Guidelines on Submission of Required Documents for TPg Admissions

Guidelines on Submission of Required Documents for Admissions to Taught Postgraduate Programmes offered by Faculty of Social Sciences (for applicants with the conditional offer of admission)

Applicants should pay attention to the guidelines for respective documents before arranging document submissions.

A. Transcripts
• Eligible applicants with conditional offer of admission given shall provide suitable documents stipulated below regarding their completed academic qualifications.

• Applicants in their final year of studies, whose degree award has been approved by their home institution but are unable to obtain the official final transcript with degree award information before the submission deadline outlined in the email regarding the conditional offer of admission, shall arrange for a Letter of Degree Status (Section E – 1) as proof and provide the official final transcript at a later time once it becomes available.
    1. Official Final Transcript^*  
Eligibility:Applicants whose academic qualifications are obtained from non-HKU institutions located in Hong Kong and other regions/countries (excluding Chinese Mainland)
Requirement of document:
  • The official final transcript should be issued by the Registry or an equivalent central unit of the home institution.
  • It should include the following information:
    • ▪ Full name of the student
    • ▪ Identification information of the student, e.g. date of birth/student no.
    • ▪ All coursework results required for degree award and the final overall result, e.g. GPA/grade/score
    • ▪ Degree award information, including the degree name and the date of award/conferment
    • ▪ Final transcripts without degree award information must be accompanied by Graduation Certificates confirming degree completion.  (Please refer to the “Graduation Certificates” section (Section B) for further instructions.)
  • Student copies, faculty copies, unofficial copies or non-final transcripts will not be accepted.
Methods of delivery:
  1. Electronic delivery via designated third-party agencies (default delivery format):
  • When official electronic transcripts can be sent directly from designated third-party agencies authorised by the issuing institutions, applicants should arrange for the electronic transcripts to be delivered directly from these agencies to our university.
  • List of recognised third-party agencies include:
  • Where “The University of Hong Kong” is not found from the Academic Organization/Institution list on these platforms, applicants should arrange for the electronic documents to be delivered directly from these agencies to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty ofSocial Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk.
  1. Electronic delivery by other means
  • Other digital platforms not listed above or developed by individual institutions may be considered on case-by-case basis.  Applicants should contact the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk for advice.
  1. Physical delivery (only when electronic delivery is not available):
  • For institutions that cannot fulfil the above-mentioned requirement for electronic transcripts, applicants should arrange for an original or certified true copy^ of the official transcript to be mailed directly from the home institution to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • The document should be enclosed in a sealed university envelope, which must remain sealed upon arrival at the Faculty of Social Sciences Office.
  • Please ensure the name of applied programme and the application number are visible on the document or envelope.
  1. Verification Report of China Higher Education Student’s Academic Transcript
Eligibility:Applicants whose academic qualifications are obtained from institutions in Chinese Mainland
Requirement of document:Verification Report of China Higher Education Student’s Academic Transcript (中國高等學校學生成績驗證報告) issued by the China Higher Education Student Information (學信網) in both Chinese and English versions is considered equivalent to the official final transcript.
Methods of delivery:
  • Please follow the detailed instructions provided in “Guide to Electronic Document Delivery via CSSD” at this link.
  • Should applicants be unable to submit the document via the “Guide to Electronic Document Delivery via CSSD”, please submit it to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences by email at socscpg@hku.hk.
  1. Student Copy of HKU Transcript
Eligibility:Applicants in their final year of studies at The University of Hong Kong
Requirement of document:
  • Upon the degree completion is confirmed by respective faculty, the student copy of the transcript, which should include the relevant degree award information, can be obtained from the HKU Student Information System.  Please refer to “How to view Student Copy of Academic Transcript in SIS” at this link for the detailed guidelines.
  • Applicants should contact their home faculties for the schedule of degree completion confirmation.
Methods of delivery:An electronic student copy of transcript should be submitted to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk.
B. Graduation Certificates^*
Eligibility:Applicants whose official final transcripts do not provide degree award/conferment information
Requirement of document:
  • Graduation Certificate should be issued by the Registry or an equivalent central unit of the home institution.
  • It should include the following information:
    • ▪ Full name of the student
    • ▪ Degree award information, including the degree name and the date of award/conferment
Methods of delivery:
  1. Electronic delivery via designated third-party agencies (default delivery format):
  • When official electronic graduation certificate can be sent directly from designated third-party agencies authorised by the issuing institutions, applicants should arrange for the electronic graduation certificate to be delivered directly from these agencies to our university.
  •  List of recognised third-party agencies include:
  • Where “The University of Hong Kong” is not found from the Academic Organization/Institution list on these platforms, applicants should arrange for the electronic documents to be delivered directly from these agencies to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk.
  1. Electronic delivery by other means
  • Other digital platforms not listed above or developed by individual institutions may be considered on case-by-case basis.  Applicants should contact the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk for advice.
  1. Physical delivery (only when electronic delivery is not available):
  • For institutions that cannot fulfil the above-mentioned requirement for electronic graduation certificate, applicants should arrange for a certified true copy^ of the official graduation certificate to be mailed directly from the home institution to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • The document should be enclosed in a sealed university envelope, which must remain sealed upon arrival at the Faculty of Social Sciences Office.
  • Please ensure the name of applied programme and the application number are visible on the document or envelope.
C. Degree Verification Reports

