University Core

The University Core is a requirement in the undergraduate curriculum which aims at providing students with the essential and transferable knowledge and skills that help them lead successful lives both during and following their university education, and ultimately supporting the University’s commitment to develop the Graduate Attributes among students.

Structure of the University Core

University English (6 units)

These courses aim to enhance students’ English language skills in critical reading, academic listening and academic writing, and to reinforce the effective use of communicative strategies in English for academic purposes. After completing the two courses in this category, students should be able to: 

1. Comprehend extended academic spoken discourse by employing cognitive and metacognitive lecture comprehension strategies;
2. Analyse and evaluate ideas and arguments from a diverse range of academic texts; 
3. Employ fundamental research skills and conventions of citations and referencing in academic writing;
4. Write extended academic texts including a literature review and argumentative research papers logically and coherently;
5. Enhance their oral presentation skills in an academic setting; and 
6. Reflect on and self-assess their own abilities and performance in order to become more independent and competent lifelong learners.

University Chinese (3 units)

Courses in this category aim to enhance students’ competence and interest in reading, writing, speaking and Chinese language knowledge, and to foster the linguistic proficiency and communication skills that are essential to their study and future careers. After completing a course in this category, students should be able to:

1. Identify and analyse ungrammatical expressions and produce concise writing pieces; 
2. Comprehend, interpret, analyse and evaluate the main ideas and writing techniques of selected expository and argumentative masterpieces;
3. Write a concise and well-structured expository essay that contains concrete, relevant and sufficient details so as to provide in-depth analysis and explanations; 
4. Write a concise and well-structured argumentative essay with a clear and unique thesis statement and precise evidence supporting the argument in a logical, unified and persuasive manner; and
5. Use appropriate self-access multimedia resources to improve Chinese proficiency and writing techniques.

Healthy Lifestyle (2 units) 

The category provides a blueprint for how students can live an active and healthy life. This category is created to offer different kinds of 1- or 2-unit courses, which involve physical activities to promote students’ physical or psychological and mental health. The overarching curricular outcomes of this category are to purposefully engage students in physical activities by developing knowledge of, skills for, and attitude towards an active and healthy lifestyle. Specifically, students in various courses in this category will learn to:

1. Appreciate and value the benefits of healthy lifestyle practices by relating them to a healthy body from multiple perspectives;
2. Appreciate the importance of making health-enhancing decisions in daily living by adopting healthy habits such as intake of healthy foods, regular exercise, and managing life’s stresses through self-reflection, and mediation;
3. Reflect on the responsibilities and commitment associated with developing healthy relationships in social and family settings;
4. Recognise the role of art and music in supporting healthy behaviours and lifestyle.

The Art of Persuasion (2 units)

The course aims to develop students’ persuasive speech skills in English for the purpose of effectively expressing their points of view in a variety of settings. After completing the course in this category, students should be able to: 

1. Demonstrate a grasp of key concepts, principles, and theories underlying effective communication and persuasion by applying them appropriately in various speaking and presenting engagements;
2. Conduct audience analysis to prepare speeches for intended audiences; 
3. Draw upon a variety of sources to enrich their oral presentations; 
4. Apply principles of effective communication to the preparation and delivery of presentations;
5. Analyse and evaluate persuasive presentations produced by themselves and others.