CONVERSION OF HKDSE LEVELS / GRADES TO SCORES
ALTERNATIVE QUALIFICATION IN CHINESE LANGUAGE
Students may satisfy the University’s Chinese Language requirement with the HKDSE Cat. B Subjects, Cat. C Subjects or Alternative Qualification in Chinese Language (ACL) are listed below. a) the applicants have learned Chinese Language for less than 6 years while receiving primary and secondary education, or b) the applicants have learned Chinese Language for 6 years or more in schools but have been taught an adapted and simpler curriculum not normally applicable to the majority of students in HK local schools.
Conversion Table for 2026 HKUST JUPAS Admissions Category
Level/Grade
Category A: Senior Secondary Subjects (Cat. A Subjects) Category B : Applied Learning Subjects (Cat. B Subjects)
5**
5*
5
4
3
2
Alternative Qualifications for JUPAS applicants to fulfill the University general requirement for Chinese Language
Level/Grade
Attained with Distinction (II)
Attained with Distinction (I)
GCSE or IGCSE or GCE (A-Level / AS-Level / O-Level) Chinese Language subjects
-
-
-
-
Grade E / Grade 2 or above
Score
8.5
7
5.5
4
3
2
HKDSE Category B: Applied Learning (Chinese) subjects
Attained or Attained with Distinction
HKDSE Category C: Other Language subjects
Grade E / Score 3 or above
Category C: Other Language Subjects (Cat. C Subjects) Conversion Table Cambridge Assessment International Education (Cambridge International) Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level question papers will no longer be used for Cat. C Subjects from the 2025 HKDSE onward. Instead, HKDSE candidates will be required to take the stipulated official language examinations. Category Level/Grade Category C, Other Language (2012-2024) - A B C - D - E French C2 C1 B2 B1 A2 - - - German C2 C1 B2 B1 A2 - - - Japanese N1 - N2 - N3 - - - Korean Level 6 - Level 5 Level 4 Level 3 - - - Spanish C2 C1 B2 B1 A2 - - - Urdu A++ A+, A B++ B+ B, C - D E Score 8.5 7 5.5 4 3 2.5 2 1
Conversion Table for Alternative Qualifications in Chinese Language (ACL) Category Level/Grade GCE Advanced Level A*, A B - C - D -
E
-
GCE Advanced Subsidiary Level
A
-
B
-
C
-
D
-
E
GCE Ordinary Level
- -
- -
- -
-
A A
B B
- -
C C
- -
GCSE / IGCSE
A*
GCSE / IGCSE (2020 exam sitting onwards) HKDSE Category B (Applied Learning Chinese) HKDSE Category C, Other Language (2012-2024) #
-
-
-
9, 8
7
6, 5
-
4
-
Attained with Distinction
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
A
-
B
-
C
-
D
-
E
EXTRA BONUS FOR THE BEST 6TH SUBJECT
Score
7
6
5.5
5
4
3
2.5
2
1
HKUST will award extra scores for applicants' best sixth subject, including Category A and Category C subjects. Programs from the School of Science, the School of Humanities and Social Science, and selected joint programs will also consider Category B subjects, with a maximum of 5% extra scores. Please refer to the table below for the bonus percentage applied to the Highest Attainable Score for the Best 5 Subjects of the chosen program. The extra bonus is calculated by multiplying the given percentage by the Highest Attainable Score. The final program score is the sum of the scores of the Best 5 subjects plus the bonus from the 6th subject.
# For 2025 onwards conversion, please refer to the conversion table on P.14.
Category
2026 Converted Score
Extra Bonus (%)*
8.5
5.00% 4.12% 3.24% 2.35% 1.76% 2.35% 1.76% 5.00% 4.12% 3.24% 2.35% 1.76%
7
5.5
Cat. A Subjects
4 3 4 3
Cat. B Subjects
8.5
7
5.5
Cat. C Subjects
4 3
* The bonus % shown here is rounded to 2 decimal place. For a more precise admissions score, please refer to the result from the JUPAS Score Calculator.
14
15
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