Scheme-Based and \"Faculty-Style\" Admission: A Guide to PolyU's Broad-Discipline Entry Pathways

The Engineering Scheme JS3005 offers 371 places across 16 major pathways—filling in a single programme choice is equivalent to applying for half the Faculty of Engineering in one go. In a nutshell: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has rolled out the Bachelor's Degree Scheme across six broad disciplines—Engineering, Business, Science, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Humanities, and Construction and Environment. Applicants submit a scheme-based code as their JUPAS choice. They are admitted into the scheme and, after completing a common first year, compete for a specific major through a three-dimensional ranking that combines their entrance qualification score, Year 1 GPA, and interview performance. For the 2026 intake, total scheme places range from about 106 (Humanities) to 371 (Engineering). This article focuses on how this "broad admission, later streaming" mechanism works in practice; for JUPAS entry thresholds and subject-specific admission scores for individual programmes, see the PolyU undergraduate admissions overview.

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# What is PolyU's Bachelor's Degree Scheme?

PolyU's Bachelor's Degree Scheme is a mechanism for admitting students under a broad faculty or discipline-based umbrella. An applicant fills in a single scheme-based JS code (e.g., JS3005). If admitted, they join other students on the same scheme for a Common Year One curriculum, and after one year, they go through a competitive ranking process to select their specific honours-degree major. This model is not unique to UGC-funded institutions in Hong Kong, but PolyU's version spans six discipline areas, with a combined total of over a thousand places for the 2026 intake^※, making it one of the most systematically implemented broad-admission frameworks in the sector.

Compared with programmes that admit directly into a named degree (e.g., JS3612 Radiography, JS3290 Optometry), the Bachelor's Degree Scheme offers the flexibility of "get into the broad category first, specialise later." The university frames this as giving students "the time and flexibility to explore the discipline and navigate their academic interests."

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# Which Bachelor's Degree Schemes are currently on offer, and what are their JS codes?

As of the 2026 intake, PolyU officially offers six Bachelor's Degree Schemes^※ under distinct JS codes, with several additional "discipline-specific Scheme" programmes operating under the scheme's overall quota but with their own JS codes. The table below lists the six main schemes and their key parameters:

Note: Within Computer and Mathematical Sciences, four JS codes—JS3006 (the main scheme entry), JS3220 (Scheme in Applied Mathematics and Finance Analytics), JS3868 (Scheme in Computing and AI), and JS3223 (Scheme in Data Science and AI)—share a combined quota of roughly 139 places. For the 2025 intake, the approximate split was 14, 19, 74, and 32 places respectively, according to PolyU's Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences 2025 JUPAS admission figures^※.

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# What major options are available under each of the six schemes?

# Engineering Scheme (JS3005): 16 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Engineering (JS3005)^※ is the largest scheme, offering 16 major pathways distributed across 8 "discipline-specific schemes":

Students may also pursue a second major in "Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IE)" or "AI and Data Analytics (AIDA)" alongside their primary major.

# Construction and Environment Scheme (JS3004): 9 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Construction and Environment (JS3004)^※ has a combined quota of about 327 places and covers 9 degree pathways: Architectural Science and Engineering, Building Studies, Building Services Engineering and Management, Surveying, Civil Engineering, Civil Engineering (Smart Transport), Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development, Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, and Urban Informatics and Smart Cities. Applicants from science and engineering backgrounds (Mathematics, Physics, Geography, etc.) receive subject-specific weighting.

# Business Administration Scheme (JS3003): 9 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Business Administration (JS3003)^※ offers 9 BBA (Hons) pathways: Accounting, Accounting and Finance, Digital Finance and Investment, Aviation Management and Finance, International Shipping and Transport Logistics, Supply Chain Management and Analytics, Global Business and Logistics (a dual degree with Copenhagen Business School), Management, and Marketing. The university states the scheme is designed to give students "maximum flexibility in developing their individual study path."

# Computer and Mathematical Sciences Scheme (JS3006): 7 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Computer and Mathematical Sciences (JS3006)^※ offers 7 majors: Applied Mathematics, Investment Science and Finance Analytics, Quantitative Finance and FinTech, Computer Science, Enterprise Information Systems, Data Science and Analytics, and FinTech and AI. Students with a Year 1 GPA of 3.00 or above may apply for a second major; the discipline offers 10 designated double-major combinations.

# Science Scheme (JS3008): 5 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Science (JS3008)^※ offers 5 pathways: Applied Biology with Biotechnology, Chemical Technology, Food Safety and Technology, Human Nutrition and Health (including a "Nutrition Practice" variant), and Physics with a built-in AIDA second major. The common first year includes 30 credits of coursework, comprising compulsory Faculty of Science subjects, a "Professional and the Community" subject, and general university requirements.

# Humanities Scheme (JS3007): 4 majors

The Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Humanities (JS3007)^※ is the smallest (about 106 places), offering 4 pathways: Chinese History and Culture (BA), English and Applied Linguistics (BA), Language Sciences and Technology (BSc), and Speech Therapy (BSc). The Language Sciences and Technology and English and Applied Linguistics pathways both offer the option to take an AIDA second major. For the 2025/26 intake, the humanities scheme's weighted average admission score was 185.5 (on the "any best 5 subjects + a 6th subject bonus" scale).

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# How do students "fight" for their desired major after admission?

