The Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) programme follows the University of Hong Kong’s entrance requirements.

In this section:

• Interview
• Admission FAQs
• BJ Admission Schemes (for local / mainland / international / exchange / visiting students)
• Scholarships

Interview:

The Bachelor of Journalism programme may invite potential applicants to attend an interview between May and July. Applicants may be interviewed individually or in a group. Interviews are conducted in English — and where relevant, in Putonghua and/or Cantonese. The interview will include questions about applicants’ interests and enthusiasm towards journalism, communication abilities and current affairs knowledge.

BJ Admission FAQs:

What are the entrance requirements for the BJ programme?
There are no additional entrance requirements other than the University’s minimum entrance requirements.

Will you give any exemptions from any of the above requirements?
No exemptions beyond those formally announced will be given.

Does your programme have any additional entrance requirements?
No additional entrance requirements.

How many places are there available for your programme?
Around 30.

How many of these places are taken up by non-JUPAS and EAS applicants?
No quota for non-JUPAS applicants and limited places for outstanding EAS applicants.

Will you accept my application if I put the BJ programme outside Band A?
Since the quota for the BJ is only around 30, you will have a better chance of being admitted if you put BJ/HKU as your Band A choice. If you are really interested in the studying journalism at HKU, you should make the BJ your Band A choice.

Does your programme treat grades in particular subjects differently in its selection formula, by giving them higher weights for example?
No double count subject but higher weights for AS English and AS Chinese

Do you consider HKCEE performance at all? If you do, what are the weightings given to HKALE and HKCEE?
We will consider HKCEE performance. Around 25:75 for HKCEE:HKALE.

How do you treat HKCEE and HKALE repeaters?
Only slight penalty at HKALE level but not at HKCEE level. The latest attempt of AS/AL subject(s) will be counted

Do you interview candidates
Yes. Short-listed applicants will be invited to attend an interview in May/June or after the HKALE results are released.

How will the interview performance affect admissions?
The interview will include questions on the applicant’s interests and enthusiasm towards journalism, communication abilities and current affairs knowledge. We will consider if the applicant is suitable to be a journalist through the interview.

What are the weightings given to HKALE, HKCEE and interview?
Weighting of HKALE (%)    — 50-60%
Weighting of HKCEE (%)    — 15-20%
Weighting of interview (%) — 20-30%

Is it true that those who are not invited to interview are not considered?
For those who are not invited to interview, they may not be in the first round of selected applicants.

How will the interview be conducted?
You may be interviewed individually or in a group. Interviews are conducted in English and, depending on relevance in Putonghua and/or Cantonese.

What is the average score for admission?
Average Scores of JUPAS Applicants admitted in 2007

HKALE
AS UE  — 4.11,  AS CLC — 3.78,   2AL+1AS  — 4.04
HKCEE 6 Best CE — 4.02
Note: A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1

What are the grade profiles of BJ entrants admitted in 2008?
25th Percentile
HKALE
UE   — A, CLC — A, AL1 — B, AL2 — B, AL3 — C
HKCEE
ENG — A, CHI — A, SUB1— B, SUB2— B, SUB3— B, SUB4— C, SUB5— C, SUB6— C, SUB7— C

50th Percentile
HKALE
UE — C, CLC — B, AL1 — C, AL2 — D, AS1 — A, AS2 — B
HKCEE
ENG — C, CHI — A, SUB1— B, SUB2— B, SUB3— B, SUB4— C, SUB5— C, SUB6— C

75th Percentile
HKALE
UE   — A, CLC — D, AL1 — C, AL2 — E, AS1 — B, AS2 — B
HKCEE
ENG — A, CHI — B, SUB1— A, SUB2— A, SUB3— B, SUB4— B, SUB5— B, SUB6— B, SUB7 — E

90th Percentile
HKALE
UE   — A, CLC — D, AL1 — C, AL2 — C, AL3 — D
HKCEE
ENG — A, CHI — D, SUB1— A, SUB2— B, SUB3— B, SUB4— C, SUB5— C, SUB6— D

To what extent do you use information such as the Principal’s Report or extra-curricular activities in your selection process? Do you look favorably upon candidates nominated by school principals or give special consideration of their extra-curricular activities etc.?
We will give extra credits to reports of school principals, records of extra-curricular activities and campus journalism experience. We are interested in students who demonstrated leadership quality, made outstanding achievements in extra-curricular activities and community services. However, we do not regard the outstanding achievements in extra-curricular activities and school principal’s recommendations as “safety-net” for academically “borderline” cases.

