PG Admission

Post-offer Follow Up

• Document Verification
• Program Registration
• Deferred Admission
• Conclusion of Admission Offer
• Deposit Refund and Forfeiture

 Document Verification

1. After offer acceptance, applicants will need to submit official documents as listed in their respective Document Checklist before the deadline stipulated in the PG OAS. This deadline may be extended for applicants with conditional offers. For details of document requirements, please refer to https://fytgs.hkust.edu.hk/doc.
    
2. Documents submitted are checked and verified by FYTGS.  After the verification of all documents required to substantiate applicants’ qualifications and satisfy admission requirements, the admission offers will be confirmed, and the applicants are eligible for program registration.
    
3. After the admission offer is confirmed and the student visa is approved (where applicable), information of the applicant will be released from PG OAS to the Student Information System (SIS).  The Program Registration Team of the Academic Registry Office (ARO) will then invite the applicants to program registration.
    

 Program Registration

4. Applicants are advised to complete program registration before late August for Fall Term, or before late January for Spring Term. In any case, program registration should be completed before the end of the Add/Drop period.
    
5. If applicants are current or previous students at HKUST, they have to settle all outstanding payment from their studies in order to proceed to new program registration.
    
6. Under extenuating circumstances (e.g. delay in student visa approval or medical reasons), applicants may be allowed to register after the Add/Drop period.  They may apply in writing to ARO via the relevant Program Office.  In any case, they must register before the end of the Extended Drop Period.
    
7. Current final year students at HKUST who have passed graduation check but have not been officially conferred a degree by the Senate can apply for special approval for program registration.  Students should complete and submit the eRequest Form (A04a) to FYTGS via Program Offices.
    
8. Current final year students of other institutions under similar situation as #7 may apply for special approval for program registration.  Such request has to be supported by official documents issued by the Academic Registry (or equivalent central unit) of student’s home university.  A different Request Form is available from FYTGS upon request from Program Offices.  
    

 Deferred Admission

9. Under special circumstances, applicants who have accepted an offer (firm or conditional) and paid the deposit may apply for deferred admission to the subsequent regular term.  They should complete the eRequest Form (A03) and send it to their respective Program Office before the end of the Extended Drop period.  For programs that do not follow the regular academic calendar, their respective submission deadlines are stated on the Request Form.
    
10. Program Offices should notify FYTGS of approved deferral cases.  Deferral decisions will then be recorded in the PG OAS.
     
11. For a deferred applicant who has applied for a student visa, FYTGS will inform the Hong Kong Immigration Department (IMMD) to terminate the application.  The applicant will need to apply for student visa again before commencement of studies.
     
12. All approvals for deferred admission are valid for not more than two consecutive regular terms, after which a new application for admission must be made.
     

 Conclusion of Admission Offer

13. By early October for Fall Term admission and by early March for Spring Term admission, FYTGS will conclude admission by lapsing offers not taken up, including those:
    1. without full deposit payment
    2. with essential substantiating document(s) missing
    3. without approved student visa / entry permit
    4. who did not show up for registration
        
14. If Program Offices wish to exclude any offers from lapse (e.g. applications under consideration for deferral), they should notify FYTGS before the end of the extended Drop period. 
     

 Deposit Refund and Forfeiture

Deposit Refund and Forfeiture Flowchart

15. According to University policy, the admission deposit paid is non-transferrable and non-refundable.  Admission deposit paid will be counted towards the total tuition.
     
16. In the case of deferred admission, the deposit will be kept for the deferred studies (valid for not more than two consecutive terms).
     
17. The only exception for refund of admission deposit is when an applicant fails to meet admission condition(s) of a conditional offer.  If an applicant can show evidence of failing the condition(s) after attempting to meet the condition(s) (e.g. taking the required test), a refund will be considered. 
     
18. Admission deposit paid will be forfeited when applicants:
    1. do not complete program registration
    2. are not able to provide all required substantiating documents
    3. do not attempt to meet admission condition(s) (e.g. do not take the required test)
    4. are not able to provide evidence of meeting or failing admission condition(s)
    5. do not complete program registration within the valid deferral period
        
19. After completion of an admission cycle, deposits for offers not taken up are handled by an automated deposit refund and forfeiture process. The cut-off time for automated deposit refund/forfeiture for Fall (including those commencing in Summer) and Spring admission is the 2^nd Monday of October and March, respectively.  For other programs not following the general program commencement date of the University, the cut-off time is the end of the first term.
     
20. Under extenuating circumstances, admission deposit may be refunded for reasons other than failing to meet conditions. Program Offices should send such requests with supporting documents to FYTGS for endorsement.  Once endorsed, the request will be sent to the Associate Director of Finance, Central Student Financials & Projects and Systems (CSFP&S) Unit for consideration.
     
21. Refund cheques will be dispatched to the applicants by FYTGS.
     

Prepared by HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School
Sep 2022