Credit Transfer (2022-23 and 2023-24 Student Cohorts)
If you have attained certain public exam qualifications or completed a course elsewhere at an appropriate level recognized by the University, you may consider transferring credits into the Common Core to fulfill your graduation requirements. Please note that transferred credits granted will not be included in the calculation of grade averages.
Types of credit transfer
- Course-credit transfer: this occurs when a transferred course is considered equivalent to a specific course listed in the HKUST course catalog
- Credit-only transfer: in this case, only credits are transferred without recognizing any specific courses at HKUST
Applications
All credit transfer applications must be processed through the Credit Transfer System of Academic Registry (ARO).
Important: You must carefully review the Credit Transfer (Undergraduate Studies - UG) webpage and the Credit Transfer Course Equivalence Database before creating your application.
Important Notes on Credit Transfer for the Common Core
While most credit transfer information should be sought from ARO, carefully read the following notes about transferring credits into the Common Core.
Credit transfer eligibility for common core groups
| Common Core Groups | Eligibility |
| Experiencing | Courses in the Foundations group aim to help you develop and advance essential skills and mindsets. Apart from the English Communication (E-Comm) area, credit transfer is not allowed in the Foundations group. Credit Transfer for E-Comm If you have attained the required level of English language proficiency, you can transfer 3 credits to LANG 1402 English Language for University Studies (Previous code: CORE 1402), provided that this information was presented to the University for admission purposes. The credit transfer process is automatic, and no application is required. You can view your credit transfer records at the Student Services Center in SIS. |
| Broadening | You are allowed to transfer a maximum of 6 credits in the common core areas in the Broadening group according to the program-specific credit requirement [link to “Program-specific Requirement” for this cohort]. Note that the maximum of 6 transferred credits includes both block transfer on entry and credits earned during study. If you received 6 block credits in the Broadening group on entry, you cannot transfer any additional credits in this group during your studies. Assignment of the 6 block credits in SIS The 6 block credits granted on entry can be used to fulfill any common core areas in the Broadening group that are not designated as home areas for your major program. The sequence of common core areas in the Broadening group is listed in order of Arts (A), Humanities (H), Science (S), Technology (T), and Social Analysis (SA). The Student Information System (SIS) will pre-assign the 6 block credits for the first two non-home common core areas for your major at the beginning of your studies. You can use the remaining 6 credits to take courses in the Broadening areas according to your program-specific requirement. Courses with pre-assigned common core areas can also fulfill the common core requirements as long as they align with your program-specific requirement. If you later take courses listed under common core areas with pre-assigned 6 block credits, the pre-assigned block credits may be reassigned to fulfill other eligible common core areas under the Broadening group. Once you complete the remaining 6 credits from courses outside your home areas, your Broadening group requirements will be considered fulfilled. For example, for students majoring in SSCI programs, the home area is Science (S). If you received 6 block credits upon joining the University, these credits will be pre-assigned to the Arts (A) and Humanities (H) areas. If you have subsequently completed 3 credits in the A area and another 3 credits in the Technology (T) area, the 6 block credits will automatically count toward the H and Social Analysis (SA) areas (i.e., first two areas among the remaining areas). You can view your records at the Student Services Center in SIS, and these records will be finalized upon your graduation. |
| Foundations | Courses in the Experiencing group are designed to provide you with the opportunities to apply and further enhance the knowledge and skills you’ve developed from your Foundations and Broadening courses, as well as from your major courses, in real-life contexts. Therefore, credit transfer is not allowed in the Experiencing group. |
Credit Transfer Database
ARO maintains two databases to assist you in finding previously approved mappings for credit transfers. Before proposing any new mappings, please search these databases for relevant options to facilitate your applications:
Common core course codes
As you browse the databases, you will encounter designated codes for credit transfer mappings to the common core areas. This table summarizes the codes that you will see for each Broadening area and a general code for the Broadening area:
| Common Core Broadening Area | Eligible Mapping Code (Example) |
| Arts (A) |
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| Humanities (H) |
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| Science (S) |
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| Technology (T) |
|
| Social Analysis (SA) |
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| Broadening Group* |
|
* The CORE BROAD code is used for courses that do not belong to any existing common core areas in the Broadening group. These mappings can be used to fulfill requirements in any Broadening area.
When transferring credits to fulfill common core requirements, you may focus solely on the common core related codes and ignore any other codes. The other codes may indicate their mappings to courses at specific levels for different major programs.
Examples
- HUMA 1000ARTC: It indicates mappings to both 1000-level courses in HUMA as well as the Arts common core area
- HUMA 2000HMCC: It indicates that the course can be mapped to 2000-level courses in HUMA as well as the Humanities common core area
- HUMA 1000 LEVEL: It indicates that the course can be mapped to 1000-level courses in HUMA, but not any common core area
You should note that these codes do not refer to specific courses such as HUMA 1000 and HUMA 2000, but rather to any 1000-level or 2000-level courses in HUMA.
Visit ARO’s webpage for more details about mapping codes for credit transfer.