Important Notes

• Upload all of the supporting documents specially required for the programme to which you are applying.

• Applicants of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) should also refer to the Application Guide and Tips.

• Scanned copies of the certificate(s), transcript(s) and official proof in support of qualifications and results stated in your online application will suffice. Certified copies will be requested after you are given an offer or a conditional offer of admission (see the Application Result and Offer Acceptance section for details).

• If the supporting documents are not in English or Chinese, you must provide officially translated documents in English with the original documents.

• If you have not yet graduated and cannot provide a final result certificate, and/or have not obtained valid  English language test scores when submitting your online application, please indicate the date when your academic qualifications and/or English language test scores will become available. Update the relevant sections of the online application and upload the document(s) indicating your latest results once they are available.

• Failure to upload the supporting documents as required may affect your likelihood of admission or prolong the application process.

1. Graduation Certificate(s)

• Provide graduation certificates for undergraduate and/or postgraduate studies.

• Applicants with academic qualifications from the Chinese Mainland must submit:

  • Degree Certificate (學位證書) and 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); and

  • Graduation Certificate (畢業證書) and the Online Verification Code (線上驗證碼) issued by the CHESICC (學信網).

• Dual-degree applicants must hold a graduation certificate/testimonial with name of the collaborating institutions.

2. Official Transcript(s)

• Provide all pages of transcript(s) that show:

  • all the courses and grades taken during the whole study period;

  • the explanatory notes of the marking scheme/ grading system; and

  • official stamps.

• Graduation transcripts should be the latest version with the graduation date (or the issue date matching the graduation date).

• Students who have not graduated should provide the latest transcript or testimonial issued by the institution. Unofficial copies are not accepted.

• Applicants of 3-year full-time/6-year part-time Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes should provide a transcript or an official proof showing that “dissertation” or “thesis” is an award requirement of the Master’s degree. 

3. English Language Test Results or Proof of Language of Instruction

• A test result of IELTS or TOEFL (valid for 2 years after the date of the test upon submission to eAdmission); OR

• A transcript/An official document issued by the institution indicating the language of instruction is English

4. Proof of Prizes and Awards / Activities, Employment and Training

• Upload proof of each record (e.g. award certificates, service/training completion certificates) to strengthen your application.

5. Research Proposal

• Submit the research proposal using the standard form: Form GSB/1A.

6. Academic References

• Applicants of the HKPFS are required to have two online academic referee’s reports submitted before the application deadline for HKPFS.

• Non-HKPFS applicants should check here to see whether the programme in which you are interested requires you to provide academic referee’s reports before the application deadline.

• To provide academic references, please follow the steps below:

  • 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 backgrounds are not considered appropriate academic referees.

  • Politely approach the two academics and seek their consent to be your referees.

  • Provide complete and accurate information on your referees, including their email addresses under a university or an organisation, in your online application.

  • 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.