FAQ

No, you will be asked to state your preferred option only after the program commences.

Each class runs for 3.5 hours. A two-credit course comprises eight classes. As there is usually one class per week for each course, it generally takes 8 weeks (including an examination in the final week) to complete a two-credit course.

Full-time MBA

We have one intake each year. The program orientation for all incoming students starts in late July/early August.

Candidates should start their applications in September for the following year’s intake.

Part-time MBA

We have one intake for the Part-time MBA Program (Weekly Mode) and one intake for the Part-time MBA Program (Bi-Weekly Mode) each year.

The program orientation for all incoming students starts in late July/early August.

Candidates should start their applications in September for the following year’s intake.

Digital MBA for Global Leaders (DiMBA)

We have one intake for the Digital MBA for Global Leaders program (DiMBA), which normally commences in February.

Classes are mainly held on HKUST Clearwater Bay campus except weekday evenings which are usually held in downtown (Central or Admiralty). Class schedule, venue and delivery mode are subject to change and actual situations such as COVID-19 or government’s regulations.

Full-time MBA

Core courses are held weekly in weekday morning or afternoon. Flexible cores and electives are mainly scheduled on weekly basis in weekday evening or weekend, and may be shared among Full-time, Part-time and exchange students.

Part-time MBA 

Part-time MBA Program (Weekly Mode) core courses are mainly held weekly in Saturday morning and afternoon. Flexible cores and electives are mainly scheduled on weekly basis in weekday evenings or weekends, and may be shared among Full-time, Part-time and exchange students.

Part-Time MBA Program (Bi-Weekly Mode) core courses are mainly held in daytime on alternative weekends (both Saturday & Sunday). Flexible cores and electives are mainly held in Friday and Saturday evenings or daytime on Saturday and Sunday every alternative week.

Typical hours of each class session are as follows:

• Weekday daytime: 09:30-13:00; 14:00-17:30
• Saturday daytime: 09:00-12:30; 14:00-17:30 (weekly pattern) 09:30-13:00; 14:00-18:00 (bi-weekly pattern)
• Sunday daytime: 09:00-12:30; 14:00-17:30
• Weekday and Saturday evening:19:00-22:30

Digital MBA for Global Leaders (DiMBA)

Core courses normally run on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm. Flexible core courses and electives are arranged on weekday evenings after 7:00 pm or at weekends during the day.

Yes, but credits for exempted courses have to be replaced by electives. Some courses can be exempted for students who have obtained certain qualifications and can provide proof such as professional certificates, transcripts and syllabuses of courses taken. The content and level of previous courses should be equivalent to those of the exempted courses and satisfactory grades must have been achieved.

We do not encourage students to extend the length of their study. However, we do offer study extensions for students who cannot complete the program within the defined timeframe because of other life or work commitments. All students must complete the whole program within 5 years.

There is no accommodation available on campus. Many students find it convenient to rent an apartment in neighboring areas such as Tseung Kwan O and Hang Hau, around 10–15 minutes ride from the Clear Water Bay main campus. Living in the city gives students the chance to interact with the local community and gain first-hand experience of the local culture.

For more information on finding accommodation in Hong Kong, please visit HKUST OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING.

Our campuses can be easily accessed in Hong Kong. Our Clear Water Bay main campus is just a 10-minute ride from the Hang Hau MTR station.

We also have a downtown campus in the Hong Kong Club Building located next to the Central MTR station exit.

Learn more about transportation to our main campus HERE.

No parking spaces are available for students on the Clear Water Bay main campus. We recommended that you travel to the campus via public transportation or share a taxi with your classmates.

Yes, we can provide students with the contact details of real estate agents that have helped students to locate off-campus accommodation in the past.

We strongly recommend that students have their own laptops. There are, however, several computer barns on campus equipped with more than 100 computers. Students can join the laptop scheme on campus to purchase a laptop at a discounted price (subject to vendor's availability)​, although there will be a delay before the product can be collected.

