Media

HKU Faculty of Science: “We are Ready for the New 4-year Curriculum.”

10 Oct 2011

 

The 6901 Bachelor of Science Programme has become one of the most attractive programme in JUPAS application since its implementation of common admission policy from 2007.

As the forerunner of science education, the Faculty is well prepared for this new 4-year curriculum as we have already in place the common admission policy, the major and minor system, student advisory system, and experiential learning requirements in our existing 3-year curriculum. Nevertheless, the Faculty has taken this unprecedented opportunity to critically review our undergraduate curriculum in order to offer students the best science education programmes. While maintaining the key features of the curriculum, discipline courses in the majors are also reviewed. We are pleased to introduce two Science Foundation Courses, which will give students a holistic view of science. We will also offer the Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science, a new 5-year double degree jointly offered with the Faculty of Education in 2012.

Features of 4-year BSc 6901 Programme

One entry in the application, with a choice of 15 Science majors:

• Astronomy
• Biochemistry
• Biological Sciences*
• Chemistry
• Earth System Science*
• Ecology & Biodiversity
• Environmental Science
• Food & Nutritional Science
• Geology*
• Mathematics
• Mathematics/ Physics
• Molecular Biology & Biotechnology*
• Physics
• Risk Management
• Statistics

Simple and Flexible
Once students are admitted, they may take a range of subjects in Science before making a decision and declare the major after the first year of study. They may change their major any time during their study, as long as they can fulfill the course requirements of the major.

No Quota for Each Major
There is no quota for any of the Science majors, and students may choose freely their major of study. Some majors may require certain science subjects in secondary schools as prerequisites. If they do not have the required background, they may need to take preparatory courses before they can follow the major.

Major-Minor Option
Students may take a second major or a minor to broaden their horizon outside their subject of specialization. Second majors and minors are available in both Science and non-Science disciplines.

Curriculum Structure of the BSc Degree
To complete the BSc degree curriculum, a student has to pass at least 240 credits, equivalent to 40 6-credit courses, normally spread over 4 years of full-time study. A BSc Curriculum typically comprises:

- 16 courses on major including 2 Science Foundation Courses and capstone requirement (96 credits);
- 2 English courses and 1 Chinese course for university language requirement (18 credits);
- 6 Common Core courses in 4 Areas of Inquiry (36 credits);
- 15 courses available for electives, or courses leading to a minor or a second major (90 credits).
(see diagram in the attachment)

Science Foundation Courses
Two Science Foundation courses will be offered as compulsory courses in the 4-year BSc curriculum to give students a common science experience and prepare them with sufficient background to pursue any of the majors in the 6901 programme. The objectives of the science foundation courses are to ensure that all students in the BSc programme have acquired by the end of the first year a certain level of competence in the core sciences and the ability to reason in logical and quantitative manners, to give students a holistic view of the science, including the history of scientific developments, the scientific inquiry method, and the nature of the science disciplines, and to provide students with the opportunity to expose to different science subjects before they commit to a particular major of study.

Academic Advising System
The BSc curriculum has provided students with increased flexibility and diverse academic options. The Academic Advising System of the Faculty is needed to assist students' transition from secondary school to university and to offer students timely advice and guidance on selection of courses and majors that suit their needs. The Advisory Office in the Faculty consists of the Associate Dean (Student Affairs), a student adviser, academic advisers, student peer advisers and departmental course selection advisers, and together with other student bodies and departments in the University, providing guidance to students on academicrelated issues collectively.

Diverse Learning Experience for Science students
Experiential learning is a distinctive feature of the Science undergraduate curriculum which aims to enhance the learning experience of science students. The Faculty of Science's Experiential Learning programme provides opportunities for students to extend their learning experience beyond the classroom. The experiential learning can be in the form of undergraduate research, exchange studies, field trips, disciplinary internship, or service learning internship. We believe such learning experience can benefit students by enhancing their insights in the real-world workplace environment and capabilities to integrate theory and practice, broadening their global outlook, and developing their social and cultural values.

Admission Requirements & Quota

• English language :Level 3
• Chinese language :Level 3
• Mathematics :Level 2
• Liberal Studies :Level 2
• Elective subjects :Level 3 in two subjects, with at least one elective subject in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Combined Science or Integrated Science

Students who are not applying on the strength of HKDSE qualifications such as Associate Degree, Higher Diploma, GCE, IB, SAT or students from Mainland or overseas will be considered individually under the Non-JUPAS scheme.

Places available for 4-year cohort (local students): 358

A New Double Degree Programme to Train Science Teachers in Secondary School - Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science (BEd/BSc)
This new 5-year double degree programme is offered jointly by the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Science from 2012 with an aim to train secondary science teachers. It is an integrated programme offering both academic and professional studies. It incorporates a graduate teaching qualification and is regarded as the equivalent of a BSc plus a Postgraduate Diploma in Education.

3-year BSc Curriculum - Last Cohort for Admission in 2012
2012 will be the last year the Faculty admits students to the 3-year curriculum for both its BSc & BSc (Actuarial Science) Programmes. Students completing HKALE or equivalent after their 7-year secondary school education will be admitted to this 3-year curriculum. Student places for this cohort of students are separate from the 4-year cohort (the number of places available for 3-year cohort (local students) is 355).

Illustrations can be obtained by internet via http://www.scifac.hku.hk/news/media?page=1

For press enquiry, please contact Ms Cindy Chan, Communication Manager of Faculty of Science, at 2241-5286/ 6703-0212 or by email at cindycst@hku.hk.