Would I be allowed to transfer to another stream / different curriculum after admission? What criteria are used to determine who can transfer?
Students admitted to a specific stream are normally not allowed to transfer to another stream. Besides, transfer is normally not allowed in the 1st and 2nd semesters except with the special permissions of the original programme concerned. Transfer in the 3rd semester is possible if the new programme concerned has available place(s) and is willing to admit the student. The transfer however may result in a repeat of the 1st to 2nd semesters. Transfer in the 5th and 6th semester is very rare.

What are the differences between the journalism programme offered by HKU and programmes offered by BU and CU?
- English-language programme with Chinese writing-skills training that also prepares students for Chinese media
- International orientation: exchange, internships and overseas jobs; international teachers
- Professional orientation: integrating theory and practice with professional training
- Convergence media approach: integrated training in print, broadcast and online media
- Tailor-made guidance: mentorship programme for all year 1 students
- Small-class size that allows for individual attention

What exactly can I learn in a journalism programme?
The Bachelor of Journalism programme provides integrated training in writing, reporting and editing for print, broadcast and online media.

Can you tell me more about the exchange programme offered by the JMSC?
The BJ programme offers opportunities for students to spend one or two semesters at leading overseas journalism schools, including the University of Missouri and University of Maryland in the US, the University of Queensland in Australia and the Danish School of Journalism in Denmark.
Besides the exchange programme specially offered for the BJ programme, students may also join the exchange programme organised by the University, in which students can conduct full-term or short term exchanges and on a full credit-transfer basis in over 100 universities worldwide. Scholarships and awards are granted to qualified students to study in world-class universities.

Can you tell me more about the internship programme offered by the JMSC?
All BJ students are required to earn credits by working in media internships during their time in our programme. Students are required to spend at least two to three months over one or two summers working in media internships. Faculty-administered internship programme that places students in media and journalism jobs in local and international English and Chinese-language media in Hong Kong, China and abroad.

Can other faculties’ students major in journalism?
No.They can minor in journalism only.

How do I apply to study journalism at HKU?
You have to apply to the Bachelor of Journalism programme directly. The JUPAS programme number is “6822″.

BJ Admission Schemes:

Local Students
If you are a Secondary Six student in a local school, please visit http://www.hku.hk/admission/eas/index.html

Non-local Students
If you are studying Secondary Six or its equivalent in a non-local school or in a non-mainstream local school, please visit http://www.hku.hk/admission/non-local.htm

Direct Admission Scheme

Some undergraduate programmes have set aside a fixed number of second year student places for direct admission of sub-degree graduates.  However, the Bachelor of Journalism programme does NOT accept second year admission through the Direct Admissions Scheme.

International Students - International students are not required to apply to the University of Hong Kong (HKU) through the JUPAS system.

Strictly speaking, this is for ANY student who is not applying to HKU on the basis of their Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination results (if you are, you will be applying through the JUPAS system).

If you are a student at one of the other universities in Hong Kong, and you wish to transfer to HKU, you should also apply using the non-JUPAS system.

Mainland China Students – According to the National Ministry of Education, all current high school graduates from the mainland are eligible to apply for admission to the undergraduate programmes of the University of Hong Kong.

The University has its own application procedure independent of the National Joint College Entrance Examination Scheme (NJCEES).

Exchange Students – To qualify for admission as an exchange student, an applicant should have a satisfactory academic standing at the home institution, including satisfactory standards in the English language and in the subjects of his/her choice.

Application for admission as an exchange student should be made via the International Office/Study Abroad Office of the applicant’s home university.  Application documents are sent to partner institutions in January each year. The closing dates for submission of applications are as follows:

- March 31 for admission in September of the same year
- September 1 for admission in January of the following year.

If you are a student from one of the JMSC’s partner institutions (see below), applications should be returned to the JMSC directly;
If you are a student from one of the University of Hong Kong’s partner institutions, please forward your applications to the Office of International Student Exchange of HKU.

JMSC Partner Institutions of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre:

• - Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, USA
• - Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, USA
• - School of Journalism and Communication, University of Queensland, Australia
• - Danish School of Journalism, Denmark

Visiting Students – If you do not wish to follow a full degree study programme, you may consider applying for admission as a visiting student to attend courses for one semester or one year of study in our Bachelor of Journalism programme.  Or, if you are looking for a place for a study abroad programme but there is no formal exchange agreement between the two universities, you could consider applying as a visiting student to the University of Hong Kong.