Entrance requirements: https://www.scifac.hku.hk/prospective/ug/admissions/requirements-and-application
Years of study: 4 years
Fee per year (HKD$): 42,100
Class structure: Lectures, labs, tutorials
Assessments: Written examinations (final exam usually carries a larger percentage of final grade; around 70%), lab reports, projects (individual/group)
Internship requirement during study: Optional for capstone completion
Exchange opportunities: Yes (in Year 3; pass or fail grading for courses taken overseas)
Possibility for intercalated degree: Yes
Option for major / minor degrees: Yes
University credit requirements: 240 credits to be completed during a 4-year period. Credits can be spread between 1st major and 2nd major/2nd minor. https://www.scifac.hku.hk/f/page/4836/8944/3.%20BSc%20Curriculum_r.pdf
With a major in Food & Nutritional Science, you can go into areas of Nutrition/Dietetics, Nutrigenomics Research, Food Safety & Toxicology and Food Production. You can land jobs in the food industry – government/private food and nutrition agencies, research laboratories, healthcare and fitness facilities.
Pre-planning
- You can have a look at the HKDSE scores of the batch previous to yours to have an idea of the scores you should be aiming for.
- You’ll have time in year 1 to explore your interests however, going through the majors offered under the Faculty of Science and having a certain idea of which area you’re interested in will help you strategize your selection of courses.
Year 1
- Join the Food & Nutritional Science Society to build connections with fellow freshmen or seniors
Make new friends; Guidance from seniors in relation to major/course selection; Internship opportunities through networking
- Get to know your professors as they could be your potential supervisors for research-based projects and will be the ones who will write your recommendation letters for a Masters program and or job search in Year 4.
- Take courses from the science majors that you are interested in. This will help you decide (if you haven’t decided on FNS already) on what major you want to declare.
Year 2
- After having explored your interests in Year 1, narrow down the major you are interested in. You should be doing research into the job prospects of this particular major and whether you see yourself working in this field in the near future. The potential areas that FNS graduates work in are mentioned above.
- Talk to the Food & Nutritional Science curriculum coordinator – Dr Jetty C.Y. Lee if you have any doubts about the FNS major.
- The latest you can declare your primary science major is before the start of Year 3. However, you should have an idea of what major you want to declare in Year 2. This will give you more time to strategize the courses you have to take and the potential internships you can take up in the summer.
- Year 2 is also when you can think about whether or not you want to do a second major/minor. You can do 2 majors + 1 minor, or 2 majors or 1 major + 1 minor etc. The combination will depend on how many credits you have left in your academic years and whether or not you’ll be able to fulfill the credit requirements or your second major and minor. Very important to start strategizing in Year 2 so you don’t miss out on internship opportunities in your second major.
- You can do a 2nd Major in another Faculty. Does not have to be a major from the Faculty of Science.
Year 3
- Semester exchange
Ensure that you have looked into the eligibility criteria and what you need to complete before applying for an exchange program
Great way to increase your network and exposure to different teaching techniques.
CGPA of 3.0 or above is required. If your CGPA is below 3.0 certain universities may accept your application. Do you research before you apply.
More information on eligibility: https://www.scifac.hku.hk/current/ug/el/exchange/faculty-exchange-programme
Year 4
- You can apply to complete your capstone in Year 3. However, if you’ve done a yearlong exchange, you have to complete it in your final year. Capstone carries a minimum of 6-credits in the form of an internship or research project. The internship includes a 1000 words report and an oral presentation.
More information can be found here: https://www.biosch.hku.hk/course/capstone/file/Internship%20-%20Guidelines_for_Student_August_2017.pdf. The research project includes a dissertation (9000-12000 words) and an oral presentation.
- You can get in touch with FNS seniors to get an idea of the places that you could intern at. Approval is needed from the course coordinator before you can go ahead with the internship as your capstone.
Approval form can be found here: https://www.scifac.hku.hk/f/page/4819/13548/Application%20Form%20For%20Enrollment%20in%20Internship%20Course%20for%20BSc%20Students.pdf
- Start applying for jobs. Bigger companies start their hiring process way earlier, so make sure that you have your CV, cover letter and recommendation letters ready for the application process.
- Lastly, throughout your university life it’s important to ensure your CGPA is above a 3.0 and that you’ve built the necessary connections (with professors/seniors) to help you on your career journey.