• If applicable, applicants of the following categories are required to provide the stipulated documents regarding their completed academic qualifications.

  1. Online Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate and Degree Certificate
Eligibility:Applicants whose academic qualifications are obtained from institutions in Chinese Mainland
Requirement of document:
Methods of delivery:
  • Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the “Guide to Electronic Document Delivery via CSSD”at this link.
  • Should applicants be unable to submit the document via the stated in the “Guide to Electronic Document Delivery via CSSD”, please submit it to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences by email at socscpg@hku.hk.
  1. Overseas Credentials Evaluation Report
Eligibility:Applicants from Chinese Mainland whose academic qualifications are obtained from overseas institutions
Requirement of document:Overseas Credentials Evaluation Report (國(境)外學歷學位證書) issued by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (教育部留學服務中心)
Methods of delivery:Applicants should submit it to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences at socscpg@hku.hk.
D. English Proficiency Reports
• If applicable, applicants whose academic qualifications are obtained from institutions which the language of teaching and/or examination is not English, are required to provide either one of the following stipulated documents as evidence of their English proficiency.
  1. Score Report of IELTS (International English Language Testing System)
Requirement of document:
  •  A test report form of IELTS Academic test must be taken within two years prior to September 1 of each admission year.
  • The test result should satisfy the English Language Requirements of the University and the respective programmes.  Please refer to the Taught Postgraduate Admissions website for information.
Methods of delivery:
  • A valid test report form of IELTS Academic test should be submitted directly from the test authority to the Faculty of Social Sciences via the booking portal.  Please select the following organisation as the recipient:
    1. Name of Department: Student Team (Postgraduate)
    2. Name of Institution: The University of Hong Kong – Faculty of Social Sciences – Taught Postgraduate Admissions
  •  In addition, applicants should arrange for a scanned copy of the student report to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences Office at socscpg@hku.hk for verification.
  1. Score Report of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)
Requirement of document:
  •  A score report of TOEFL must be taken within two years prior to September 1 of each admission year.
  • The test result should satisfy the English Language Requirements of the University and the respective programmes. Please refer to the Taught Postgraduate Admissions website for information.
Methods of delivery:
  •  A valid score report of TOEFL should be shared to the University of Hong Kong electronically via ETS platform with the University’s TOEFL code 9671.
  • In addition, applicants should arrange for a scanned copy of the student report to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences Office at socscpg@hku.hk for verification.
  1. Certifying Letter of Medium of Instruction or Equivalent Proof *
Requirement of document:
  • The original letter or equivalent proof of documents should be issued by the Registry or an equivalent central unit of the home institution.
  • It should state that the sole medium of instruction or the language of teaching and examination of the qualification (i.e. all courses presented in the transcript) is English.
Methods of delivery:
  • The document should be issued and mailed directly from the home institution to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • The document should be enclosed in a sealed university envelope, which must remain sealed upon arrival at the Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Please ensure the name of applied programme and the application number are visible on the document or envelope.
E. Other Documents
    1. Letter of Degree Status (for final-year students)*
Eligibility:Applicants in their final year of studies, whose degree award has been approved by their home institution but are unable to obtain the official final transcript with degree award information before the submission deadline as outlined in the email regarding the conditional offer of admission
Requirement of document:
  •  The original letter should be issued by the home institution.
  • The letter should include the following information:
    ▪ Full name and identification information of the student
    ▪ Name of the enrolled degree
    ▪ Certification of completion of degree requirements
    ▪ Approval of the degree award by the Senate or Examination Board
    ▪ Date of award approval (should be on or before the date of letter issuance)
    ▪ Confirmed date of degree conferment
  • Applicants should arrange for this letter as a proof of the degree award, along with the most recent official transcript.
  • Applicants are required to submit the official final transcript (Section A – 1 ) at a later time once it is available.
Methods of delivery:

