Academic Regulations and Records Office
Academic Regulations and Records Office

Second Major

Eligibility

Yes
Students admitted to bachelor's degrees with a home major/an allocated major are eligible to apply for declaring a second major in accordance with the specified application periods and within the following stipulated periods of years of study:

Category of Students Years of Study for Declaring a Second Major
Normative 4-year degree students Within year 2* and year 3
Advanced Standing I students Within year 1 and year 2
Advanced Standing II students Within year 1

* Year 1 students may submit applications in Round 2 to enable the second major to take effect from Year 2 if so approved.

Notes
  1. Applications for declaring a second major received outside the aforementioned years of study will not be considered.
  2. Students who have declared a second major can submit a request for dropping the second major, if they so wish, during the specified period for add/drop of a second major.

Application Periods for Add/Drop of Second Major in

There are two application rounds in each academic year, and the application periods are as follows:

1st Round 2nd Round
Application Period
Announcement of Results
Effective Term for ADD of Second Major
Effective Term for DROP of Second Major

Note: Requests must be submitted online via AIMS by the deadlines (at 23:00) specified above, and late requests will not be accepted. Students can view the results of their requests in AIMS and no separate email will be issued to students.

Points to Note for Adding a Second Major

  • Check the information and consult the Major Leader, especially on course requirements for the requested (second) major.
  • Details on the (second) majors offered by academic units are available on the Programmes and Courses website and the respective academic unit's website.
  • There is no pre-approved double major programme, all applications should go through the approval process.

  • Eligible students can submit their application via AIMS [Study Plan > Major and Minor Applications > Add/Drop of a Second Major] to declare a second major, in addition to their home major, during the application periods within the stipulated periods of years of study [Step-by-step Guide].
  • Students can submit only ONE choice of the proposed second major. The double major can be any combination of two majors (i.e. home major + any other major).
  • Some majors may not be available for declaration as a second major as stipulated by individual academic units.

  • Declaration of a second major is subject to the attainment of a minimum CGPA of 3.00 (or a higher CGPA requirement as specified by the home/second major-offering academic unit) at the end of the semester when the application is submitted, and fulfillment of any other stipulated conditions (if any).
  • The following CGPA will be used for assessing if the students have met the minimum CGPA requirement:
    • Round 1 applications: CGPA at the end of the current Semester A
    • Round 2 applications: CGPA at the end of the current Summer Term
  • Approval of the second major application will be subject to the student's attainment of the minimum or specified CGPA requirement, i.e. when the CGPA result is available/finalized at the end of the semester/term concerned.

  • Students can view the results of their requests in AIMS and no separate email will be issued.

Points to Note for Dropping a Second Major

  • Students who have declared a second major can submit their request for dropping the second major via AIMS [Study Plan > Major and Minor Applications > Add/Drop of a Second Major] during the period for add/drop of a second major [Step-by-step Guide].

  • Completed courses from the unfulfilled second major will be counted toward the degree as free electives or used for fulfilling requirements for a minor as appropriate.

Important Notes for Approved Applications

  • Students are required to achieve a minimum CGPA of 2.0 in the second major in order for them to be granted the award. (For students admitted in 2019/20 and before, the minimum CGPA requirement is 1.70.)
  • Students are required to fulfil both the degree requirements associated with the home major as well as for the second major. If the two majors have some overlap in courses, it is allowed provided that at least 27 credit units are earned by completing new courses for the second major.

  • Students undertaking a minor should review if the minor and the second major are exclusive. If so, the minor is required to be dropped accordingly.
  • If students have been approved to change their major AND add a second major/minor in the same application round, the request for adding a second major/minor should be further approved by the new receiving major-offering academic unit (AU) [i.e., current home AU >> second major/minor-offering AU >> new receiving major-offering AU]. If the change of major (and adding a minor) will result in exceeding the maximum credit limit, the approval for adding a minor will be rescinded.

  • After successfully adding a second major, students are still required to abide by the following maximum period of study (including periods of leave of absence and suspension of studies, etc.) stipulated in the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Degrees:
    • Normative 4-year or Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine Degree: 8 years
    • Advanced Standing I: 6 years
    • Advanced Standing II: 5 years
  • Students who cannot complete the second major within the stipulated maximum credit limit permitted (e.g., 144 for normative 4-year degree, 114 for Advanced Standing I, 84 for Advanced Standing II, 273 for Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree) may still continue to pursue the double major on the condition that any extra credit units exceeding the limit are non-UGC-funded. Please refer to the below section on Tuition Fee.
  • To ensure both home/second majors can be completed within the stipulated maximum study period, students are strongly advised to run the 'What-If' audit in DegreeWorks. Please also choose the appropriate ‘Catalogue Term’ for which the second major will take effect.

