General Requirements at University, Faculty, Programme levels for Enrichment Mathematics entrants 2025

Last updated: July 2025.

Table of content.

Official sources of information.

A major revision of the curriculum of the MATH programme has taken place in 2025, and the revised curriculum is applicable to all students admitted to the CUHK in 2025-26.

For this reason, do not rely on hear-say: what the senior students tell you may or may not be applicable in your situation.

When you have a question concerned with study, you had better seek an official answer.

Below are the reliable sources of information.

  1. CUSIS.

    The MATH study scheme and the information in the catalogue of MATH courses in CUSIS are official documents. They are what you can definitely rely upon.

  2. Department Homepage.

    General information of the MATH major programme can be found at the homepage of the Department of Mathematics.

  3. Academic advisor, and course teachers.

    You will be assigned an academic advisor in the Department of Mathematics.

    When you have questions about the MATH programme, you may approach your academic advisor or your course teachers for help. They can at least re-direct you to the right persons who can answer your questions.

  4. Email enquiries.

    If you have some very specific questions about the MATH programme and you can't find any answer in the CUSIS or the department homepage, you may write to the department.

    When you write to the department, use your OnePass address. Also include your name and your student ID. A clear subject title will help the department identify your problem and is certainly welcome.

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Purpose of this page.

The information in this page is meant to provide a summary of the basic requirements in MATH courses within the framework of faculty- and university-level requirements, leading towards graduation in the MATH programme, (in particular the Enrichment Stream). Such requirements as stated here are what you must take into account when you plan your study.

If you are admitted to Enrichment Mathematics from the HKDSE and did not have much exposure to mathematics beyond your maths lesson at school, you may approach your academic advisor or write to the department for help.

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First-year MATH required courses.

Table (A) gives the pattern of MATH required courses for the first year of study for Enrichment Mathematics entrants:(a1)

Table (A).

Term of study Course Code Course Title Number of units
Term 1 (First Semester) MATH1018(a2) Honours University Mathematics 3 units
Term 1 (First Semester) MATH1028(a2) Honours Essential Mathematical Methods 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) MATH1038 Honours Linear Algebra I 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) MATH1098 Honours Introduction to Set Theory 3 units

Remarks.

  • (a1) Honours Courses for First Year MATH students.

    You will be pre-assigned into the beginning Honours Courses MATH1018, MATH1028 in the First Semester.

    Students in MATH1018, MATH1028 in the First Semester may continue with MATH1038 and MATH1098 in the Second Semester as long as they have obtained B- or above in MATH1018 and MATH1028.

    Those who do not want to continue with Honours Courses may choose to take MATH1030 and MATH1090 in the Second Semester, as long as the pre-requisites and co-requisites for taking these courses are satisfied.

    More information on the Honours Courses can be found here.

  • (a2) Opting out of MATH1018, MATH1028?

    You are free to opt out of MATH1018, MATH1028, for whatever reason. To do so, you may apply to drop the courses through the General Office of the Department of Mathematics. But it will be your own responsibility to add MATH1010, MATH1025 through CUSIS.

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First Year university- and faculty-level requirements.

The univesity- and faculty-level courses that you are required to complete during the first year of study are listed in Table (B):---

Table (B).

Term of study Course Number of units
Term 1 (First Semester) ELTU1001(b1) (ELTU Course for First-year Students) 3 units
Term 1 (First Semester) College General Education Course(b2) 1-4 units
Term 1 (First Semester) Physical Education Course No. 1(b3) 1 unit
Term 1 (First Semester) Online University Core Course No. 1(b3) 1 unit
Term 1 (First Semester) STAT1011 or `the third Faculty Package course'(b4) 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) CHLT1001(b1) (University Chinese I) 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) ENGG1003(b1) (Digital Literacy and Computational Thinking) 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) Physical Education Course No. 2(b3) 1 unit
Term 2 (Second Semester) Online University Core Course No. 2(b3) 1 unit
Term 2 (Second Semester) STAT1011 or `the third Faculty Package course' or UGFH1000 or UGFN1000(b4)(b5) 3 units
Term 2 (Second Semester) College General Education Course(b2) 0-3 units

Remarks.

  • (b1) English, Chinese, and Digital Literacy and Computational Thinking courses for First Year students.

    These courses are pre-assigned to you. In normal circumstances, you have no choice regarding `taking or not', and in fact no choice regarding your timetable for these courses.

