Q1: What is the admission requirement?
We count on 4C+2X. The two electives must include either Biology or Chemistry, plus any one category A subject. Similar to previous years, students who take a third elective (with 3 or above) will be awarded with bonus.
Q2: How many students will be admitted in 2024/25?
We shall admit around 25 students in 2024/25 including JUPAS, non-JUPAS and international students.
Q3. What is the quota for JUPAS and Non-JUPAS respectively?
We would like to select the most suitable students to our Programme from both the JUPAS and non-JUPAS channels, therefore we do not set a specific quota for JUPAS and non-JUPAS admission.
Q4. Will the degree lead to a professional qualification or license? What is the career path of this degree?
We anticipate our graduates will either excel in research, take up managerial roles in the industry, health services and policymaking, science and clinical professions (e.g. Clinical Geneticists, Genetic Counsellors, and Authorized Person in Advanced Therapy) after perusing further studies. Other possibilities include entering to the legal field, being biomedical journalists / writers, or running start-ups that translates bench side research to products and services.
Our students could consider taking Master Programme in e.g. Bioinformatics, Medical Genetics, Professional Programme on Advanced Therapy Products, or MPhil or PhD if they would like to pursue a research or academic career.
The biomedical sciences training would allow students to get acquaint to different aspects in this field, and reach out different opportunities with their potentials.
Q5. I am a JUPAS applicant. Will the interviewer know the actual priority of the programmes that I have put in my JUPAS application?
We only select students who have put our programme to Band A (choices 1-3) to join the admission interview. We only know you have put our programme to Band A, not the actual priority or ranking.
Q6. In what condition I will be invited to the Admission interview?
JUPAS: we only select students who put our programme in Band A (choices 1-3) to join the interview, which will be arranged after the release of HKDSE result (the interview for 2023/24 intake was held on July 28, 2023).
JUPAS Sub-system for School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS), School Principals’ Nominations (SPN), Other Experiences and Achievements in competition and activities (OEA), and Applicants with Disabilities: the interview will be arranged prior to the release of HKDSE results and the selection is based on individual merit and recommendation.
Non-JUPAS: we only select students who put our programme as their first programme choice to join the interview. The first round of interview will be in December 2023. We shall also arrange interview in around February 2024. It could be in-person interview or via tele-conferencing.
Q7. Will a group or individual interview be arranged? What is the format of the interview? What kind of questions will be asked during the Admission Interview?
Individual interview will still be our interview format in the coming year. We would invite students to give us a brief introduction of him/herself, and may ask them questions to evaluate their understanding on the latest advancement in biomedical sciences, bioethics, and other competencies such as higher order thinking skills and problem-solving ability.
Q8: What is the weighting of interview in my application? Will I still be admitted to your programme if I failed to attend the interview?
We select the most suitable candidates to this programme. Apart from having outstanding academic performance, we also look for students who have good interpersonal and communication skills, who are team players, and who have the vision to become a leader. We would like to understand more about the candidates and to assess their ability and orientation in the admission interview. Merit points will be given to students with good performance in the admission interview. In the past admission exercises, all students admitted to our programme had joined the selection interview.
Q9: Would I get advantage by taking additional electives (e.g. 4C + 4X, that is 4 electives)?
Students who and had achieved level 3 or above for their third elective (Category A) would be awarded bonus. Taking the 4th elective will not lead to extra bonus, however we would consider the best subject (on top of the 4 core and first elective) as the second elective to count on the admission score. Apart from Category A subjects, the Programme will also accept “Attained with Distinction” in the following Applied Learning (ApL) Subjects as the third elective subject for awarding bonus points: Applied Business Research, Entrepreneurship for SME, Marketing in Global Trade, Understanding Hong Kong Law, Foundation in Chinese Medicine, Fundamental Health Care, Health Care Practice, Medical Laboratory Science.
Q10: Will your programme accept applicants from Internal Transfer / Degree Holder?
Students from the JUPAS and Non-JUPAS channels will be considered at a higher priority and the selection is highly competitive. Internal Transfer will only be considered case-by-case for students with outstanding academic achievement. Students who wish to apply for Internal Transfer can refer to Registration and Examination Section, Registry (RES) for application procedures. Degree Holder will be considered by individual merit.
Q11: Can I complete more than one Concentration Area, or graduate without a Concentration Area but have taken biomedical sciences courses to fulfill the unit requirement?
Each student must and can use only one Concentration Area for fulfilling the programme requirement. Having said that, students are free to choose courses from other Concentration Areas for fulfilling their elective requirement.
Q12: What is the earliest time I can choose my Concentration Area?
Students are advised to use their first and second year to get to know more about the programme and different Concentration Areas. Students must declare their Concentration Area by the add/drop period of Term 2 during their third year of study.
Q13: Will there any internship or exchange opportunities?
Internship and exchange are activities of different nature.
The internship opportunities available in the Biomedical Sciences Programme will provide students with work experience in different areas of the biomedical sciences disciplines, allowing students to understand the market trend and demand for talents. This is a mandatory requirement for students who would like to graduate with Concentration Area B (Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship) or Area C (Health Services and Consultation). Our School also offers competitive scholarships to support interns to conduct internships in companies/institutions of our overseas partners.
The University has also launched the Co-op@CUHK Programme which provides students with work experience and helps students to build up their soft skills, industry insights and professional networks.
The University highly encourages students to go abroad for more academic and cultural exposure. The University offers different exchange opportunities for students at the University, Faculty, and College levels. Students have the freedom to choose a destination of exchange, and the academic requirement to fulfill during your exchange is not essentially directly related to your study programme. Students can go to other University for a term to study language courses or any courses they are interested in. These credits may or may not be allowed to transfer back to your regular units/credits. Students are advised to consult the Office of Student Affairs or the relevant course-offering department for details and course equivalency before considering an exchange.