  • If a student pursuing a second major has eventually exceeded the stipulated maximum credit limit as mentioned above, any further course registration exceeding the maximum credit limit must be non-UGC-funded. An example for a normative 4-year degree student is given below:
    Degree and home major requirement:
    93 credit units
    Second major:
    45 credit units
    Free electives:
    12 credit units
    Total:
    150 credit units
    (vs maximum credit limit of 144 – the six extra credit units should be non-UGC-funded. For details on Fees and Charges, please refer to the Finance Office website.)

  • For non-local students, if the second major has the internship component and students would like to take on an internship later on, they are required to approach the Immigration Department of the HKSAR in person beforehand for a new No Objection Letter (NOL).
  • For inquiries, please contact the Global Engagement Office.

  • If a student applied for graduation in the current semester/term and cannot complete the requirements of the declared second major, s/he will be considered as not fulfilling the graduation requirements and his/her application for graduation will be withdrawn.
  • If the student still wants to graduate as originally planned at the end of the current semester/term, s/he will need to submit an Application for Change of Academic Curriculum and Graduation to the Academic Regulations and Records Office by the stipulated deadline to indicate his/her intention for graduation and the revised academic curriculum.
  • For details of the change of academic curriculum and graduation, please visit the Application for Graduation website.

Frequently Asked Questions

    • The entry qualifications are as follows:
      Normative 4-year degree Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, 12-year school-leaving qualification

       
      Advanced Standing I 13-year school-leaving qualification [e.g. an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, a General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCEAL)], Associate Degree/Higher Diploma graduates admitted to a non-senior year place
      Advanced Standing II Associate Degree/Higher Diploma graduates admitted to a senior year place
      As the degree requirements for the above three types of students vary, please check your admission offer letter to ascertain your ‘student type’. Please also refer to the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Degrees for the relevant degree requirements.

    • If you have fulfilled the minimum credit unit requirement specified by your major and degree as well as the University Language Requirements, you may apply for graduation. Alternatively, you can choose to take further courses for personal or career interests as long as your credit load does not exceed the maximum credit units permitted for a degree, and you have not reached the maximum period of study.

    • Students who have completed the maximum credit units permitted as mentioned above cannot register for further courses in subsequent semesters/terms except for (a) those pursuing a double major paying the extra credits exceeding the above maximum credit limit on a self-financing basis; (b) those pursuing a double degree paying the additional year(s) of study on a self-financing basis; or (c) students who have been granted special permission to exceed the maximum credit limit.
    • Please note that except for the above, students who cannot complete all the degree requirements for graduation within the maximum number of credit units permitted will be required to discontinue their studies.

    • In mid to late May of your first year of study.
    • Through a majors allocation exercise in May-June, you will be allocated a major, which will take effect from Semester A of your second year of study.
    • For details of the timeline and related procedures, please visit: Declaring a Home Major.

    • Bachelor’s degrees students of the following categories are eligible to apply for change of home major during the specified round(s) of applications: 
      Category of Students Majors for Selection
      Application Round
      Year One Normative 4-year degree students

      Any majors except those within the students’ home academic units
      2
      Year Two or above Normative 4-year degree students and those admitted with advanced standing Any majors except those not open for application as stipulated by individual academic units
      1 and 2
    • For details of the application periods and related procedures, please visit: Change of Home Major.

    • Eligible students can submit add/drop of second major request in AIMS within the periods specified by the University. For details of the add/drop periods and related procedures, please visit: Second Major
    • The second major can be any major offered by an academic unit, including the student’s home academic unit.

    • If you are a bachelor’s degree student with a home major and have not been granted any extra credit units above the maximum credit limit permitted by the University, you can declare a minor during the specified application periods. This also applies to students admitted with advanced standing.
    • A minor consists of a structured group of courses (15 to 18 credit units) that focuses on a particular academic discipline, allowing students to develop some depth of understanding in a subject area or topic of professional interest. Please refer to the Minor Catalogue for a full list of minors and their curriculum requirements.

    • Students who have already been granted extra credits above the maximum credit limit (i.e. 144 for normative 4-year degree / 114 for Advanced Standing I / 84 for Advanced Standing II) will not be allowed to declare a minor.

    • You can submit your add/drop of minors request in AIMS within the periods specified by the University. For details of the add/drop periods and related procedures, please visit: Minors.

    • You can add only one minor in each application round. If you wish to declare two minors, you can do so in two separate application rounds.

    • No, late requests for add/drop of minors will not be accepted. You have to submit your request for add/drop of minors in the next round of exercise.

    • No. Double counting of courses is permissible between minor and college/school requirements, as well as minor and College/School-specified courses under the Gateway Education (GE) requirement only.

    • Yes, you can. In fact your application for graduation previously submitted will be automatically withdrawn as you cannot complete the requirements for your confirmed academic curriculum. For details, please visit: Application for Graduation.

    • Yes, you can do so by submitting an “Application for Change of Academic Curriculum and Graduation” by the specified deadline, indicating your intention to drop the minor and graduate as originally planned. For details, please visit: Application for Graduation.

If there is any inconsistency or ambiguity between the page contents and the Academic Regulations (AR), rules and guidelines, the AR, rules and guidelines shall prevail.