BA Creative Media
1456A
Local Places:
20 (For First Year and Advanced Standing I Entries)* and
28 (For Senior Year Entry)
Non-Local Places
(For Overall Direct Applications):
Around 300
2 Years (For Senior Year Entry)
BA (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), MFA (San Francisco Art Institute), DFA (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University)
+852 3442 8049
* for JUPAS and non-JUPAS admissions
The BACM major crosses the boundaries between different digital media arts practices and combines critical studies and creative practice. You will acquire both breadth learning and specialist training in media arts and study courses in photography, computational art, gaming and interactive media, sound, animation, film and media art installation.
This major is an innovative programme that advocates inter-medial creative practices. The programme fuses art, culture and media technology, covering a wide range of subjects such as cinema, animation, photography, sound, installation, interactive media, video game and new media art etc. The curriculum places strong focuses on applied learning and integrative training of creativity and technology. Students are expected to develop professional competency and creative and critical thinking via hands-on learning and studio practice. This major is designed to train creative talents and practitioners who not only possess cultural sensibility but are also equipped with strong technological literacy, ready and adaptable for the cultural sphere, creative industry and media sector of the 21st century.
Entrance Requirements for Direct / Non-JUPAS Applicants
To be considered for admission, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements.
For senior-year (Advanced Standing II) admission, applicants are normally expected to have completed an Associate Degree/Higher Diploma in a relevant discipline with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of ≥3.0 or an equivalent overall mark, or a credit award.
Portfolio Submission
Applicants may be invited to attend an interview and/or other assessment processes so that the School of Creative Media (SCM) can gauge their creative potential. All direct applicants for SCM programmes (1041/1042/1043/1044/1456A/1468A/1471A) are strongly encouraged to submit a portfolio of creative work via an online system to SCM. Please refer to the School’s portfolio web page for the most up-to-date submission deadlines and specifications for the portfolio. Portfolio materials may include still photography, paintings/drawings, sculptures, musical compositions/performances, films/videos, software, multimedia productions, academic or creative writing, science projects or other forms of imaginative activity.
Consideration may be given to employment records, travel and other examples of life experience.
After completing the common School requirements, students will study a group of major core courses that distinguish the BACM from the other two SCM majors. The core courses are Creative Media Studio II (cinematography, sound and video post-production), Physical Computing and Tangible Media, Critical Theory and Socially Engaged Practices, Contemporary & New Media Art and Narrative Strategies and Aesthetics of Time-based Media for a variety of media contexts such as moving image, animation, experimental videography, documentary works, games, hypertextual environments and non-linear screen storytelling.
Beyond the School and major core requirements, students are free to take any elective courses from various areas such as animation, game, cinema and new media. These electives are meant to assist students in designing their own study paths based on their personal and professional objectives.
All students undertake a research-based Graduation Thesis/Project, which can be a creative art or critical writing project. Optional internships and overseas exchange programmes are also in place to provide students with networking experience before they graduate. Throughout their studies, students will have broad exposure to world-class artists and creative media professionals who visit SCM as guests or artists-in-residence on a regular basis.
Students can also take free electives or minor(s) according to their personal or career interests to fulfil the credit requirement for graduation. A strong Student Advising Scheme is in place to provide students with essential guidance and mentoring as part of their study plan.
For details, please visit the ‘Undergraduate Catalogue’
Graduates are qualified for a broad range of positions in the media, art, design, and film industries. We expect our graduates to obtain jobs in areas such as animation, film, television, video production, advertising, media art, Internet and multimedia design, art-writing, art/media education, art/cultural management and exhibition design. The BACM curriculum also addresses the professional environment in which competent and socially engaged media art professionals are needed outside the media industry. A BACM graduate should be prepared for careers in artistic and cultural fields through good networking and the ability to contribute sound knowledge of multimedia and interdisciplinary creative thinking. The design of the curriculum also allows students to develop secondary areas of interest to broaden their employability and graduate-level higher education opportunities.
Alumni sharing is available at https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/alumni-stories.
Students’ showcases are available at https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/programmes/undergraduate/BACM#section--student-work.
