FAQ

A scholarship is an award offered to students who have excelled in their academic and/or non-academic performances. Scholarships are different from grants, loans and bursaries. The former are awarded on merits, whereas the latter are provided to students on a need basis as financial assistance.

1. Admissions Scholarships – for local and non-local students admitted to HKUST with outstanding academic performance.

2. Scholarships for Continuing Undergraduate Students – for continuing undergraduates with outstanding academic performance at HKUST.

3. Scholarships for Postgraduate Students – for postgraduates who have demonstrated potential to carry out academic research or ancillary teaching duties.

4. Exchange Scholarships – for students participating in overseas exchange programs.

5. Scholarships for Visiting Students - for outstanding students to pursue overseas studies as visiting students.

6. Non-academic Achievement and Reaching Out Scholarships - for students who have demonstrated achievements or talent in non-academic areas, and for students to broaden their exposure in multicultural learning environment.

In general, all active students of HKUST, including exchange-out students, are eligible for consideration of scholarships. Exceptions may be granted for specific scholarships. However, students who are NOT of active status (e.g. on leave, withdrawn, terminated, graduated, etc.) will NOT be eligible for scholarship awards. Scholarship applicants / nominees / awardees are responsible to keep SFAO informed of the change of their student status.

Most of the scholarships are for one year (i.e., one-off). There are also some renewable scholarships which are tenable for 3 to 5 years, depending on the normative length of study of the specified programs.

For one-off scholarships, students can receive the awards only once in the award year, and the scholarship will not be continued in subsequent years of study under any circumstances.

For renewable scholarships, students can receive the awards annually during the normal study period of respective study programs, or during the specified years of study as offered by the University / donor. In order to renew the scholarships, students have to fulfill certain conditions (such as academic performance, community services and third language requirements) as required by the University and donors.

For students admitted through the Joint University Programs Admissions System (JUPAS), performance in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination (HKDSE) is the most important criterion for award. For International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma holders, students will be awarded based on the number of IB Total Points. For International/Asian Olympiad Gold Medalists, their outstanding performances in specific Olympiad Competitions are recognized by the scholarship scheme. For students with other academic or non-academic merits, please refer to more scholarship information from the section of Prospective Undergraduate Students.

In general, students do not have to apply for the admissions scholarship. For students with excellent academic or non-academic achievements, scholarship offers are normally issued together with admissions offers.

For local students under the JUPAS scheme who meet the JUPAS scholarship award requirements, they will be informed of the final scholarship entitlements after the commencement of the new academic year.

Besides, there are some non-academic achievement scholarships which may require applications. Details will be announced by our office or the Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions Office.

The admissions scholarship amount will be split into 2 equal installments and paid in Fall and Spring terms respectively. You are strongly advised to prepare some pocket money for daily expenses for 2 to 3 months in advance, since scholarship payments are usually settled by the end of each term.

For further details of the arrangement on scholarship disbursement, please refer to "Scholarship Disbursement-related Questions" of this FAQ page.

A wide range of scholarships are offered to continuing undergraduate students. Students who are eligible for the "Scholarship Scheme for Continuing Undergraduate Students" can apply at the beginning of each academic year. There are also a number of scholarships funded by the generous donations from our supportive donors. Your School/ Department and our office will work together to identify qualified students and submit nominations to the donors. Selected candidates will be notified of the scholarship awards result in due course.

The key selection criterion of most of these awards is academic performance, however, some donors may look for attributes such as leadership potential, involvement in extra-curricular activities and non-academic achievements. A few other donors also take financial needs of the students into consideration. For more details, please refer to the scholarship information for Continuing Undergraduate Students and Non-academic achievement Scholarships.

Exchange scholarships are merit-based awards offered to outstanding students who plan to do overseas exchange studies in any one of our global exchange partner institutions. Generally speaking, students do not need to apply for exchange scholarships. Students who are joining the University’s exchange programs in Fall or Spring Term will be considered for exchange scholarships automatically. Selected students will be informed of the exchange scholarship awards and requested to provide supplementary information and documents upon donor’s request.