Accommodation is provided for students enrolled in the Part-time MBA (Bi-Weekly Mode) when they have to take weekend classes on the Clear Water Bay main campus. No accommodation is provided for Part-time MBA (Weekly Mode) students.

Our campuses can be easily accessed by working professionals in Hong Kong. The Clear Water Bay main campus is just a 10-minute ride from the Hang Hau MTR station. We also have a downtown campus in the Hong Kong Club Building, located next to the Central MTR station exit. Weekday evening classes and career/networking activities are conducted there to allow part-time students to attend conveniently after work.

The career support provided for Part-time MBA students focuses on strengthening the business and management skills required to accelerate career progression.

Please click HERE for more information about the career support offered.

The importance of Chinese language ability varies between jobs, depending on the scope of responsibilities. Regional roles that require frequent interaction with overseas markets do not necessarily require Chinese language skills. However, positions that are mainland China-related or have a strong focus on the local market often require fluency in Cantonese or Putonghua. The ability to speak Chinese in addition to English is a definite advantage for many MBA-suitable jobs and roles in Hong Kong.

Please click HERE for more information on career services.

Being the only member school of the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) in Hong Kong, HKUST Part-time MBA students have the opportunity to pursue credit-bearing Small Network Online Courses (SNOC), which are virtual networked education programs offered by other member schools across 28 countries, including renowned universities such as Yale, Oxford, Berkeley and HEC.

The opportunity to undertake an exchange program is open to all Full-time MBA students, but the final arrangements are subject to change, given the impact of COVID-19. Whether you are able to study at your preferred school will depend on the number of places available, which varies year by year. If the demand for a specific partner school is greater than the number of available exchange places, students are assessed in terms of their academic and personal qualities to match them with partner schools.

Students continue to pay HKUST tuition fees for the credits they take at exchange schools. Other expenses incurred during the exchange, such as flights, accommodation, and living expenses, are borne by students.

A satisfactory GMAT score is generally required for admission to our MBA programs. As applicants come from different educational institutions and have different academic backgrounds and levels of work experience, the GMAT score helps us to assess their academic suitability for an international MBA program in a standardized way. Extensive research also shows that the GMAT score consistently predicts how well an applicant will handle MBA studies.

If you have already completed your GRE exam and have a valid score from the past 5 years, you are welcome to submit the report.

For DiMBA applicants, please email us at dimba@ust.hk.

For your reference, the majority of our applicants submit GMAT scores, which is an indication of their focus on business school programs.

A TOEFL/IELTS score is required if your first language is not English or English was not the medium of instruction in your undergraduate or postgraduate studies.

We do not have a minimum score requirement. As a point of reference, the average GMAT scores of students in our different programs are as follows:

• Full-time MBA Program: 660
• Part-time MBA Program (Weekly Mode): 620
• Part-time MBA Program (Bi-Weekly Mode): 630
• Digital MBA for Global Leaders Program: 610

For TOEFL/IELTS, we follow the minimum requirements set by the University. Please refer to the HKUST Office of Postgraduate Studies (Admission Requirements) HERE for more information.

We take into account any full-time work experience up to July 1 of the year in which the student’s MBA will commence.

No. Our aim is to bring together a group of qualified participants with diverse backgrounds. We do not favor any particular academic training or work experience.

Your GMAT result is valid for 5 years prior to the commencement of study.

All shortlisted candidates must attend an interview. Under special circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we arrange virtual admissions interviews. Face-to-face interviews may be arranged for candidates residing in Hong Kong subject to the situation. Requests for phone interviews will not be granted. Typically, each candidate attends one panel interview.

DiMBA shortlisted candidates will also be invited to attend admissions interviews, which are normally conducted virtually.

You are only required to complete four sections of the application form (Personal Particulars, Academic Qualifications, Work Experience and References, and Test Information) and upload your C.V. by the application deadline. This process should take 20–30 minutes to complete. Click HERE for the sample online application form.

If your GMAT and/or English test scores (if applicable) are not available when you submit your application, simply indicate when your test scores will be available.

Access our online application portal HERE.

