The average cohort size is around 50 to 55 students.

GBUS is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. Taking “Create Impact with a Global and Strategic Mindset” as its vision statement, this highly sought-after business program is designed to develop capable and highly motivated students to tackle global challenges. GBUS graduates pursue their dreams of becoming responsible leaders through humility, enthusiasm, cultural sensitivity, compassion, and sound critical thinking.

Yes. As part of the graduation requirement, GBUS students are guaranteed to spend at least one semester studying abroad at a top business school of their choice, thus forming a wide global network. Some students can also join the exchange program twice to further extend their global learning across continents.

GBUS supports students to pursue wherever their true passion lies. The holistic GBUS experience prepares students to excel in any career paths they aspire. Many alumni are forming strong professional network in the finance and consulting industry, some of them even become entrepreneurs, or work in different management trainee program, conglomerate retail, marketing, start-up, tech-related industry, or professional services. etc.

HKUST is ranked 1st in Graduate Employability in Hong Kong and 29th in the World in the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2024, designed by the HR consultancy Emerging and published by Times Higher Education.

100% of GBUS graduates were engaged in graduate employment, further studies or self-employment.

Yes. GBUS students are allowed to declare an additional major in Business disciplines if they fulfilled the minimum requirements by the end of Year 2.

The medium of instruction at HKUST is English. GBUS students are not required to know Cantonese or Mandarin. All the lectures, course materials and work will be conducted in English except for language courses and a small number of courses which require Chinese usage.

No. There will not be any CGA requirements to stay in GBUS. Most of our GBUS students are high achievers. They are very disciplined and highly motivated in both academic and non-academic arenas. However, please note there is a CGA requirement for renewable scholarships on admissions (if you are awarded one).

No. We do not have any preferred subjects in HKDSE as we value the diversity of our students’ backgrounds. GBUS calculates the HKDSE admissions score based on the results of 5 subjects attained, together with a bonus score in the 6th subject (next best subject). M1/M2 is treated in the same way as an elective. Extra core or elective subjects might generally be used for giving bonus points or as a tiebreaker only.

You are encouraged to check out our last year admissions score reference in the Figures and Statistics section of this page.

Selected JUPAS Band A applicants who demonstrate talents and potential for the GBUS program will be invited for an interview. Shortlisted JUPAS candidates will have engagement events and a compulsory Main Round interview. The engagement events will be organized by the HKUST Business School from May to June, and one Meet and Chat event by the GBUS program in early July, before the release of HKDSE results. Main Round interviews by the GBUS program will be conducted in late July after releasing of HKDSE results. The interview performance will be incorporated into the final admissions score. 

The format of the interview is mostly similar every year. The purpose of the interview is to assess your critical thinking, communication skills, presentation skills, teamwork, etc. Interview questions cover a wide range of areas, and their purpose is to make sure it is a good fit between the candidate and our program.

A minimum level of academic excellence is a must to get admitted to the program. Beyond so, the program also looks for promising students with good attitude, presentable demeanor, and a good fit for a career in business. The weight of the interview score shall not be over 50% of the total admissions composite score.

No. In general, we do not provide feedback on any individual interview performance.

Yes. Remember we emphasize the quality of your activities rather than the quantity. Bonus points will be awarded to final Band A applicants with impressive records and personal statements.

No. We accept repeated attempts and combined certificates. There will be no score penalty given the minimum admissions requirements are met.

In general, we do not issue conditional offers for JUPAS applicants except if you are enrolled in particular JUPAS admission schemes.

We strongly advise students to put GBUS, JS5313 Global Business, as their top JUPAS choice, i.e., Band A1. To maximize your chance of admission to HKUST Business School, you are encouraged to include JS5300 Business & Management among your Band A, i.e., A2 or A3, application choices for concurrent consideration. Students at school-based and program-based routes will follow an identical broad curriculum in their first three terms. Students will have a chance to declare GBUS as their first major with decent CGA and interview performance during the first two years of studies.

GBUS considers a wide range of international qualifications. Students applying with international qualifications are expected to fulfill the General Admissions Requirements (GAR) and English Language Requirements (ELAR). We do not have any preferred subjects in public examinations as we value the diversity of our students’ backgrounds.

For IB students, an IB score of 41 or above will typically be considered competitive in academic achievement. Apart from your IB score, we also review the overall strength of the application, together with compulsory interviews.

