Research Postgraduate - Important Notes to Applicants

Useful Tips for Applying to PolyU

  1. Explore our research postgraduate programmes and research areas to help you identify your research interest(s).
  2. Review the admission requirements and read all of the information posted on the Study@PolyU website.
  3. Discuss your research interest(s) with the research personnel of the academic department(s) concerned.
  4. Prepare scanned copies of supporting documents (e.g., academic certificates and transcripts for undergraduate and/or postgraduate studies, research proposal) for your online application.
  5. Create an account in eAdmission with your current email address and complete your online application with detailed information and documentary proof.
  6. Submit your online application and settle the application fee before the application deadline via eAdmission.
  7. Check your emails regularly and keep up to date with your application status via eAdmission.

Check Application Period

 

The eAdmission accepts applications for admission in the application period specified in the table below. Some departments may set their own schedules for admission to their research postgraduate programmes. Please click here to view the application deadline for individual programmes.

 

 

 

Application Periods

(Note: Please observe the lead time for application submission below)
Semester One (September 2023 Entry)  

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS)

(Please refer to the HKPFS website for details)

 

 

 

 

Initial Application to the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong

1 September 2022 to 1 December 2022 (HKT 12:00 noon GMT +8 hours)

 

Full Application to PolyU

1 September 2022 to 1 December 2022 (HKT 11:59 p.m. GMT + 8 hours)

PolyU Research Postgraduate Programmes

1 September 2022 to 31 May 2023
Semester Two (January 2024 Entry)  

PolyU Research Postgraduate Programmes

1 January 2023 to 30 September 2023
Summer Term (May 2024 Entry)  
PolyU Research Postgraduate Programmes 1 May 2023 to 31 January 2024

 

Lead Time for Application Submission

 

Non-local applicants: 4 months before the commencement date of semester/term

Local applicants: 3 months before the commencement date of semester/term

 

Please click here for information on the commencement date of each semester/term.

 

Meet Admission Requirements

 

If you have not met the admission requirements when you apply to PolyU, please indicate the date when your academic qualifications and/or English language test scores will become available in your online application.

 

Upload Supporting Documents

 

In addition to uploading scanned copies of the required certificate(s) and transcript(s) in support of the qualifications and results stated in your online application, you will need to upload all of the supporting documents specifically required for the programme to which you are applying. 

 

  • Please refer to Supporting Documents for Application for details.  Failure to upload the supporting documents may affect your likelihood of admission or prolong the application process. 

  • If the supporting documents are not in English or Chinese, you must provide officially translated documents in English; otherwise, your application may not be considered.  

  • If you have not yet graduated and cannot provide a final result certificate when submitting your online application, please update the relevant sections of the online application and upload the document(s) indicating your latest results once they are available.

 

Scanned copies will suffice during the application stage. Certified copies will be requested after you are given an offer or a conditional offer of admission (see the ‘Accept the Admission Offer’ section below for details).

 

Provide Academic References

 

To provide academic references, please follow the steps below:

  1. Identify and invite two academics who are familiar with your academic performance and achievements. Proposed supervisor(s) from the PolyU, proposed supervisor(s) from the partner institution (if any), and persons from non-academic background are not considered as appropriate academic referees.
  2. Politely approach the two academics and seek their consent to be your referees.
  3. Provide complete and accurate information on your referees, including their email addresses, in your online application.
  4. Submit your application as early as possible to leave sufficient time for your referees to complete the online academic referee’s reports before the application deadline, as a system-generated email invitation will be sent to your referees only after submission of your online application.

 

If you choose to apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS), it is a requirement to have two online academic referee's reports submitted before the application deadline.

 

If you choose to apply for admission to a research postgraduate programme at PolyU, please refer to Supporting Documents for Application and check whether the programme in which you are interested requires you to provide details of the academic referees you have nominated to complete online academic referee's reports before the application deadline.

 

Confirm Application Submission

 

If you choose to apply for the HKPFS, please make sure you have quoted the HKPFS Reference Number in your online application which can be obtained after you have submitted an initial application to the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Electronic System (HKPFSES) of the Research Grants Council. Otherwise your HKPFS application will be disqualified.

 

Please proofread your input and uploaded documents thoroughly before submission.  Any errors or incorrect information provided in your online application may cause delays in processing your application or lead to the rejection of your application.

 

An application number will be assigned to you and shown on your online application once you have successfully submitted your application.  Please make sure that you write down your application number somewhere safe.  You will need it in future correspondence with us.

 

 

Pay the Application Fee

 

The application fee for admission to research postgraduate programmes is HK$300.  This fee is non-refundable and non-transferrable.  You must settle the application fee upon submission of your online application.  Otherwise, your application will not be further processed.  You are advised to use Visa or MasterCard to do so.  Please click here to view the details of available payment methods.

