School of Communication 
The medium of instruction for formal classroom teaching at HKBU is English, except for those courses that are granted exemption.
Government Funded
September 2019
HK$42,100 (local); HK$140,000^ (non-local)
128
Choices of Major Programme
For details of Major Programme assignment, please visit School website at http://www.comm.hkbu.edu.hk/admission/en/majors_allocation.html
Programme Description
The Bachelor of Communication (Hons) Programme offers a variety of ways to explore the exciting field of communication, and equips graduates with the skills required to embark on stimulating and meaningful careers, postgraduate studies, or both. All programmes are designed in the spirit of the University’s tradition of “whole-person education”, and about half of the units in every programme are devoted to General Education (GE) courses or free elective courses. Students spend the first year of the four-year programme mainly covering required GE courses, and School core courses.
The programme offers three majors, two of them adopt broad-based admission. Students will opt for Majors and Concentrations in Year 1 and Year 2 respectively. These two majors are Journalism and Public Relations and Advertising.
The Journalism Major offers three Concentrations：
Chinese Journalism Concentration provides a professional education for students who aspire to work in the Chinese-language media. Apart from acquiring news writing and reporting skills in Chinese (Cantonese/Mandarin), students develop their analytical thinking skills by taking courses in media literacy, press law and communication research.*
Data and Media Communication Concentration is jointly offered by the Department of Journalism and the Department of Computer Science. This Concentration provides students with the cutting-edge interdisciplinary knowledge and skills in data and media communication needed for the changing landscape of today's media industries. Students are equipped with the essential skills of data journalism, including news gathering, investigative reporting, data-driven storytelling and news visualization.
International Journalism Concentration prepares students for the important role of informing Hong Kong about the world and the world about Hong Kong. Developing students’ writing and reporting skills in English is the core mission of the programme. Students receive a comprehensive education in the techniques of print, broadcast and web-based journalism. Theoretical courses in media systems, global news and press law are also offered.*
* Chinese Journalism and International Journalism students could also opt to specialise in one of the following three streams: Broadcast Journalism Stream, Financial Journalism Stream or General Stream.
The Public Relations and Advertising Major offers three Concentrations:
Advertising and Branding Concentration offers training in strategic planning, brand storytelling and concept expression. It prepares students to present ideas in an innovative and socially responsible way for effective brand communication and promotion.
Organizational Communication Concentration focuses on developing students’ knowledge integration and creation capabilities, expressive, analytical and critical thinking skills, team building, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
Students of the Public Relations Concentration will acquire both the critical understanding and relevant skills to develop successful careers in corporate communication, public affairs, social responsibility, media relations, crisis communication and digital public relations across different sectors (i.e. business, government or non-profit organizations).
Unique Features
Student Learning Experiences
The School has more than 40 student exchange partners in various countries, including Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Students going on exchange can receive financial support from the Academy/Department, the School and the University.
Having nurtured over 10,000 alumni in the past 50 years, we have strong connections with the media industry, which offers lots of internship opportunities.
International students from diverse cultural backgrounds can apply for placements at international media organizations with big operations in Hong Kong, such as Bloomberg and Reuters.
Career Opportunities
Many graduates of Journalism Major become reporters, editors, correspondents and producers in print, electronic and online media. Others move into related fields such as public relations, marketing, business and commerce, government service and education. Some pursue further studies in Hong Kong or overseas. We have a good number of winners of prestigious media awards and scholarships for postgraduate studies abroad.
Graduates of Public Relations and Advertising Major are prepared to take up jobs in public relations firms and advertising agencies, and they are expected to become well-rounded leaders in various fields of communication. The programme has over 1,000 alumni engaging in managerial and executive levels in advertising agencies, public relations firms.
Remarks
^ Subject to annual review and the University's approval.
We adopt a holistic approach in selecting applicants on individual merits. Applicants are required to meet the University entrance requirements, English Language requirements and Programme entrance requirements (if any).
General Certificate of Education (GCE), International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma & SAT
GCE: Grade E or above in three AL/ IAL subjects; or Grade E or above in two AL/ IAL subjects plus two Advanced Supplementary Level (ASL) subjects (Not including Chinese and English Language subjects. The same subject cannot be counted at both the AL and ASL.) Applicants sitting the 2018 GCE examinations should submit their predicted grades to the University upon the application.
IB: IB Diploma. Applicants should request the IB organisation to send their scores to the University via internet (HKBU institution code: 000247). Applicants sitting the 2018 IB examinations should submit their predicted scores to the University upon the application.
SAT: Minimum score of 1,190 (out of 1,600) in new SAT or 1,650 (out of 2,400) in old SAT (minimum score of 550 in each of Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing), and a sub-score on essay writing of no less than 8. Applicants should request the College Board to send scores to the University (HKBU institution code: 7904).
Other Overseas Qualifications by Region
Applicants who apply for admission on the basis of overseas qualifications should refer to particular region for details. Given the diversity of education systems around the world, the acceptable overseas qualifications listed may not cover every region.
The University normally expects applicants to have obtained 12-year pre-university years of schooling. School-leaving qualifications that are acceptable for admission to universities in other places may not necessarily be acceptable or sufficient for admission to the University.
English Language Requirements
The following public examination results are recognised as meeting the English Language requirements stipulated by the University:
| Proficiency Tests | Minimum Requirements |
| TOEFL | Internet-based test (iBT) - Score: 79; or Paper-based test (PBT) - Score: 550 |
| IELTS Academic | Overall Band: 6.0 |
| SAT | Minimum score of 550 in both Critical Reading and Writing with a sub-score of 8 or above in Essay in old SAT; or Minimum score of 590 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing in new SAT |
| ACT | Minimum score of 23 in both ACT English and Reading |
| GCE O-Level/ GCSE/ IGCSE English | Grade C |
| GCE AS or A-Level English | Grade E |
| HKDSE English Language | Level 3 |
| HKALE Use of English | Grade E |
| IB | Grade 4 in: IB English A (Higher or Standard Level); or IB English B (Higher Level); or IB English Literature and Performance (Standard Level) OR Grade 5 in: IB English B (Standard Level) |
| Others | Other English language qualifications deemed acceptable by the University |
For students who intended to take Chinese Journalism or Financial Journalism Concentrations, they are expected to have a Chinese language qualification as deemed acceptable by the University.
For applicants holding international qualifications but wish to apply for admission to such Concentrations, they may fulfill the Chinese Language requirement with the following Chinese qualifications:
|
Proficiency Test |
Minimum Scores |
|
GCE A/ AS Level Chinese |
Grade E |
|
GCSE/ IGCSE/ GCE O-Level Chinese |
Grade C |
|
Others |
Other Chinese Language qualifications deemed acceptable by the University |