Common Core Courses

The 30-credit Common Core Program incorporates a competency education framework that helps students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to perform in real-life situations. Students may refer to the competency curriculum map to select common core courses that teach the competencies they want to learn. When taking common core courses, students should keep the following in mind:

1. The list of common core courses may change from year to year. Only courses taken in the academic term in which they are so listed can be used to fulfill common core requirement.
2. Students from different major programs will have different credit requirement for the areas in the Broadening group. Please refer to the program-specific credit requirement for details.
3. The common core area of courses may also vary from year to year due to the change of course content and focus. Students are reminded to enquire about the designated common core areas of courses in the specific academic term before class enrollment.
4. The Course List contains the common core courses and their common core areas. Courses that are listed under more than one common core area can only be used to count towards one of the listed areas, but not all.
5. Certain major/minor programs may include some common core courses as electives. While these courses can fulfill relevant major/minor requirements, students should be aware of the credit reuse rules specified by individual programs. Moreover, credits of common core courses cannot be used to count towards both common core and school/major requirements. Students should seek advice from the program catalog or their major/minor departments.
6. Common core courses in the Experiencing group are specifically tailored for students in their third year or beyond, with the goal of enhancing their educational experience at the University. It is important to note that while general prerequisites to proceeding to this group are not required, some courses may have specific requirements or recommendations that students should review before enrolling. Additionally, students may consult with academic advisors to determine which courses align with their academic and career objectives.
7. Students are encouraged to complete courses in the Cognitive Foundations of University Education: Critical Thinking and Data Literacy (CTDL) and the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP) areas during their study at HKUST.