Students who are planning for participation in study abroad / exchange programs should apply for HKUST Study Abroad Funding Support offered by Office of Global Learning (OGL).  Students who are going for reaching out activities other than study abroad / exchange programs may apply for reaching out scholarships offered by SFAO during the scholarship application period.  Email announcement will be made.  Please keep watch to our email.

Yes, there are scholarships for which HKUST students will have to openly compete with students from other tertiary institutions.  Students who wish to apply for these "open" scholarships should keep an eye on call for applications announced via our website, "myPortal" of the University's website, HKUST email account, or notice boards around campus. 

Yes. Although your external scholarship is not offered nor administrated by HKUST, the external donors may attach certain conditions to your scholarship award that the university should be made aware of. Sometimes, the award status verification and payment processes may involve the university as well. We can provide appropriate assistance to you if you report your external scholarship entitlement to our Office.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the HKUST has set a maximum scholarship amount that a student can receive in total in each academic year, in order to make sure that your total awarded amount does not exceed “the cap”, you are obligated to report your external scholarship entitlement to our Office. You are welcome to consult our Office if you would like to know more about "the cap".

Donors want to be assured that their contributions are put to good use. For this reason, it is the best to spend the money for academic-related purposes and for activities of self-enhancement.

Yes. First and foremost, you should keep up with your good work. Then, there are a few other things we feel you should do:

1. Donors usually like to know more about their awardees. Write your donor a nice letter to (i) say "thank you"; (ii) tell him/her how you will spend the scholarship money; and (iii) inform him/her about your study plans and aspirations.

2. On the occasion that a scholarship presentation ceremony or reception event is organized, awardees are expected to attend these functions to thank and meet the donor in person. You will also have a chance to meet new faces and develop your social and networking skills as well as leadership potential.

3. For some scholarships, awardees may have the obligations to participate in internship, community services and/or enroll in foreign language courses.

Yes, your admissions scholarship offer letter has stated clearly that change in program of study may affect the scholarship entitlement or award level to you. If you intend to make such a change, you should consult the transfer-in School/Program Office about their support of your scholarship offer before applying for transfer. Otherwise, your admissions scholarship may be terminated in part or in full despite your fulfillment of the original requirement of your scholarship offer.

 In general, renewable scholarships can be renewed in a designated period subject to satisfactory academic performance. Awardees have to fulfill the renewal requirement(s) and other obligations as stipulated in the scholarship terms and conditions in order to get the scholarship renewed. Students who fail to meet the scholarship renewal requirement(s) will lose the scholarship. Therefore, you are strongly advised to ensure you understand and continue to fulfill the scholarship terms and conditions. If you have any questions or foresee any difficulties, always talk to SFAO. 

The scholarship will be paid automatically to your designated personal bank account registered under the Student Information System (SIS). If you do not have a Hong Kong personal bank account, you should open one so that auto-pay arrangement could be facilitated. Missing or invalid bank account information may delay the scholarship disbursement process.

First of all, you should be aware of your scholarship duration. If your scholarship is renewable for the subsequent year(s), please take note of the renewal requirements as stated in your offer letter. If your admissions scholarship is one-off, you will receive the scholarship payment in the 1st year of study ONLY. Upon the confirmation of your scholarship, you are strongly advised to refer to your scholarship confirmation letter once again for the exact amount and duration of your scholarship entitlement.

One-off admissions scholarship will NOT be renewed or continued in the remaining years of study under any circumstances. Therefore, please make sure you plan for your financial resources in prior and secure sufficient funds to support your studies at HKUST, especially for non-local students who are not eligible for financial assistance from both the HKSAR Government Grant/Loan and the University’s financial assistance scheme.

We shall arrange necessary off-setting of fees for you if applicable as follows.

Payment arrangement summary table:

Contact SFAO staff at Tel.: (852) 2358-5796 or Email: hkust.scholarships@ust.hk.