  • (b2) College General Education courses for First Year students.

    The exact number of units of College General Education courses that you are required to take in each semester depends on the college you belong to. (Examples. For some college, a student is required to take a college general education course (very often of 1 unit or 3 units) in the First Semester, and none in the Second Semester. For some college, a student is required to take two college general education courses in the First Year of Study.

  • (b3) P.E. courses and online university core courses.

    The university expects you to have completed two Physical Education courses and two online university core courses within the First Year of Study.

  • (b4) Non-MATH Faculty Package courses.

    You are required to take STAT1011 and one course amongst designated faculty package courses PHYS1xxx, CHEM1xxx, LSCI1xxx to fulfil graduation requirements. It is preferable to complete these courses in the First Year, or at the earliest possible instance.

  • (b5) General Education Foundation courses.

    The university expects you to have completed both `general education foundation courses' by the end of the Second Year of Study. Although you are not pre-assigned to either course in any term, it is unwise to postpone these courses. You will not be allowed to take any other university general education course until you have taken UGFH1000 or UGFN1000.

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MIEG option.

MIEG (Mathematics and Information Engineering) is a programme offered by the Department of Information Engineering. It is suitable for students who are inclined to explore both mathematics and the application of mathematics in information engineering.

As an Enrichment Mathematics entrant, you have the option of migrating to the MIEG Programme, at the end of the first year of study. You will be entitled the benefits offered to you by the Department of Information Engineering (such as research opportunities and internship experience) but still retain much of your benefits offered by the Department of Mathematics for MATH students.

More information on the MIEG programme can be found here.

If you are interested in the MIEG programme, contact the department for further information.

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MATH required courses beyond the First Year of Study.

Expected of all MATH students (irrespective of how one is admitted to the programme) is a timely completion of the MATH courses (c1) listed in Table (C0), and in Table (C1) and/or Table (C2):---

Table (C0).

Term of study Course Code Course Title Number of units
Term 3 MATH2018/MATH2010(c2) Advanced Calculus I (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 MATH2028/MATH2020(c2) Advanced Calculus II (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 3 MATH2048/MATH2040(c2) Linear Algebra II (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 MATH2221 Mathematical Laboratory II 2 units
Final Year MATH4400/MATH4900(c3) Project/Seminar 3 units

Beyond what is listed in Table (C0), the exact MATH courses required for you and the optimal pattern for taking these courses very much depends on your plans regarding the choice of streams(c4) for graduation.

Seen from this point of view, there are two paths for you:---

  1. You may plan to graduate with the Enrichment Stream, whether as a single stream, or as one of the two streams forming a double-stream.(c4)

    In this situation you should append Table (C0) with Table (C1), which lists several more MATH courses required for the completion of the Enrichment Stream and the optimal schedule for a timely completion of these courses (especially the corresponding Honours courses). (c1)
  2. You may plan to migrate away from the Enrichment Stream to some other single stream, or a double-stream not involving the Enrichment Stream.(c4)

    In this situation you should append Table (C0) with Table (C2), which lists several more MATH courses required or `semi-required' for the completion of any non-Enrichment stream and the optimal schedule for taking these courses. (c1)

Table (C1).

Term of study Course Code Course Title Number of units
Term 3 or 4 or 5 MATH2058/MATH2050 (c2)(c5) Mathematical Analysis I (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 or 5 or 6 MATH2068/MATH2060 (c2)(c5) Mathematical Analysis II (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 or 5 or 6 MATH2078/MATH2070 (c2)(c6) Algebraic Structures (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 or 5 or 6 MATH2230 (c6) Complex Variables with Applications 3 units

Table (C2).

Term of study Course Code Course Title Number of units
Term 3 or 4 or 5 MATH2058/MATH2050 (c2)(c5) Mathematical Analysis I (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 or 5 or 6 MATH2068/MATH2060 (c2)(c5) Mathematical Analysis II (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 4 or after MATH2078/MATH2070 (c6) Algebraic Structures (Honours/non-Honours) 3 units
Term 5 or after MATH2230 (c6) Complex Variables with Applications 3 units
Term 4 or after MATH3270 (c6) Ordinary Differential Equations 3 units
Term 4 or after MATH3280 (c6) Introductory Probability 3 units

The charts below display:---

  • an overall roadmap for the completion of the required courses in the MATH programme, common to all students (irrespective of the choice of streams),
  • a specific roadmap for the completion of the requirements on MATH courses for the Enrichment Stream, and
  • a specific roadmap for the completion of the requirements on MATH courses for non-Enrichment streams.
The arrows indicate the relations between the various parts of the requirements.

