Rules and Requirements

The Foundations Group courses are designed to equip students with essential skillsets and mindsets crucial for academic success and personal growth. It includes courses below:

• Cognitive Foundations of University Education: Critical Thinking and Data Literacy (CTDL)
  • The CTDL courses focus on developing critical thinking skills and data literacy, which are vital for navigating academic challenges and making informed decisions. There are currently two CTDL courses:
    • CTDL 1901 Cognitive Foundations of University Education: Critical Thinking and Data Literacy
    • CTDL 1902 AI and Society: Ethics, Cognition, and Critical Analysis
• Behavioral Foundations of University Education: Habits, Mindsets, and Wellness (HMW)
  • The HMW course emphasizes the importance of personal development and well-being, helping you cultivate positive habits and mindsets that support your academic journeys.
• English Communication (E-Comm)
• Chinese Communication (C-Comm) 
  • Courses in E-Comm and C-Comm areas aim to enhance communication skills in both English and Chinese, promoting language proficiency and cultural understanding. They are essential for effective interaction in diverse academic and professional environments. 

Key Points

• Complete HMW and at least 3 credits in E-Comm during your first year of study.
• CTDL is an elective area but you are encouraged to take course(s) to enhance your cognitive skills. You may substitute CTDL credits with course(s) from E-Comm (Advanced Communication courses* only), C-Comm, A, H, S, T, SA, SUS (with effect from 2025-26), and UxOP.
• Transferred credits from any common core area in the Broadening group cannot fulfill the CTDL requirement.   

*A selection of Advanced Communication courses are designed to enhance students' writing and speaking skills for professional contexts, including in research and workplace. For details, please click here.

The Broadening Group focuses on enhancing students’ educational experience by encouraging exploration across various disciplines. This group includes diverse areas, allowing you to engage with different fields of study by developing critical thinking skills, gaining interdisciplinary insights, preparing for complex real-world challenges, and fostering a holistic understanding of the academic and professional environments.

To ensure a well-rounded education, you need to complete 12-18 credits of common core courses outside your home area(s) within the Broadening group. 

Home Common Core Area(s)

• Each major program has designated home common core area(s), detailed in the Home Common Core Area(s) tab below.

Home Common Core Areas for Additional Major/Dual Degree Program/Joint-School Program

• If you are enrolled in an additional major, a dual degree program, or a Joint-School program, your home common core area(s) will be the union of all the home common core areas from your individual majors.
• Example: 
  • For a student in a dual degree program combining SSCI and SBM, the home common core areas would include:
    • S (Science)
    • SA (Social Analysis)
  • In this case, you are required to complete at least 3 credits in each of the following areas:
    • A (Arts)
    • H (Humanities)
    • T (Technology)    
  • The remaining 3 credits can be earned by taking courses from any common core area within the Broadening group.

Credit Requirement 

• You refer to the program-specific credit requirement for more details regarding each program. 
• You should take a minimum of 3 credits from each non-home common core area.
• If you do not meet the 12-credit requirement, you can take Broadening course(s) from any area, including your home common core area(s), to fulfill the requirement. 
• Examples:
  • SSCI majors must complete at least 3 credits from areas A, H, T, and SA.
  • SBM majors (excluding WBB) must complete at least 3 credits from areas A, H, S, and T. 
• Depending on your major program(s), you will have different minimum credit requirements for each area in the Broadening group, please refer to the program-specific credit requirement for details. Transferred credits granted in any common core area in the Broadening group cannot be used to fulfill the credit requirement of the CTDL and UxOP areas.

The Experiencing group emphasizes hands-on learning through a variety of experiential opportunities. This group offers structured programs designed to immerse you in real-world experiences, such that you can apply theoretical knowledge in practical settings, develop essential skills, and enhance your personal and professional growth, making your educational journey more dynamic and impactful. Taking an UxOP course will make your learning experience more dynamic and impactful.

The Experiencing group requires you to choose any one of the four structured programs offered as the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP):

• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)¹;
• Undergraduate Teaching Opportunities Program (UTOP); 
• Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP); and 
• Undergraduate Global Challenges and Opportunities Program (UCOP).

Key Points

• Each UxOP program focuses on experiential learning, providing unique hands-on opportunities.
• While there are no general prerequisites to enter this group, some specific courses may have their own requirements or recommendations. Be sure to review these before enrolling.
• Consult with academic advisors to ensure that your chosen program aligns with your academic and career goals.

