The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public research university in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991 by the British Hong Kong Government, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status.

HKUST is commonly regarded as one of the fastest-growing universities in the world. As of 2019, the university was ranked seventh in Asia by QS and third by Times, and around the top 40 internationally. It also ranked first in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings in 2019 and second by QS world's under-50 universities in 2020.

Today, the university consists of four main academic schools, offering programs in science, engineering, business and management, humanities and social science, along with the Interdisciplinary Programs Office, HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School / Guangzhou HKUST Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study and HKUST Institute for Public Policy.

I. Overview:

Your Own Pathway to Success

Today, there is a critical need for flexible, incisive next-generation front-runners, who can tackle the increasingly complex issues of our times through the integration of knowledge and original approaches to solution-building and problem-solving.

To help address this need, HKUST’s new Individualized Interdisciplinary Major (IIM) offers a non-traditional, cross-school academic pathway for exceptional Hong Kong and international students with the vision, talents, and character to create their own study program.

IIM students have the academic freedom to combine courses from different departments and Schools at HKUST, and even different universities, to develop an interdisciplinary major tailor-made to their intellectual interests. The program initiated will enable the pursuit of a novel interdisciplinary research field or a career in an area of emerging significance, with standards ensured by a small supervisory team.

At leading universities globally, such programs have established themselves as a superb option for a small group of high-potential achievers – those who flourish best by moving beyond regular curricula to fully engage their passion for a particular subject or a pace-setting combination of disciplines.

HKUST’s cutting-edge major, developed and run by the Interdisciplinary Programs Office, is currently the only program of its kind in the Greater China region. With unique specialisms and skills, and the ability to step out of established comfort zones, IIM graduates can initiate new fields and job, bringing resourceful insights and multifaceted understanding to community and global advancement.

II. Recent IIM

The purpose of this major is to allow students to design a major which is interdisciplinary, yet forms a conceptual whole. It is not intended to allow a student to randomly select courses that are interested in them or to selectively omit one or two requirements from another major currently offered in HKUST. The major must have a theme, an in-depth examination of a particular topic, or a defined field of study.

Examples: Green Materials and Urban Planning, Human-Animal Studies, etc.

Current majors approved by HKUST:

• BSc, IIM (Bionics)
• BSc, IIM (Computational Cognitive Science)
• BSc, IIM (Environmental Geoscience)
• BSc, IIM (Bioenergy Management)
• BSc, IIM (Human-Computer Interaction)

III. Career Prospect

The Next Step

Individualized degree holders’ outstanding knowledge and skills, along with a clear commitment to and enthusiasm for the subject selected for study, opens up an exciting range of openings for graduates. Options include working in the area of specialty for an established company, further studies, and research in emerging fields, or developing a start-up.

IV. Enrichment Program

Extended Vision

IIM students are encouraged to participate in the inspiring extra-curricular options available to Interdisciplinary Programs Office undergraduates to broaden experience and further enhance leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Opportunities include overseas exchanges, study trips, case competitions, career training workshops, internships, and professional seminars.

V. Intended Learning Outcomes

IIM students are expected to:

• Create an individualized program of study drawing on theories, methods, and practices from a variety of disciplines;
• Integrate knowledge and skills across courses in a unique major to be individually pursued;
• Develop multi-dimensional perspectives and innovative problem-solving skills to existing and emerging problems;
• Develop a distinctive skill mix that enables them to communicate effectively with people of different levels and work areas within and across organizations;
• Take initiative and responsibility to apply their interdisciplinary knowledge to solve the problems pressing social issues outlined in their program proposal;
• Adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to tackle complex real-world problems;
• Communicate effectively with people of different levels and work areas;
• Transfer acquired knowledge to meet changes and challenges in different fields;
• Engage in activities that lead to the impact of social improvement;
• Have the ability to create and innovate with divergent thinking.

