st choice to maximize your chance to be admitted to HKUST Business School (given the smaller intake size of program-based admissions versus that of school-based admissions). 

3. Do I need to wait until the examination results are out to apply?

No. If you have predicted grades for your forthcoming examination such as IB Diploma or GCEAL examination, you should submit the predicted grades together with your application for our assessment. If you do not have any predicted grades, we will assess your applications based on your high school performances from grade 9 onwards. 

You can upload the forthcoming supporting documents after the submission of an application. If the document/exam results are forthcoming, please indicate the ‘Expected Upload Date’ in the Upload Documents Section.

4. Are there any specific subject requirements for the business programs? 

Except for the quantitative-oriented programs listed below, other business programs do not require specific mathematics subjects. Students from all subjects are welcome to apply.

BSc Economics and Finance
BSc Quantitative Finance
BSc Risk Management and Business Intelligence
  • IBDP: HL Mathematics
  • GCEAL: Further Mathematics
  • SAT/AP: AP Calculus BC
  • Other qualifications: Senior Level Mathematics
BBA Economics
BBA Finance
BSc Sustainable and Green Finance
  • IBDP: HL Mathematics or SL Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches
  • GCEAL: Mathematics or Further Mathematics
  • SAT/AP: AP Calculus AB or Calculus BC
  • Other qualifications: Mathematics

5. Will there be any interviews? 

Interview is compulsory for BBA Global Business, BSc Quantitative Finance, BSc Risk Management & Business Intelligence and BSc Sustainable and Green Finance. For other business programs, the majority of applicants may be invited for interview whereas some admissions decisions may be made without an interview. 

6. I am now studying outside Hong Kong SAR. Do I have to arrange a trip for the interview?

Online interviews may be arranged for applicants not living in Hong Kong SAR. Interview invitations will be sent by email.

7. When will the offer decision be made? How will I be notified?

Complete applications (including supporting documents) received before the early round application deadline will be considered for early decision offers. Applicants who do not receive an early decision offer by the end of December will automatically be considered in the main round.

Most of the main round offer decisions will be released from January to April. It is hard to say the exact date on which your offer will be made, and in some cases, offers will be made after this period so please be patient. You can check your status from time to time online. 

8. What is the boundary score range?

The boundary scores below are for general reference only. Applicants’ overall profiles are always holistically assessed. Those with strong academic/non-academic profiles but marginally miss the reference scores may also be considered. 

School-based Admissions
i.e. Business and Management

  • IBDP ≥34
  • GCEAL ≥AAB
  • SAT Reasoning ≥1320 + 4s in two AP subjects; OR
    4s in five AP subjects
Program-based Admissions
Individual programs with different expected scores starting from the following boundary scores:
  • IBDP ≥36 to 42
  • GCEAL ≥AAA to A*A*A*
  • SAT Reasoning ≥1350 to 1510 + 5s in two AP subjects; OR
    55444 to 55555 in five AP subjects

9. Are there any scholarships?

Entrance scholarships will be awarded to eligible students automatically on a competitive basis in terms of renewable or one-off, full or half tuition waivers. Information on scholarship awards will be provided together with the admissions offer. Applicants do not need to submit a separate scholarship application. For details, please refer to HERE.

HKUST Business School also offers top-up scholarships for eligible applicants.

10. Do I need TOEFL or IELTS to gain admissions?

TOEFL and IELTS can serve as proof of English language proficiency, but these tests are not necessary if you meet the requirements with any other recognized qualifications such as IB English and GCE AS/AL English. For details, please see the University’s English Language requirements under the International Qualification section.

11. What is the difference between early round and main round applications?

The timeline of offer issuance. Offer decisions for early-round applicants will be released in late December. Early round applicants who do not receive any admissions offers will be automatically put in the main round for consideration.

Admissions offer decisions for the main round applicants are released on a rolling basis from February onwards.

Applicants who wish to be considered by small-intake programs or for more generous admissions scholarships should apply for early-round admissions. 

12. I am interested in multiple disciplines. Can I apply for two Schools in HKUST at the same time? 

Yes. On the application form, an applicant can select up to two choices and the first choice will be considered as the highest priority. Applicants with multiple academic interests may also consider applying to joint programs such as BSc Risk Management and Business Intelligence (jointly offered by the Business School, Engineering School and the Science School) or BSc Sustainable and Green Finance (jointly offered by the Business School and the Division of Environment and Sustainability).

However, please note that individual Schools or programs may consider only 1st choice applications if there are already sufficient qualified applications to select there.

13. How should I apply if I have more than one admissions qualification? 

For applicants who have multiple admissions qualifications, the Business School will assess your application based on the qualification in which you have the best performance. 

14. Can I upload new supporting documents or updated predicted scores after the submission of the application?

Yes. You can always log in to your application account to upload additional supporting documents after the submission of the application. 

15. Do I need to know Cantonese or Chinese to study at HKUST?

No. Applicants applying to HKUST are not required to know Cantonese. The medium of instruction at HKUST is English. All the lectures, course materials, and work will be conducted in English except for language courses and a small number of courses, e.g. Chinese Literature, that require Chinese usuage.