Common Core Transdisciplinary Minors and Clusters 2021-22

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Common Core Transdisciplinary Minors and Clusters

(Optional and available to students of the 2017-18 intake and thereafter)

If you are a student of the 2017-18 intake and thereafter, you may pursue an organized course of interdisciplinary study tailor-made to your interests. The Common Core (CC) has launched two thematic clusters as follows which are applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2017-18:

a.  Sustaining Cities, Cultures, and the Earth (SCCE)
b.  The Quest for a Meaningful Life (UQM) / The Universe and the Question of Meaning (UQM)

These will offer you a self-chosen pathway for you to personalize your Common Core experience that will be acknowledged on the Academic Attainment Profile.

[Three new thematic clusters will be launched in 2021-22 and are applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2021-22:

c.  Creative Arts (CA)
d.  The Human Life Span (HL)
e.  Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity (GSD)]

 

1. What are Common Core Clusters and Transdisciplinary Minors (CCTM)?
A cluster consists of four Common Core courses, and a Transdisciplinary Minor consists of six courses, all drawn from the same thematic cluster. The courses under each cluster are listed at  https://commoncore.hku.hk/thematic-clusters/.

Keep in mind that while the Common Core requirements are mandatory for all undergraduate students to fulfill before graduation, both the Clusters and Minors are optional. If you embark on a CC Cluster or CCTM, you will still need to fulfill the requirement of successfully completing six Common Core courses, one from each Area of Inquiry (AoI) and not more than two from any AoI, and the non-permissible combinations of courses will still apply.
2. Indication of Common Core Cluster / Declaration of Common Core Transdisciplinary Minor
You can indicate a CC Cluster or declare a CCTM if you have completed four courses from the same thematic cluster. However, if you have already completed / enrolled to more than four courses, you would be eligible for declaring the corresponding CCTM only if ALL the courses you have completed / enrolled to belong to that thematic cluster.

Students should complete the indication of CC Cluster or declaration of CCTM online through the Student Information System (SIS):
SIS > My Page (tab) > SIS Menu > Enrollment > Declare Major/Minor/Special

Normally students can indicate/change CC Cluster intention or declare/change CCTM from Year 2 Semester 1, until final year Semester 1 (unless the major/minor declaration period (if any) of your programme is different).

CC Cluster indication and CCTM declaration are available during the pre-enrollment period and add/drop periods. You are NOT allowed to indicate/change CC Cluster intention or declare/change CCTM during the course selection period in August. The detailed course selection schedule is available at http://intraweb.hku.hk/reserved_1/sis_student/sis/reference-materials/Course_Selection_Schedule_for_UG.pdf.
3. Enrollment Priority for CCTM Students
After declaring the CCTM, you will be given priority to enroll on the remaining courses that belong to the same thematic cluster during the designated “priority period” on August 4, 2021. Therefore if you are eligible to declare a CCTM and intend to do so, please make sure that you have completed the declaration prior to the course selection period in order to enjoy the priority.

The “priority period” for CCTM students in 2021-22 is as follows:

Year 4 Year 3 Year 2
Semester 1 CC Courses August 4, 2021
(10:00 am– 12:00 pm) 		August 4, 2021
(12:00 pm– 2:00 pm) 		August 4, 2021
(2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)
Semester 2 CC Courses August 4, 2021
(10:10 am – 12:00 pm) 		August 4, 2021
(12:10 pm – 2:00 pm) 		August 4, 2021
(2:10 pm – 4:00 pm)
Enrollments submitted during the “priority period”, by students admitted in or before 2016-17 / students who have declared the CCTM would be placed at the top of the queue in that corresponding course according to time-stamps:

Period Ranked Priority on Queue Position
10:00 am – 12:00 pm 1 ♦ Cohorts admitted in or before 2016-17
♦ Year 4 (with CCTM)
2 ♦ Year 4 (without CCTM)
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm 1 ♦ Cohorts admitted in or before 2016-17
♦ Year 4 (with CCTM)
♦ Year 3 (with CCTM)
2 ♦ Year 4 (without CCTM)
♦ Year 3 (without CCTM)
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm 1 ♦ Cohorts admitted in or before 2016-17
♦ Year 4 (with CCTM)
♦ Year 3 (with CCTM)
♦ Year 2 (with CCTM)
2 ♦ Year 4 (without CCTM)
♦ Year 3 (without CCTM)
♦ Year 2 (without CCTM)
The queue position of those Year 2-4 students who have not declared the CCTM may thus be pushed back by subsequent enrollments of students of cohort 2016-17 or before / CCTM students.

Please note that students who have declared a CCTM are allowed to take courses which belong to the corresponding thematic cluster only. If you have declared a CCTM but selected a CC course not belonging to the same thematic cluster, your enrollment will subsequently be disapproved.