We review the overall strength of the application in addition to the GCEAL/IAL score. In recent years, we admitted students with 3A* or above in GCEAL/IAL. The 4th subject will be a good to-have option. However, we do not consider the result from Chinese Language as one of them.

Yes. If you have extra qualifications, please include them in your application profile. It will supplement your application and assist the School in reviewing your application holistically.

Your personal statement is all about you as a mature individual. We expect to see in your statement your strength, passion, aspiration, significant learning experience, logical thinking, or any information you feel will be of interest to the selection panel. It would be great to learn that you are a good fit with the GBUS core values and potential to benefit from, add value, and contribute to our community. There is no restriction on your statement concerning its format, content, length, etc.

CV is a track record of initiatives and achievements that best represent yourself, i.e., leadership, community services, sports, projects, competitions, etc. A one-page highlights your recent and most significant experience and achievements.

No. HKUST does not offer Spring admissions. All students shall start their academic year in September.

GBUS admits students and gives firm or conditional offers on a rolling basis. Thus, we encourage students who are interested in joining us to apply early in the Early Round Application. You do not have to initiate a new application for the Main Round application if you did not hear any results from the Early Round. We will automatically consider your application for the Main Round application.

We start conducting interviews with shortlisted candidates in late November. Interview invitations will be sent to shortlisted candidates on a rolling basis. We usually will arrange a face-to-face interview. In case the candidate could not attend the face-to-face one, an online interview might be an alternative. 

Yes, you can still update supporting documents after application submission. Make sure the documents are submitted as early as possible. For documents that are not yet available at the point when the application is submitted, please make sure you indicate the "Expected Upload Date" in the "Supporting Documents" section.

Yes, you can make an appeal to your application result unless you have new evidence of your official academic performance. 

Only students in SBM programs are eligible for MSE. All students, whether admitted through School-based (SBA) or Program-based (PBA) Admission, must join MSE if they want to declare or change their major. Once they have received a major offer, they cannot join MSE again.

Interview priority will go to candidates who put GBUS as their first choice. Putting GBUS as a non-first choice will not be considered if our quota is filled with first-choice candidates. It is also a good indicator of your will and determination to consider GBUS as first among your program choices.

It will be best to apply when your profile is strong. There is no need to rush into this since there are a few MSE cycles for you to enter.

To ensure fairness to all other candidates, please strictly keep your application materials to the unofficial transcript, CV, and personal statement. Additional information provided other than the system submissions after the stipulated deadline will not be considered during the paper screening process. 

Academic strength,  achievements and awards, co-curricular in-depth exposure, and readiness for the program are essential factors to be considered for the paper screening. You can reflect your profile along with the submission of an unofficial transcript, CV and personal statement. 

The CGA requirement is 3.0 or above, with a C+ above in the MATH course (B+ or above in ISOM2500 for those who fail to meet the Math course requirement); and B- or above in LANG 1401/1402 & LANG 1403/1404. There is no definite CGA range we are looking for as long as students pass eligibility and other shortlisting criteria for the interview shortlist.

Your statement is all about you as a mature individual. We expect to see in your statement your strength, passion, aspiration, significant learning experience, logical thinking, or any information you feel will be of interest to the selection panel. It would be great to learn that you are a good fit with the GBUS core values and potential to benefit from, add value, and contribute to our community. There is no restriction on your statement about its format and content. You can write up to 400 words as stipulated in the MSE application portal. 

CV is a track record of initiatives and achievements that best represent yourself, including but not limited to, awards and achievements, leadership capabilities, co-curricular exposures, community services, sports, personal interests, etc. A one-page highlights your recent and most significant experience and achievements.

We will start conducting interviews with shortlisted candidates as scheduled by the School. Interview invitations will be sent to shortlisted candidates. We will only arrange a face-to-face interview for MSE candidates. No make-up arrangement will be entertained.

For interviews, there is very little direct preparation you can do. Maybe the group projects and in-class discussions in the courses that you are doing can give you opportunities to gain more experience for the group discussion part of the interview.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide individual comments for your application. You may consider a combination of factors like academic strength, achievements and awards, co-curricular in-depth exposure, readiness for the program, etc. 

Moreover, we interview many students each round, therefore we will not be able to share any specific feedback.

Appealing is not an option under the MSE framework. There is no harm in trying for a re-application, but you should have realistic expectations and concrete ideas of such an application by reflecting on previously compromising factors: academic results, co-curricular records, and interview performance; and consider whether these factors have tremendously changed.