Campus

The university is largely a campus university, occupying a 60-hectare site at the northern part of the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong, overlooking Port Shelter in Tai Po Tsai. The campus layout and architecture is based on a master plan submitted jointly by Simon Kwan & Associates and Percy Thomas Partnership, the runner-up entry in an architectural competition held before the university was founded.

As the campus has a sloped terrain, buildings and facilities are built on separate terraces carved out of the hillside, with the academic facilities occupying the top-level terraces, and undergraduate halls of residence and sporting facilities at the seafront. The terraces are connected by motor roads as well as a network of footbridges and elevators known as Bridge Link.

The countryside setting of the university contributed to the fact that HKUST was once the only public university in Hong Kong not being directly served by an MTR station, prior to the re-titling of the Education University of Hong Kong. The university is connected to the metro network through public bus routes including 91, 91M, 91P, 291P and 792M, complemented by a handful of minibus services, with Choi Hung and Hang Hau stations being the major feeder points.

About Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. It is a place with multiple personalities as a result of being both Cantonese Chinese and having been under British colonization. Today, the former British colony is a major tourism destination for China’s increasingly affluent mainland population. It is an important hub in East Asia with global connections to many of the world’s cities. It is a unique destination that has absorbed people and cultural influences from places as diverse as Vietnam and Vancouver and proudly proclaims itself to be Asia’s World City.

Living on Campus

Life in undergraduate halls

Leaving home and arriving at the university for the first time is both exciting and challenging! Luckily we offer a rich network of mentors including Hall Education Teams, Residence Masters, Learning Community Fellows, Residential Life Officers, Tutors, and Learning Community Coordinators.
 
Not only will you be supported every step of the way, but you will have the chance to join activities, events, and discussions and get to know everybody in the community. Pretty soon you'll be qualified to be the mentor for incoming students!
 
As the residential year begins, you'll have a Hall Orientation to help you get to know everybody, be introduced to the "dos and don'ts" of hall life, and understand the role and responsibilities expected of you. Most importantly, the orientation will be tremendous fun! You will meet plenty of people in no time at all, and feel at home.

Life in postgraduate halls – SKCC Hall and University Apartments

Enriching your educational life is what the postgraduate experience is all about. On-campus you will have convenient access to academic and research facilities, the opportunity to interact with peers, and meet the people who will not only help you learn but will become lifelong friends and maybe even professional associates in the future. Living with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds is a wonderful way to enrich yourself and enjoy an immersive experience in diversity.

Lee Shau Kee Library

The HKUST Lee Shau Kee Library, part of the Hong Kong Academic Library Link (HKALL), occupies a central location of the campus. Connected to the Academic Building, it is accessible directly from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Atrium. It spans five floors with over 12,350 sq m of floor space, providing more than 3,674 seats as well as computing facilities. It offers a wide array of information resources, both local and remote. In addition to over 720,000 print and electronic volumes and a large collection of media resources, it provides access to more than 47,000 periodical titles, a large number of e-books, databases, and other digital information resources. The library also includes 24-hour-capable Learning Commons which provides a technology-rich environment for active learning and education.

The library owns a collection of old maps of China and the rest of Asia, produced by Chinese and Western cartographers over the last 500 years. A selection of these maps, providing an insight into the history of international geographic knowledge, was published by the library in a limited-edition (1000 copies) volume in 2003.

Student Amenities

The Amenities Service Counter is located in Room LG3005 inside the Indoor Sports Complex. It provides services and assistance to users of the student amenities. These services include:

• student lockers
• loan of equipment for activities organized by student societies and teams
• information and advice on all matters related to amenities

Sports Facilities

The University provides a variety of sports and recreation facilities for the enhancement and promotion of your total well-being. All Full-time and Part-time students, staff and family members, long-serving retirees/leavers and Sports Facilities User Cardholders are welcome to use the facilities.  

The demand for sports facilities is quite keen. Sports skill classes, sports team practices and organized sports events including the intervarsity and intramural sports competitions are held in various facilities throughout the year.