Remarks.

  • (c1) Timely completion of certain MATH courses.

    Mathematics is one of very few disciplines in which you will not be in a position to study an `advanced' topic without first acquiring sufficient `basic' knowledge that serves as foundation for that `advanced' topic.

    For this reason, we expect you to take the recommended study patterns for the various streams (in particular that for the Enrichment Stream) seriously.

    1. It is imperative that you take MATH2018/2010, MATH2028/2020, MATH2048/2040 on time.

      It should be understood that in every MATH course at level-3000 or above (whether it can be used for fulfilment of Enrichment Stream or not,) proficiency in the material covered by these courses is assumed.
    2. It is important that you take MATH2221 on time.

      It is assumed by the Department that all students are to take MATH2221 in Term 4.
      • If you delay the course to Term 6, you are likely going to find that there will be timeclash between MATH2221 and some other courses (amongsst MATH courses at level-3000 or above).
      • If you do not take the course by the end of the Third Year of Study, you will be barred from taking the capstone course (MATH4400/4900) in the Fourth Year of Study, and may have to delay your graduation.
    3. If you intend to graduate with the Enrichment Stream, you have to give special thoughts on when you take MATH2058/2050, MATH2068/2060, MATH2078/2070, MATH2230. This is because in each MATH level-3000 or above courses relevant to the Enrichment Stream, proficiency in the material covered by one or more of these courses is assumed. In fact, it may be stated explicitly in the pre-requisites of such a MATH level-3000 or above course that to take such a course, you are required to pass one or more of MATH2058/2050, MATH2068/2060, MATH2078/2070, MATH2230 before being allowed to take the course.

      For more detail, refer to the relevant remarks below (c5)(c6). As for pre-requisite and co-requisite matters, refer to this page.

  • (c2) MATH Honours Courses beyond the First Year of Study.

    While you are not obliged to take Honours courses in order to graduate in the MATH programme, you are encouraged to do so if you intend to acquire a broader and deeper understanding in mathematics, and if you want to reap the full benefits of the Enrichment Stream.

    There is a pre-requisite for each such Honours course, very often in the form `B- or above' in a group of Honours Courses that you are expected to have taken.

    As the individual MATH Honours course is offered only in a specific semester, you should take into account of the overall pattern of the offering of Honours courses in your planning. For more detail, you should refer to the MATH Honours Courses homepage.

    In any case, even if you are not taking any individual Honours course, you can still take its non-Honours counterpart to fulfil graduation requirement.

  • (c3) Capstone courses.

    You are required, and allowed, to take only one of MATH4400, MATH4900. Most students take the MATH4900, and do so in Term 7.

    Be aware of the pre-requisites for taking MATH4400/MATH4900, and plan your courses accordingly. In principle:---

    • without having first passed MATH2050/2058/2060/2068 and MATH2221, you will not be allowed to take MATH4400;
    • without having first passed MATH2050/2058 and MATH2221, you will not be allowed to take MATH4900.

  • (c4) Streams.

    Every MATH student is required to specialize in (at least) one stream, as listed in the MATH study scheme. They are:---

    • Enrichment Stream,
    • Computational Big Data Analytics Stream,
    • Computational and Applied Mathematics Stream,
    • Mathematics Stream,
    • Mathematics-Education Stream,
    • Mathematics-Multidisciplinary Stream.
    The Science, Technology and Research Stream, which is offered to all students of the Faculty of Science, is also available to MATH students admitted through the Enrichment Mathematics Programme.

    As an Enrichment Mathematics entrant, you are entitled to graduate in the Enrichment Stream as long as you fulfill the stream requirements.(c7) (Other students will have to satisfy some GPA requirements in order to be eligible for graduating in this stream.)

    You are also eligible for graduating with any one double-stream below:---

    • Enrichment Stream and Computational Big Data Analytics Stream,
    • Enrichment Stream and Computational and Applied Mathematics Stream,
    • Enrichment Stream and Mathematics-Education Stream,
    • Enrichment Stream and Mathematics-Multidisciplinary Stream,
    as long as you fulfil simultaneously the stream requirements of both the Enrichment Stream and the other stream specified.

