Study in Hong Kong (in English, Cantonese) - ISEP Exchange
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Experience Hong Kong from one of the city’s largest and greenest campuses, where skyline views, mountain trails, street food, shopping, and quick metro access make it easy to balance city life with nature.
• Take English- or Cantonese-taught courses at the CUHK, an AACSB-accredited institution, in fields like Chinese language, Asian studies, engineering, communications, and international relations. You can also study Cantonese or Mandarin at all levels through the Yale-China Chinese Language Centre.
• Find your place in an inclusive, multicultural campus community by joining student organizations, intermural sports competitions, and an array of cultural activities and excursions organized by the Office of Academic Links.
LIVE and DINE
Live in one of nine on-campus residences, assigned based on your preferences. Stay in a fully furnished room with telephone and internet connections alongside 1-2 other roommates. Share bathroom facilities with the other students living on your floor, along with communal laundry facilities, dining halls, recreational spaces, and kitchens equipped with refrigerators, stoves, boilers, microwaves, and cookware.
ISEP Exchange students receive a monthly stipend to use toward meals and daily food expenses at one of 30+ campus canteens. Students staying in residential Colleges with mandatory communal dinners three times per week can expect to pay an additional meal charge.
EXPERIENCE
Start your semester with CUHK’s Hong Kong City Tour during orientation, which takes students to Victoria Peak, Stanley Market, and the Waterfront Promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui, all for only 150 HKD. ISEP Exchange students can also pay that same small fee to join different cultural activities, trips and excursions organized by the Office of Academic Links, including trips to Lantau Island, the Big Buddha, museum visits, cooking classes, Kung Fu classes, Chinese calligraphy classes, and weekly coffee hours with local snacks.
Get involved on campus by joining student organizations and intramural sports, or use Hong Kong’s metro, ferries, and high-speed rail to explore Temple Street Night Market, Wan Chai Promenade, Disneyland, and more!
What We Love About CUHK
We love that Hong Kong is extremely multicultural, giving students a front-row view of how East Asian culture, global city life, and everyday local traditions come together. The food scene is also a major highlight, especially for adventurous eaters ready to try everything from campus canteens to street food, dim sum, and classic cha chaan teng meals.
Course Description
Courses are available in the arts, business, engineering, sciences and social sciences fields. CUHK is particularly recommended for students interested in Asian, Chinese, and international studies. CUHK also offers many cultural activities including Tai Chi classes, field trips and part-time teaching opportunities.
CUHK teaches in three languages: English (E), Mandarin (P) and Cantonese (C). You can click the "Website for Course Availability" link for instructions on viewing CUHK's teaching timetable. Select Term 1 for classes starting in August, and Term 2 for January.
Note language codes like "E#C," indicate classes taught in Cantonese that will switch to English for English speakers. Codes like "E&C" will be in a combination of both languages. E#C or E#P courses are fine for most English-speaking international students, while E&C and E&P courses are a great opportunity for fluent speakers of Mandarin or Cantonese use their language capabilities in a classroom environment.
Credits Earned
Students who complete the program in good standing can expect to earn 12-15 credits which ISEP recommends is the equivalent of 12-15 U.S. Credit Hours.
If you use financial aid, please speak with a qualified financial aid advisor to understand your academic obligations and the requirements for using financial aid.
The chart below provides examples of some of the more popular classes students have taken in the past at CUHK. Use this to get you started on planning your own study abroad experience in Hong Kong!
Sample Classes Available:
|
International Relations |
Engineering |
Communication |
Chinese Studies |
|
|
Introduction to Global Studies I & II |
Bioinformatics (Biomedical Engineering) |
|
Modern Chinese History |
Cantonese for International Students |
|
Cultural Psychology and Globalization |
Analog Integrated Circuits (Electrical Engineering) |
|
Global China |
Introduction to Chinese Characters |
|
International Relations and International Law |
Computer Organization and Design (Computer Engineering) |
Fundamentals in Visual Media |
Cultural History of China |
Cantonese: Application of Vocabulary and Grammar I
|
|
Global Environmental Challenges |
Introduction to Python (Information Engineering) |
|
Chinese Literature in Translation |
Putonghua (Mandarin): Application of Vocabulary and Grammar I
|
Academics
Other Academic Conditions
Currently, spaces in business, management, finance, marketing, communication and broadcasting courses taught in English are extremely limited. Students requesting courses in these departments must be flexible in their course requests. Students who need a full course load in these courses should consider other programs.
Medicine and Education courses are closed to exchange students. Only students with a Law major at their home university are allowed to take courses in the Law department. Business classes are closed to Graduate students. Click here for the list of courses not available for exchange or study-abroad students, and additional information for Law courses, undergraduate Business Administration courses, and students affiliated with S. H. Ho College.
At CUHK, undergraduate courses are coded 1 - 4 while postgraduate courses are coded 5 – 9.
The first numeral in the course code of undergraduate courses stands for the level of study. Typically courses in the 1000 level are lower division courses, while courses in the 3000 and 4000 levels are upper division courses. For courses in the 2000 level, the classification of division varies according to policies of individual departments, but they can generally be considered intermediate level.
Students need to take a language placement test if they want to enroll in a Chinese language course. This can be waived only if the student is planning to take an entry-level Chinese course. It’s highly encouraged for students take the placement test prior to arrival and registration. For subject/non-language courses taught in Putonghua (Mandarin), students who feel confident in their language skills can try to register.
Semester & Prices (based on your filters)
Select a semester to calculate the price. Semesters are named according to host university's calendar.Semester Tuition
- Priority Admissions Deadline: {{schedule.semester.semesterTranslation.displayPriorityDeadline}}
- Chance of Placement: {{schedule.chancesOfPlacement.name}}
- Application Deadline: {{schedule.applicationDeadline}}
- Average Classes Per Week: {{schedule.semester.classesPerWeek}}
- Average Class Hours Per Week: {{schedule.semester.hoursPerWeek}}
Required Expenses
Pre-Sessions
{{child.getBenefitsRangeDisplay()}}
University Deadline: {{child.studentDeadline | date:'longDate'}}
Housing
Meals
Optional Expenses
Pre-Sessions
{{child.getBenefitsRangeDisplay()}}
University Deadline: {{child.studentDeadline | date:'longDate'}}