For Letter of Degree Status:

  •  The letter should be mailed directly from the home institution to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • The document should be enclosed in a sealed university envelope, which must remain sealed upon arrival at the Faculty of Social Sciences Office.
  • Please ensure the name of applied programme and the application number are visible on the document or envelope.

For the most recent official transcript:

  • The same methods of delivery for an official final transcript apply. Please refer to “Official Final Transcript” (Section A – 1) for detailed information.
  1. Documents Confirming the Change of Name#*
Eligibility:Applicants who have changed their name, with their former name displayed on the required documents
Requirement of document:
  • A certified true copy# of a document should confirm that the former name and current name refer to the same person.
  • Acceptable documents for confirming the name change include deed poll for name change, statutory declaration, or any other legitimate document that fulfils the purpose of confirming the name change.
Methods of delivery:
  • The certified true copy# of the document should be mailed to the Student Team (Postgraduate), Faculty of Social Sciences.
  • Please ensure the name of applied programme and the application number are visible on the document or envelope.
Remarks
^ Certified true copy for documents related to academic qualificatio:
• A certified true copy for documents related to academic qualifications is a copy of a primary document that has been endorsed or certified by an issuing institution, stating that it is a true and accurate representation of the primary document
• It should bear the stamp of the issuing institution.
• Certified true copies issued by other third-party organisations will not be accepted.

# Certified true copy for documents not related to academic qualifications:
• A certified true copy for documents not related to academic qualifications is a copy of a primary document (e.g. a deed pool for name change) that has been endorsed or certified by an authorised party, stating that it is a true and accurate representation of the primary document.
• A certified true copy should be certified by the issuing authority, a lawyer, a notary public, a Consulate General, etc.
• It should bear the seal or stamp of the authorised party and be signed by an appropriate official, clearly stating the name, status or position of the person certifying the copy in English.
• A copy duly declared as a true copy of the original document by the applicant before a Commissioner for Oaths at a Home Affairs Enquiry Centre in Hong Kong is also acceptable.
• The following statement must be included in the declaration: “The documents/exhibits marked XX – XX attached to this declaration are the true copies of original documents held by me.”
• Details of declaration can be found on the website of the Home Affairs Department

* Certified translated copy for documents not in English
• Documents which are not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation in English.
• It can be issued by the issuing authority, or certified translators.
• A certified translation document should bear a seal of the translator and its certification body.

^ Certified true copy for documents related to academic qualifications:

  • A certified true copy for documents related to academic qualifications is a copy of a primary document that has been endorsed or certified by an issuing institution, stating that it is a true and accurate representation of the primary document.
  • It should bear the stamp of the issuing institution.
  • Certified true copies issued by other third-party organisations will not be accepted.

#Certified true copy for documents related to academic qualifications:

  • A certified true copy for documents not related to academic qualifications is a copy of a primary document (e.g. a deed pool for name change) that has been endorsed or certified by an authorised party, stating that it is a true and accurate representation of the primary document.
  • A certified true copy should be certified by the issuing authority, a lawyer, a notary public, a Consulate General, etc.
  • It should bear the seal or stamp of the authorised party and be signed by an appropriate official, clearly stating the name, status or position of the person certifying the copy in English.
  • A copy duly declared as a true copy of the original document by the applicant before a Commissioner for Oaths at a Home Affairs Enquiry Centre in Hong Kong is also acceptable.
    • The following statement must be included in the declaration: “The documents/exhibits marked XX – XX attached to this declaration are the true copies of original documents held by me.”
    • Details of declaration can be found on the website of the Home Affairs Department.

* Certified translated copy for documents not in English

  • Documents which are not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation in English.
  • It can be issued by the issuing authority, or certified translators.
  • Examples of certified translators include those from:
  • The translation document must bear a stamp like the images below, stating its certification body and a certified number.

Updated on May 27, 2026