Faculty of Science and Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences: PolyU's twin wings of 'Science + Computation

Module:01 Academics · Sub-file: Faculty of Science and Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences In recent years, PolyU has undertaken a disciplinary reorganisation geared towards the AI era—integrating Computing, Data Science & AI, and Applied Mathematics into the new Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FCMS), standing alongside the Faculty of Science (FS). This article maps out the composition and significance of these twin wings of 'Science + Computation'. For a Faculty overview, see faculties-and-schools.md; for the Faculty of Engineering, see faculty-of-engineering.md. Information is primarily drawn from official PolyU faculty and programme pages; as the faculty structure shifts with reorganisation, the latest official information prevails.

# 1. Disciplinary Reorganisation: Why spin off 'Computing' into its own faculty?

In the past, Computing, Data Science, and similar fields were often attached to Engineering or Science faculties. But as Artificial Intelligence and Data Science have become core drivers across all industries, many universities have chosen to spin off and scale up these disciplines.

According to PolyU's Faculties, Schools and Departments page^※ and the official FCMS page^※, PolyU recently formed the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FCMS), integrating the following departments under one roof:

Integrating 'Mathematics + Computing + Data/AI' into a single faculty follows a clear logic: these three disciplines form the shared foundation of the AI and data era—mathematics is the substrate, computing is the tool, and data/AI is the application.

Source strength: The integration of Applied Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science & AI into FCMS is detailed on PolyU's Faculties, Schools and Departments page and the official FCMS page.

# 2. Faculty of Science (FS): Applied Physics and Food Science

After the reorganisation, the Faculty of Science (FS) focuses more on 'natural sciences/applied sciences' departments. According to the official Faculty of Science page^※ and programme materials, the Faculty's core departments include:

The Faculty of Science's postgraduate programmes cover areas like Chemistry, Data Science, Food Safety and Technology, and Applied Mathematics (some areas are cross-faculty). Most science undergraduate programmes admit students under broad-based schemes, such as JS3008 BSc (Hons) Scheme in Science^※.

It is worth noting that PolyU's State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery operates under the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) (see 04 Research · State Key Laboratories)—this is where the sciences and national-level research converge.

Source strength: FS departments (Applied Physics, Food Science and Nutrition, etc.) are listed on the official Faculty of Science page; specific affiliations are subject to the latest official structure.

# 3. The Applied Physics Edge: Physics + AI Double Major

The applied character of PolyU's sciences can be glimpsed in the design of its programmes. According to Faculty of Science materials, PolyU offers combinations such as a 'BSc (Hons) in Physics with a Secondary Major in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics' or 'with a Secondary Major in Innovation and Entrepreneurship'—bundling traditional physics with AI/Data and entrepreneurship.

This design pattern of 'Major + AI/Entrepreneurship Secondary Major' echoes PolyU's university-wide GUR-AIDA and GUR-IE requirements (see programs.md): regardless of one's major, students are encouraged to be equipped with both AI literacy and an entrepreneurial mindset.

Source strength: The Physics + AI/Entrepreneurship secondary major combinations are found in Faculty of Science programme materials.

# 4. Computing and AI: PolyU's New Strategic Direction

The establishment of FCMS elevates Computing, Data Science, AI, and Applied Mathematics to one of PolyU's core strategic pillars. This aligns with several other developments across the university:

• New university-wide General University Requirement for AI and Data Analytics (GUR-AIDA);
• The Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab) under the InnoHK initiative, which marries AI with design (see 04 Research · InnoHK);
• The PAIR interdisciplinary research institutes focusing on areas like AIoT (see 04 Research · PAIR);
• The Faculty of Humanities also offers crossover programmes integrating AI and the humanities (see faculty-humanities-language.md).

It is clear that AI at PolyU is not the concern of a single faculty but a university-wide strategy—and FCMS is the 'disciplinary main force' behind this strategy.

# 5. Placing It Within PolyU's Disciplinary Map

With the addition of the Faculty of Science and FCMS, PolyU's disciplinary landscape becomes more complete:

The twin wings of 'Science + Computation' not only underpin PolyU's fundamental and applied research (such as the State Key Laboratories and PAIR) but also provide the mathematical and AI capabilities foundational to its applied disciplines in engineering, design, health, and other fields.

# 6. FCMS and FS: Preventing Overlap After the Split

A natural question arises after FCMS was carved out from the structures of the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Engineering: disciplines like mathematics, physics, and computing naturally intersect (e.g., in computational physics or numerical analysis). How are boundaries drawn between the two faculties post-split? According to publicly available structural arrangements, PolyU has adopted a principle of unique departmental affiliation—each department belongs to one faculty only. Cross-disciplinary research is achieved through inter-faculty collaborative projects, joint programmes, or secondary majors, rather than having a 'half-department' in both faculties. For example, the 'Physics + Secondary Major in AIDA' is a product of a Faculty of Science student cross-faculty electing FCMS courses, not the Faculty of Science setting up its own AI department. This arrangement—departments are not duplicated, but courses can cross faculty lines—follows a consistent organisational logic seen in PolyU's multiple recent faculty restructurings (the independence of Fashion and Textiles in 2022, and of Computing and Mathematics in 2025): first, establish a clear singular administrative home, then use flexibility at the course and project level to meet the real-world need for disciplinary crossover.