Our “Alumni Spotlight”:
- Joseph Chan at https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/alumni_story/Joseph
- Ahong Cheung at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/142.htm
- Chilai Howard at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/140.htm
- Nick Cheuk at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/127.htm
- Chris Cheung at https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/alumni_story/Chris
- Tommy Ng at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/134.htm
- Tam Wai Ching at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/aro/alumnistories/81.htm
Some works by SCM graduates can be found at CityU’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL955C034F2D28DB49.
Semester-long exchange study opportunities are offered worldwide. European venues include UK, Finland, Hungary, Norway, Czech Republic and Switzerland. Asian venues include Mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Students are also encouraged to join month-long overseas summer study programmes of various themes, such as animation, creative computing and enhancement on English proficiency.
The internship programme complements the SCM curricula by coordinating with companies and organizations in providing on-the-job training to students. A broad variety of local and overseas internship opportunities are available to prepare students for the exciting challenges of the fast-growing creative industries.
The School encourages students to join media art competitions and festivals locally and internationally. Our students and alumni have participated in many competitions and made outstanding achievements such as the following:
• The Golden Nica in Artificial Intelligence & Life Art Category, Prix Ars Electronica 2023
• Gold Award (2018, 2022) and Silver Award (2015, 2019, 2022) in the Media Art Category, Best Local Work (2017), and Emerging Talent Award (2016), the Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards (ifva)
• ABC TV Award, The 17th Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022
• Artist of the Year (Media Arts) (2021, 2022), Award for Young Artist (Media Arts) (2012-14, 2018-20, 2022), Award for Young Artist (Film) (2012), Award for Young Artist (Visual Arts) (2017), and Artist of the Year (Film) (2017), Award for Arts Promotion and Education (2022), the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards
• Best New Director, the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards, 2022
• Grand Prize and Regional Gold Award (2020) and Asia Grand Prize (2019, 2022), DigiCon6 Asia
• Best New Director, the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild 2021 Awards
• The Audience Choice Award, The Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2021
• Best Abstract Film Award, The London International Animation Festival 2021
• Best Art Direction, the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, 2020
• The Golden Nica in Digital Communities Category, Prix Ars Electronica 2020
• Giga-Hertz Production Prize, Giga-Hertz Award 2020
• Gold Award (2011-2013, 2015-2017, 2020) and Silver Award (2012-2013) in the Open Category, the Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards (ifva)
• Gold Award (2014, 2020), Silver Award (2014, 2016, 2018) and Excellence Award (2018) in the Animation Category, the Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards (ifva)
• WMA Masters Award 2013, 2016 and 2020, WMA Commission Recipient 2018
• Gold Award, Tier 1 - Animation Start-ups, The 7th Animation Support Program, 2020
• Best Animated Feature, the Oscars, 2018
• Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects, the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards, 2018
• One of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Hong Kong, 2018
• Best New Director, the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards, 2017
• Grand Prix, the 12th Osaka Asian Film Festival, 2017
• Best Makeup and Costume Design, the 54th Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan, 2017
• Best New Director, the 11th Hong Kong Film Directors Guild Awards, 2016
• Best Director and Best Screenplay, the 23rd Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, 2016
• Best New Director, the 53rd Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan, 2016
Many of our graduates have gone abroad to study for their master's degrees in various fields of specialisation in prestigious schools and universities such as the following:
• Carnegie Mellon University, USA (media art)
• Concordia University, Canada (media art and sculpture)
• Duke University, USA (experimental and documentary media)
• Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (human-computer interaction)
• Goldsmiths, University of London, UK (urban photography, visual anthropology)
• Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University, Japan (media design)
• King’s College London, UK (critical theory)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (media design; art, culture and technology)
• National Film and Television School, UK (animation)
• Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, UK (sculpture)
• The Royal College of Art, UK (visual communication design)
• University of the Arts London, UK (fine arts, fashion photography)
• University of California, Los Angeles, USA (media design)
• University of Oslo, Norway (media studies)
• University of Southern California, USA (digital media)
• University of Washington, USA (digital media art)
Housed in the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, the School provides a regular schedule of in-house exhibitions and presentations by SCM faculty and students, along with internationally recognised media artists and scholars.