****Additional information and supporting documents are only required if you pass our preliminary shortlisting. You will receive an email notification of your shortlisted status.

Applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be notified within 8 weeks of the application deadline. Admissions decisions are sent in the mail approximately 12 weeks after the application deadline.

After submitting your application, you will be notified by email if you have been shortlisted. You will then be required to upload the following additional information to the online application portal within 1 week of being shortlisted:

• Essays
• Skills & Professional Qualification
• Scholarship & Other Information
• Supporting Documents

Only scanned copies of the supporting documents are required at the application stage. It is strongly recommended that applicants use our document upload function on the online application platform to submit soft copies of documents. Note that each scanned document should not exceed 1 MB.

If your official GMAT/GRE and/or IELTS/TOEFL score report (if applicable) is not yet available, you can skip the relevant supporting documents and upload them as soon as they are available.

You will be required to submit official documents and/or true copies certified by the issuing authorities with official imprint and signature if you pass the admissions interview. Detailed information will be provided by our Admissions Team in the later stages of the admissions process.

View a sample shortlisted online application form: Full-time / Part-time Weekly / Part-time Bi-Weekly.

No admissions interview will be arranged if the required additional information is not received on time.

You can submit your application first and indicate your scheduled test date in the application form. You should take your GMAT and/or English test within a month of the application.

An unofficial GMAT score report is made available immediately after the test and should be emailed to our office for reference.

Work references can be written by people for or with whom you have previously worked to give the Admissions Committee insights into your work experience and your personal and professional qualities and attributes, such as communication skills, teamwork, leadership, and confidence. A referee should know you well enough to attest to your work performance and personal and professional qualities. A sample reference form (in PDF format) is provided for your reference.

All reference forms should be submitted online. Paper reference forms/letters will not be accepted. You will be asked to provide the names and contact details of your referees in your online application, after which the application system will automatically send an email to each of your referees and ask them to fill out an online reference form. You can check the status of your references in the application system once you have completed the application form and submitted the application fee.

If you completed your degree in Europe, you may be required to provide a diploma supplement issued by your university. A diploma supplement is an official document accompanying a higher education diploma that provides details of the nature and content of the qualification and the results obtained. Please refer to https://europa.eu/europass/en/diploma-supplement for details.

The total program fee for the 2023 intake is HK$600,000 (approx. US$76,930).

Successful applicants who accept an offer are required to pay a non-refundable deposit of HK$50,000 (approx. US$6,400), which will be offset against their outstanding program fee. The remainder of the fee is then paid in two installments. The first installment is due in September when the program commences and the second is due the following February. The exact payment schedule will be provided upon admission.

The program fees for the 2023 intake are as follows:

• Part-time MBA Program (Weekly Mode): HK$465,000
• Part-time MBA Program (Bi-Weekly Mode): HK$513,000

Successful applicants who accept an offer are required to pay a non-refundable deposit of HK$50,000, which will be offset against their outstanding program fee.

The remainder of the program fee is paid in two installments. The first installment is due in September when the program commences and the second is due in the following February to April. The exact payment schedule will be provided upon admission.

The program fee for DiMBA Intake 2022 is HK$465,000.

A successful applicant who accepts an offer to the program is required to pay a non-refundable deposit of HK$50,000, which will be offset against their outstanding program fee.

The remainder of the program fee is paid in two installments (the exact payment schedule will be announced upon admission).

Please click HERE for more information on Scholarships and Financial Aid.

Local students can apply to the government’s non-means tested loan and Continuing Education Fund. The latter scheme offers a reimbursement of up to HK$20,000 to eligible candidates.

Students from Company Nomination Scheme (CNS) participating companies and organizations can apply for an allowance of HK$45,000 for Intake 2023. The CNS allowance policy is subject to change every year. Please refer to our website for updates.

Students from Company Nomination Scheme (CNS) participating companies and organizations can apply for an allowance of HK$45,000 for Intake 2023 The CNS allowance policy is subject to change every year. Please click HERE for more details.