Academic Standing

The academic standing of all postgraduate students is reviewed at the end of each regular term and assessed by their Departments. Unsatisfactory performance may result in students being denied the opportunity to continue their study.

In order for postgraduate students to attain good academic standing, they must, at the end of each regular term,

1. Obtain a cumulative grade average (CGA) of 2.850 or higher; and
2. Show a reasonable progress toward program completion.

Students who fail to maintain good academic standing in a regular term will be issued a letter of warning by the Department Head.

Academic Leave and Academic Dismissal

Students who fail to maintain good academic standing in two consecutive regular terms will have their records reviewed by the Department and may be required to take academic leave and have their study suspended. The academic leave will last from one to three regular terms during which students may apply for re-enrollment in their program of study at the end of their suspension. If this application for re-enrollment is approved, certain conditions may apply and the student must regain good academic standing in the regular term immediately following re-enrollment. Students will be dismissed from the University if the conditions are not met. If re-enrollment in the program is not granted by the expiry of the academic leave, the suspension will be converted to a dismissal from the University.

Annual Progress Reports

All research postgraduate students are required to submit by the end of June every year a written review of their study progress in the past twelve months, and describe their study plan for the twelve months ahead, using an online system designed for this purpose.

The progress report will be read by members of the Thesis Supervision Committee (TSC) and their evaluation will be discussed with the student concerned. The progress report will also be reviewed by the PG Coordinator of the Department, and necessary action may be taken to address issues of concern.

Students who fail to submit the duly completed and approved report form by the stipulated deadline may not be allowed to register for their program of study in the following year. The HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School will not be able to process Postgraduate Studentships arrangement (if applicable) for cases where the annual progress report is not available.

Details of the annual progress reporting exercise is as follows:

In April/May each year, the annual progress reporting system will be open for access via the Student Intranet.

The first part of the report form is to be completed by the student who should enclose a brief self-assessment summary report at the time the report form is submitted to the thesis supervisor. The second part is an assessment of the work done by the student as well as the progress made since the previous report by the thesis supervisor and TSC.

One of the main purposes of the annual progress report is to allow thesis supervisors to advise students on their research progress and expectations of TSC. Students will be given the chance to view the report, and the thesis supervisors are required to discuss the content of the report with their students. Thesis supervisors should note that terminating the study of a student due to poor performance or slow progress without prior written warning may constitute student grievance.

Should a particular student’s progress be found to be unsatisfactory or very unsatisfactory, the Department is requested to issue a warning letter to the student specifying the expectations and the courses of action for performance improvement. The warning letter should also stipulate the possible consequences, such as reduction or suspension of Postgraduate Studentships, if the improvement is not satisfactory. A copy of the warning letter should be forwarded to the Academic Registry for record purpose.