The mechanism is highly consistent across all six schemes: all admitted students must first complete the Common Year One curriculum; at the end of the year, they compete for their major through a ranking assessment^※. The ranking assessment aggregates three dimensions:

Since the Entrance Qualification Score is only one of three components and is fixed, a student who excels in their Year 1 GPA can, in theory, compete for a popular major even if their initial admission score was relatively low. This is fundamentally different from direct-entry programmes, where your specific major is locked in on day one.

The competitiveness of a popular major depends on its demand-to-supply ratio within the entire scheme. In the Engineering scheme, for instance, the "heat" of its 16 majors varies considerably: some less sought-after pathways involve very little streaming pressure, while certain popular engineering directions (e.g., AI and Information Engineering) attract fierce competition. PolyU does not publish internal streaming data for individual majors; students must make their own assessments.

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# How should one interpret the admission scores of the schemes? How do they differ from individual programmes?

A crucial piece of information: PolyU does not publish separate weighted admission scores (median/lower quartile) for the JS codes of the Bachelor's Degree Schemes (e.g., JS3003/JS3004/JS3005/JS3007/JS3008)^※. Both BigExam and the JUPAS directory pages note, "No admission score provided by this institution."

This is in stark contrast to individual programmes. For example, JS3612 Radiography (2025 median 320.0 points^※) and JS3648 Nursing (2025 median 213.5 points) have their weighted scores publicly released (see Section 3 of the PolyU undergraduate admissions overview). One reason the scheme-based JS codes do not publish these figures is that the students admitted under a scheme JS code will be "re-sorted" into separate degree majors a year later; the score distribution for the intake pool is effectively a mix of students destined for many different final degrees.

Regarding the Flexible Admission Threshold: According to PolyU's 2026 Flexible Admission Arrangements document^※, the flexible admission thresholds (unweighted best 5 subjects) for the main schemes are:

The flexible admission threshold is a reference line for allowing candidates to be considered even if they miss the normal requirement by one grade (applicable only if the programme is placed in Band A). It is not the minimum score for normal admission, let alone the average or median admission score.

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# When filling in JUPAS choices, should I pick a scheme JS code or an individual programme JS code?

PolyU offers both a "scheme-based entry" and a "direct programme entry" route. For example:

• A student wanting to study Computer Science can apply via JS3006 (Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Computer and Mathematical Sciences, and compete for the Computer Science major at the end of the year), or via JS3868 (Scheme in Computing and AI, where entering the scheme effectively locks you into a choice between Computer Science and Enterprise Information Systems).
• A student wanting to study Speech Therapy can apply via JS3007 (the Humanities scheme, and compete at year's end) or, if a separate JS code exists, apply directly for the Speech Therapy programme.

Each path involves trade-offs. The strategic implications of choosing a scheme-based JS code^※ boil down to three main points:

First: More flexible admission thresholds. A scheme JS code pools the intake quotas for majors of different "heat" into a single admissions pool. The overall score distribution for this pool is often wider than that of the most popular individual major. For an applicant whose score is "good enough to enter the scheme but not good enough to directly charge into the hottest single programme," the scheme JS code provides room to "get in the door first, then compete."

Second: Your major is jointly determined by Year 1 performance. Taking JS3005 Engineering as an example, at the end of the Common Year One, students compete for one of the 16 major pathways using a three-dimensional ranking: Entrance Qualification Score, Year 1 GPA, and interview^※. This means first-year academic performance is, in effect, a "second round of competition." A student with an excellent Year 1 GPA has the chance to overcome a weaker starting admission score.

Third: The subject-weighting strategy for scoring should target the scheme, not a specific sub-major. Taking the Science scheme (JS3008) as an example, the weighting at the scheme level prioritises Mathematics and various science subjects. When choosing their HKDSE electives, applicants should ensure their grades in these subjects maximise the weighted-score advantage—rather than over-committing to the "specified subjects" of a particular sub-major.

Additionally, PolyU explicitly states that "the banding of scheme/programme choices may be taken into consideration during selection"^※. That is, with equal scores, an applicant who places the scheme in Band A has an advantage over someone who places it in Band B or C.

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# What are the "Second Major" opportunities within the schemes?

Several schemes have explicit pathways for a Second Major or Minor. In the Computer and Mathematical Sciences scheme, for example: students must achieve a Year 1 GPA of 3.00 or above to be eligible to apply for a second major^※; the department offers 10 designated double-major combinations, and a double major typically requires completing around 136–161 credits. Students in the Engineering scheme can additionally pursue a second major in "Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IE)" or "AI and Data Analytics (AIDA)," enhancing their cross-disciplinary competitiveness. The Language Sciences and Technology and English and Applied Linguistics pathways within the Humanities scheme also offer an AIDA second major option.

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# How is scheme-based admission different from the collegiate system?

Readers sometimes confuse PolyU's Bachelor's Degree Scheme with the collegiate system at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The two are fundamentally different: PolyU does not have a collegiate system; students are affiliated only with their faculty/school, not assigned to a separate college^※. The collegiate system (CUHK) is an administrative and residential-affiliation mechanism that operates on a different plane from "choosing a major." PolyU's scheme-based admission is purely a "discipline-streaming mechanism," and post-entry affiliation is based on one's home academic department.

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# See Also

• PolyU Undergraduate Admissions Overview — JUPAS basic entry requirements, the 8.5-point scoring conversion, subject-specific admission scores for individual programmes, and Non-JUPAS / International / Mainland China JEE admissions.
• PolyU Tuition and Scholarships Overview — Local and non-local tuition fees, entry scholarship structure.