Students who directly enter Year 3 based on their previous academic results in an Associate Degree/Higher Diploma programme will in principle follow the BAEAL Year 3 study pattern.  However, due to their special status, they may be required to follow a tailor-made progression pattern specially designed to enable them to graduate within the normal time frame. In such cases, students are provided with their progression pattern upon registration.

Students admitted to an Articulation Degree or Senior Year curriculum, which is already a reduced curriculum, are normally not given credit transfer for any required GUR subjects and DSR subjects within the BAEAL curriculum. They must complete at least 60 credits to be eligible for the award.

BAEAL Credit Requirements for Graduation: Senior Year Entry Students

^* Decided on a case-by-case basis according to the academic results of previous AD/HD studies 

General University Requirement (GUR) 

The GUR for Senior Year Entry students normally includes (1) the Language and Communication Requirement (LCR), which includes Reading Requirements in English (ER) and Chinese (CR) and Writing Requirements in English (EW) and Chinese (CW); (2) the Service-Learning Requirement; and (3) the Cluster Area Requirement (CAR), which includes a China-Related Studies Requirement.

Discipline Specific Requirement (DSR) 

BAEAL strives to provide students with a solid foundation in the knowledge and skills they will need to communicate effectively in English for professional and business purposes in Hong Kong and around the world, where English functions as the key lingua franca of professions and businesses. Accordingly, all subjects in the BAEAL discipline-specific curriculum for Senior Year Entry students are drawn from the BAEAL four-year curriculum. Briefly, the BAEAL discipline-specific curriculum for Senior Year Entry students has the following components:

(1) Major Study Core Subjects 

Major Study Core Subjects (30 credits) are compulsory for all BAEAL Senior Year Entry students and are organised around the following focal areas: Language Sciences, Global Communicative Competence, and English for the Professions. They are designed to provide BAEAL students with advanced English language and communicative competence and the solid foundation of academic knowledge and professional skills required of language professionals.

(2) Major Study Elective Subjects 

Elective subjects (minimum 15 credits) are likewise grouped into the above three focal areas to further broaden BAEAL students’ academic and professional vision and global outlook.

Students are reminded that credits earned from taking Global Language subjects (e.g. Spanish, German, French) cannot contribute to the fulfilment of the 15 credits requirement for BAEAL Major Study Electives.

(3) Capstone Project for Language Studies

A Capstone Project in Language Studies (6 credits), compulsory for all BAEAL students, is undertaken in the final year under the supervision of ENGL academic staff. Through the Capstone Project, students' learning experience accumulated over the entire undergraduate study is consolidated in the form of a dissertation. This capstone experience helps prepare students for professional practice, further academic pursuits, future lifelong learning and developing their generic competencies.

(4) Work-Integrated Education (WIE)

WIE (3 training credits) provides a framework for students to integrate what they learn in the classroom with what they learn in the real world, and to develop into all-rounded people with professional competence. Students typically meet the WIE requirement by completing a one-month summer internship in an organisational or a corporate context, applying the knowledge and skills they have acquired from study to the real working world. The WIE placement can be completed at any time during the third year of study, but not later than the Summer Term of Year Three. WIE assessment is based on three grades: Pass with Merit (M), Pass (P) and Failure (F). However, the subject does not contribute toward the final GPA.

Students can apply for a waiver of the WIE requirement if they can demonstrate their fulfilment of the requirement with relevant work experience. Students undertaking non-local WIE placements may receive partial financial subsidies from the Careers and Placement Section (CPS) of the Student Affairs Office (SAO) in the form of Offshore WIE Sponsorships (OWS). Further WIE information is available via the Department of English and Communication website: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/engl/experience-and-opportunities/work-integrated-education/.

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in a non-local WIE placement in an English-speaking country or in the Chinese mainland. While the University may provide partial subsidies for eligible offshore WIE placements, students are expected to be responsible for the main cost for participating in such placements.

More information on the subjects offered can be found here.