A. Purpose of the Award
1. Postgraduate awards in the form of studentships are allocated to full-time research postgraduate students (RPgs) of the University to provide them with financial assistance for their daily subsistence, tuition fees and other expenses that may incur during the course of their study. The studentship award is provided to ensure that RPgs need not concern with looking for other sources of income to support themselves. Full-time RPgs should devote full efforts to their studies.
2. Awards given are based on academic merit and the suitability of the RPgs for the proposed program of study, as is the selection of applicants for admission to postgraduate studies.
3. PGS awards may be funded by the University, research grants secured by faculty members, donations, or a combination of these. The terms and conditions for PGS awards described here apply to all PGS awards regardless of their source of funding.
B. Eligibility
Only full-time RPgs of the University are eligible to apply for PGS.
Applicants may simultaneously be recipients of government grants and loans, and these applicants will be treated like all others in the selection process. Holders of other scholarship awards may receive PGS provided that this does not violate the terms and conditions of the other awards. The studentship is conditional on demonstrated competency in English that satisfies the RPg’s department.
C. Administration
The allocation and administration of PGS to RPgs is the responsibility of the department the RPgs are registered with.
D. Amount and Duration of the Awards
1. RPgs admitted from the 2004/05 academic year onward may receive, in their first year of study, a monthly PGS up to HK$13,000, to be determined by the home department. The PGS rate, which is reviewed annually, may be adjusted upward or downward.
2. In the case of PhD students, those who have passed their qualifying examination and have done well in their work may receive, in the next academic year following the passing of the qualifying examination a higher PGS rate of no more than
$13,400. Any PGS amount higher than HK$13,400 should be endorsed by VPAAO on a case-by-case basis and the funding must come from non-UGC block grant sources. The award of the higher PGS rate is not automatic, nor is it an entitlement for post-qualifying PhD students. The actual PGS rate for these PhD students is determined by the home department. The department’s commitment to pay these higher rates can only be on an annual basis as the continued provision of PGS in subsequent years will depend on the performance and the study progress of the PGS recipient as well as funding availability.
3. RPgs admitted before the 2004/05 academic year may, due to earlier contractual agreement, receive a monthly PGS up to
$13,500. The actual PGS amount is to be determined by the home department. For ease of interpretation, the date of admission refers to the point of entry to the current program of study.
4. Due to great demand for on-campus housing, all new non-local RPg students admitted from 2008/09 onward will be given priority in student accommodation during their normative period of study only. The normative period for completing the PhD degree in full-time mode is four years after the first degree with a reduction of one year if a relevant master’s degree is
Appendices
earned prior to entering the PhD program. For the MPhil degree in full-time mode, the normative period of study is two years.
For recipients of PGS, room rental will be deducted from the PGS award amount. Details of the accommodation arrangements can be obtained from the Student Affairs Office. All new and continuing RPgs who require campus accommodation should apply to the Student Affairs Office well ahead of time. Rooms will be allocated subject to availability.
5. A PGS award commences at the time when an RPg begins his/her studies at the University.
6. PGS may be offered, at the most, for one academic year only.
Departments may extend awards to cover July and August 2010.
Awards for the 2010/11 academic year will be reviewed and determined before the beginning of Fall Semester, 2010/11, subject to the availability of funds and satisfactory performance of the awardees.
7. As a general rule, PGS recipients who are studying beyond their normative period should be supported by sources other than centrally allocated PGS funding.
E. Other Conditions
1. PGS recipients are not employees of the University, and PGS award is not taxable income.
2. As the provision of PGS award is to ensure that subsistence living of recipients is covered, RPgs should devote full-time efforts to their studies. Recipients of PGS awards should not, therefore, engage in employment, full-time or part-time, with the University or any other employer.
3. During Winter or Summer Session, with the prior approval of the department and for non-local RPgs, on obtaining a No Objection Letter issued by the Immigration Department of HKSAR, an RPg may engage in full-time research assistantship work within the University. In such cases, the PGS will be temporarily suspended
during the period of employment as a research assistant.
4. From summer of 2008, the government has relaxed the policy on employment restrictions for non-local students. In general, full-time non-local students may now take up part-full-time on-campus jobs, off-campus summer jobs and study-related internship, subject to their meeting the conditions laid down by the Hong Kong Immigration Department. For RPgs, however, although study-related work or internship may be desirable experiences to have, in most cases, they may not be critical to the studies being pursued. The provision of PG studentship is to ensure RPgs should put their full-time efforts into their study and research.
Hence they should not take up part-time work, summer work or internship, except for the condition mentioned in para E3 above.
5. Recipients of PGSs may be required to engage in ancillary duties related to teaching or research, which supplement their formal degree programs. The nature of these assignments may change from time to time according to need. However, they are limited to 36 effective hours per month on average, based on 10 months a year. “Effective hours” includes both contact hours and preparation time. In the case of research-related duties, if the duties performed by an RPg are directly related to his/her own research focus or project, the 36-hour limit should not apply.
Such duties are not considered to be “work” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
6. With the prior approval of the home department, PGS recipients who are enrolled on research postgraduate programs may have up to three weeks’ leave in an academic year (1 September to 31 August). This leave is inclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays that lie within the leave period. Those who arrive late will have their annual leave pro-rated. Unused leave for one year cannot be carried forward to the next academic year.
The decision on whether or not a requested leave should be granted rests jointly with the thesis supervisor of the RPg and the departmental PG coordinator.
Appendices
F. Termination
1. PGS recipients not performing satisfactorily in their program of study, including their ancillary duties, may lose their award, but normally with at least one month’s written notice given by their home department. Engagement in unauthorized work mentioned in para E4 above may also lead to the termination of PGS.
2. The award of PGS is conditional on the PGS recipient undertaking and continuing full-time postgraduate studies at HKUST. Unauthorized leave will result in the immediate cancellation of the PGS. One month’s advanced notice is not required in such circumstances.
3. A recipient of PGS who takes more leave than is allowed (see para E6) may have his/her PGS payment suspended with no prior warning.
4. The award of a PGS will cease in the month the recipient has completed his/her program of study at the University.
5. Under exceptional circumstances and with the support of Dean’s Office and the PG Secretariat, the termination of the PGS award may be immediate.