    You may also opt to migrate from the Enrichment Stream, but you have to make sure you have made up your mind at least one semester prior to graduation, because you need to declare your stream to the Department at least several months before you graduate. (For your information, the stream declaration usually takes place in October and February.)

    For more detail on the matter of streams, including the specific requirements for each stream, consult the study scheme in CUSIS. A quick reference (though not necessarily most updated) on streams is available here.

  • (c5) Mathematical Analysis I, II (Honours and non-Honours courses).

    If you intend to graduate in the Enrichment Stream, it is best to take MATH2058/2050, MATH2068/2060 in Terms 3 or 4 respectively, or as early as possible. This is because without taking these two courses, it will be hard for you to acquire a sufficiently strong background in analysis assumed in further analysis-type courses.

    However, if you indeed need room to `kick-start' a second stream alongside the Enrichment Stream during the Second Year of Study, you may consider postponing MATH2058/2050, MATH2068/2060 to as late as Terms 5, 6 respectively. That said, you should bear in mind that such a postponement may result in your being ill-prepared to take certain advanced pure-maths type courses during Year 3 and Year 4.

    In deciding when to take MATH2058/2050, MATH2068/2060, you should also note that:---

    • MATH2058/2050 is part of the pre-requisites for MATH2068/2060, and so without first taking MATH2058/2050, it is extremely unlikely for you to be allowed to take MATH2068/2060;
    • MATH2058 is likely to be offered in the First Semester only;
    • MATH2068 is likely to be offered in the Second Semester only;
    • While MATH2050 is likely to be offered in both the First and Second Semesters, MATH2060 is likely to be offered in the Second Semester only.

  • (c6) Algebraic Structures, Complex Variables with Applications, Ordinary Differential Equations, Introductory Probability as `semi-required' courses (MATH2078/2070, MATH2230, MATH3270, MATH3280).

    1. If you want to graduate with the Enrichment Stream whether as a single stream, or as one of the two streams forming a double-stream, you are required to take both MATH2078/2070 and MATH2230 as partial fulfilment of the major course requirements for graduation with the Enrichment Stream.

      Be aware that:---
      • MATH2230 covers the background in theory of functions of one complex variable which is indispensible preparation for various `pure maths type' courses in analysis and geometry, and
      • MATH2078/2070 covers the background in abstract algebra which is indispensible preparation for various `algebra type' courses.
      So, if you want to take more `pure maths' type courses in Year 3 and Year 4, a timely completion of these two courses (say, in Term 4, or Term 5 at the latest,) is important. In regard to the matter of planning your courses, you should note that:---
      • MATH2230 and MATH2070 are offered every semester. MATH2078 is likely to be offered in the second semester only.
    2. If you want to graduate with a migration to any non-Enrichment stream(s), you are required to take any three out of MATH2078/2070, MATH2230, MATH3270, MATH3280 as partial fulfilment of the stream requirement(s) for such a stream. (MATH3280 may be replaced by STAT2001.)

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University-level requirements beyond the First Year of Study.

Term of study Course Number of units
Term 3 (tentative) ELTU2018/2019(d1) (ELTU Course for Second-year Students) 3 units
Term 4 (tentative) CHLT1002 (d1) (University Chinese II) 2 units
Term 5 (tentative) ELTU3018(d1) (ELTU Course for Third-year Students) 2 units
Term 4 or before UGFH1000 and/or UGFN1000 (if not already taken)(d2) 3 or 6 units
Any time UGEA, UGEC, UGED courses(d2) at least 7 units
(Dependent on college) College General Education course(d3) (Dependent on college)

Remarks.

  • (d1) English and Chinese courses for Second- and Third-Year students.

    These language courses are likely pre-assigned to you, or will only provide limited choices for you. You do not have any choice regarding `taking or not'.

    The exact arrangements will be announced by the university in due course.

  • (d2) University General Education courses.

    You are required to pass both UGFH1000, UGFN1000, and further pass a certain number of units of University General Education courses. Although you are free to choose your own courses for the latter, you are required to cover all three types of courses from UGEA, UGEC, UGED.

  • (d3) College General Education courses beyond the First Year of Study.

    Various colleges will set their own College General Education requirements. Some colleges will require their students to do `final year projects' in Term 7.

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