 

Please note that other than the specified application fee, you are not required to pay any additional fees to any persons in connection with your online application.

 

 

Check Application Status and Result

 

Admission offers will normally be made between February and June (for September entry), June and October (for January entry), and November and February (for May entry).  You may log in to eAdmission to check your application status (e.g., notification of interview/test and admission offer) at any time.  If you are given an offer or a conditional offer of admission, you will receive an email notification and a Notice of Offer via eAdmission. 

 

If you wish to check the progress of your application, you may directly approach the academic department concerned.  Please click here for the contact details of the relevant academic departments.

 

Accept the Admission Offer

 

If you are given an offer or a conditional offer of admission, please complete the following procedures to confirm your acceptance:

 

1.

Accept Admission Offer and Settle Registration Fee

 

Confirm your acceptance and pay a registration fee of HK$5,000 before the payment deadline specified in the online Notice of Offer via eAdmission.  

 

Please refer to the Tuition Fee and Registration Fee section for details.

 

2.

Apply for Student Visa (for Non-local Students)

 

Submit your completed visa application form (ID995A) with all of the required supporting documents to PolyU within 10 working days of the issuance date of the offer or conditional offer of admission.  The guidelines for applying for a student visa can be downloaded from the online Notice of Offer.

 

3.

Arrange to Send Documents to Verify Your Qualifications

 

Arrange to send official proof of all of the qualifications (except those obtained from PolyU) stated in your online application to PolyU for verification.  All official documents must be sent directly by the issuing authorities to PolyU and received before you register at PolyU.  Failure to do so or any discrepancies found may lead to the nullification of your admission offer and registration at the University. Please note that the official documents submitted will not be returned.

 

Official Proof of Qualifications (Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies)

 

Arrange for certified copies of your degree certificate(s)/diploma(s) and final official transcript(s) to be sent directly by the issuing authority to PolyU (except those obtained from PolyU).  Every final official transcript should include the final grade or classification and date of award.

 

* Certified copies of degree certificates/diplomas should have original stamps and be duly certified by the Registrar or by an authorised official of your university.

 

For degrees awarded by universities in the Chinese Mainland / recognised by the Ministry of Education from Chinese Mainland, your Degree Certificate (學位證書) and Academic Credential (畢業證書) will be verified via official online platforms directly. Please input the Online Verification Code (線上驗證碼) issued by the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (教育部學位與研究生教育發展中心) of your Degree Certificate (學位證書) and the Online Verification Code (線上驗證碼) of your Academic Credential (畢業證書) issued by the CHESICC (學信網) at eAdmission. Final year students or students who graduated before 2008, your Degree Certificate (學位證書) cannot be verified online. You should ask your awarding institution to send us a letter of graduation issued by the Registrar or an authorised official of your institution.

 

The University will only accept originals or copies of the documents that have been duly declared as true copies by an authorised party, which includes a lawyer, a notary public, or a Consulate General.

 

Official certified translation in English is required for transcripts and certificates that are not in English or Chinese. The translator should sign and stamp on both (i) the translation and (ii) the official document and certify that the translation is accurate and completed by an authorised party as stated above.

 

Score Report for GMAT, GRE, IELTS or TOEFL

 

Arrange for your official score report to be sent directly by the test provider to PolyU. PolyU’s institutional code is CB8 for GMAT, 3404 for GRE and 0732 for TOEFL. IELTS score report could be verified online without an access code. You are therefore not required to request IELTS to send us the hard copy report unless you are asked to do so.

 

Details of qualification verification will be delivered on your Notice of Offer via eAdmission.

 

4.

Fulfil Admission Conditions (for Conditional Admission Offer Holders)

 

Fulfil the condition(s) that have been applied to your offer.  These may include satisfying academic conditions and providing English language test scores and/or degree results.  To fulfil the condition(s) of your offer, you must upload the official documentary proof of your final degree results and/or English language test score report and update the final degree results and/or English test scores via eAdmission before the deadline specified in the online Notice of Offer.  The sooner you can fulfil your condition(s), the better.

 

5.

Register at PolyU

 

Complete online programme registration in August for September entry, in mid to late December for January entry or in mid to late April for May entry and prove your identity (you will need to bring your Hong Kong Identity Card or passport/travel document with a valid e-Visa and the landing slip issued by the Hong Kong Immigration Department) upon collection of your student card on/before the study commencement date.  Please note that you may proceed with your online programme registration once you have fulfilled the condition(s) for admission and your qualifications have been verified.

 

 

Read Student Handbook

 

All regulations and procedures relating to the study of Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy degrees are listed in the Research Postgraduate Student Handbook.  It is important for you to read through the Research Postgraduate Student Handbook and make sure that you understand the regulations and procedures stipulated by the University.