Credit Requirement    

While the UxOP is an elective and can be substituted with courses from below, UxOP offers a unique opportunity to develop essential skills that can significantly enhance your academic experience. We strongly encourage you to consider taking UxOP but you may substitute credits for the UxOP area with courses from the following:

• CTDL (Cognitive Foundations of University Education: Critical Thinking and Data Literacy)
• E-Comm (Advanced Communication courses only)
• C-Comm
• A (Arts)
• H (Humanities)
• S (Science)
• T (Technology)
• SA (Social Analysis)
• SUS (Sustainability) (with effect from 2025-26)
• Transferred credits from any common core area in the Broadening group cannot be used to fulfill the credit requirement for the UxOP area.

¹ The UROP course in the 30-credit Common Core curriculum is different from other existing UROP courses listed at https://urop.hkust.edu.hk/. To fulfill the 3-credit requirement in the Common Core UROP, students should take three 1- credit UROP courses, i.e., either (a) two 1-credit non-common-core UROP 1100 courses and the 1- credit Common Core UROP course, or (b) one 1-credit non-common-core UROP 1100 course, one 1- credit non-common-core UROP 2100 course, and the 1-credit Common Core UROP course. Upon completion of the Common Core UROP course, all 3 credits earned from this series would be counted as common core credits to fulfill the 3-credit Common Core UROP requirement; otherwise, the credits earned from UROP 1100 and/or UROP 2100, without the Common Core UROP course, will not be considered as common core credits. Double-counting is not allowed when these three UROP courses are used to fulfill the 3-credit Common Core UROP requirement.

•  School of Science (SSCI):
  • Science (S)
•    School of Engineering (SENG):
  • All programs except BIEN, CEEV, CENG, and COSC:
    • Technology (T)
  • Programs BIEN, CEEV, and CENG:
    • Science (S) and Technology (T)
  •  COSC program:
    •  Technology (T) (The second home common core area may vary; consult your COSC academic advisor.)
• School of Business and Management (SBM):
  • All programs except WBB:
    • Social Analysis (SA)
  • WBB program:
    •  Refer to program-specific credit requirements for different areas in the Broadening group.
• School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS):
  • GCS program:
    •  Humanities (H) and Social Analysis (SA)
  • QSA program:
    •  Social Analysis (SA)
• Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS):
  • EVMT program:
    •  Social Analysis (SA)
  • IIM program:
    • Home common core areas may differ; consult AIS for guidance.
• Dual Degree Programs (DDP):
  • Home common core areas consist of the union of the areas from both programs.
• Joint-School Programs (JS):
  • Home common core areas differ by program and should be verified with the relevant academic advisors.

Please refer to the program-specific credit requirement for different areas in the Broadening group. 

Course Availability and Delisting

The list of Common Core courses may change from term to term. Only courses taken in the academic term listed can be used to fulfill the Common Core requirements. Courses that are listed under more than one common core area can only count towards one of the listed areas. Delisted courses are those that have been removed from the Common Core curriculum.

Elective Inclusion and Credit Reuse Rules

Certain major/minor programs may include some Common Core courses as electives. While these courses can fulfill relevant major/minor requirements, you should be aware of the credit reuse rules specified by individual programs. Additionally, credits from Common Core courses cannot be used to count towards both Common Core and school/major requirements. It is advisable to seek guidance from the program catalog or your major/minor departments.

In 2022-23, all Common Core courses for the 30-credit Common Core Program had a “CORE” prefix. Starting from 2023-24, this prefix were removed, and common core courses are coded according to your subject area code (e.g., “ACCT” for Accounting). You should pay attention to the following for study plan and before enrolling in classes:

• If you took any of these “CORE” courses in 2022-23, you can still use them to fulfill Common Core requirements. However, you cannot retake the same course with the corresponding subject area code. For example, if you took CORE 1240 Electronic and Information Technology in 2022-23, you can use it to fulfill the requirement of the Technology (T) common core area. You cannot retake the same course in the subject area code ELEC 1010 Electronic and Information Technology in the following terms. 
• If you took a course that does not have a “CORE” prefix in 2022-23, you CANNOT use it to fulfill any common core requirements. For example, the credits earned from SOSC 1850 Understanding Society in 2022-23 CANNOT be used to fulfill the requirement of the Social Analysis (SA) common core area.

• You cannot use “CORE” courses or non-CORE courses to fulfill both common core and School/Major requirements at the same time. 

  Remarks: The subject area codes are the alternate code of the CORE codes. For example, HUMA 1150 is the alternate code for CORE 1660. In 2022-23, you cannot use courses with subject area prefixes (e.g., HUMA 1150) to fulfill the common core requirement. However, starting in 2023-24, you can use subject area-coded course (e.g., HUMA 1150) to fulfill EITHER the common core requirement OR the School/Major requirement (NOT BOTH).