THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, SHENZHEN

School of Data Science

Guidelines on Exemption Recommendation and Admission of Outstanding In-house Graduates to Postgraduates Programmes

1. General Provisions

• SDS is in charge of selection of and recommending a list of own top undergraduate students, while postgraduate programmes are responsible for the screening and admission of the recommended students.
• “Exemption” means that the students in the recommended list bypass the preliminary exams and enter directly the second phase of the screening process such as re-examinations and/or interviews as stipulated by the postgraduate programme.
• The process of both recommendation and admission must be fair, open, transparent and equitable.
• Students selected into the Exemption Recommendation List (ERL) have, under equal conditions, priority in admission; however, the ERL status is by no means a guarantee for the student to be eventually accepted by a postgraduate programme.

2. Eligibility

• Senior students who will graduate by the summer of 2024.
• Students of integrity, good conduct and responsibility, with no records of law-breaking disciplinary actions.
• Outstanding academic performance, ranked top 30% in the student’s own major during the first 3 years of undergraduate studies, as well as a CGPA of 3.3 or above.
• Students with special academic expertise, or extraordinary potentials in future graduate studies, can be waived from the above academic requirements, only if a joint recommendation from at least three CUHK-Shenzhen professors in the student’s major is received. In that case, explanatory materials submitted by the student and the recommendation letters must be publicly displayed.

3. Required documents for application

• Up-to-date transcript
• Certification of Class Ranking
• Personal Statement
• CV
• Joint Recommendation Letter (if applicable)

4. Selection Procedures

• Eligible students may submit their online applications to the School before the deadline. Each applicant may apply for up to THREE postgraduate programmes.
• The School Exemption Recommendation Selection Committee (ERSC) reviews the application materials, finalizes the ERL, and publicizes the list for 5 working days.
• The number of students recommended for exemption shall not exceed 20% of the School’s annual graduates.
• Applicants who fail to obtain an exemption recommendation may still apply for admission to the postgraduate programmes through regular application procedures.

5. Admission

• Please refer to the relevant policies of the Graduate School and individual postgraduate programmes.

6. Admission

• Eligible students shall submit the application through the https://portal.cuhk.edu.cn/ (内网)  with all required documents online by 23:59, October 7, 2023. Fail to meet the deadline will be treated as waive exemption recommendation status.