Cluster-Area Requirements | Office of Undergraduate Studies

CAR aims to expand your intellectual capacity beyond disciplinary domains and to enable you to tackle professional and global issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.

CAR includes broader range of academic subjects that use different paradigms, theoretical perspectives and methods of enquiry across the following four cluster areas. Click for the approved CAR subject list in each cluster area.

CAR (A): Human Nature, Relations and Development

CAR (D): Science, Technology and Environment

CAR (M): Chinese History and Culture

CAR (N): Cultures, Organisations, Societies and Globalisation

In addition to the four clusters, there are two attributes embedded in some CAR subjects.

English Reading and Writing Requirements (ER/EW) to further enhance your proficiency in English.
Chinese Reading and Writing Requirements (CR/CW) to further enhance your proficiency in Chinese.

Important4 The CAR subjects with the Writing and Reading Requirements will demand more effort and attention on the language aspect in addition to the subject content. To further know about these requirements, please visit English Language Centre and Chinese Language Centre respectively.

NeedToDo_blue What you need to do: Complete at least one 3-credit subject in each of the four areas, among which you have to fulfill the Reading and Writing Requirements in Chinese and English (ER/EW and CR/CW).

Important4 Important Note:

If you are admitted as a Senior Year Intakes student or through Articulation Degree Programmes, you may take less CAR subjects than the normal requirements. Please refer to Senior Year Intakes/ Articulation Degree Programme for more details.
For Advanced Standing students, please contact your programme host department for details.

Cross-cluster CAR subjects

Students who have completed cross-cluster CAR subjects (i.e., with the GUR type “E” to “HN” as specified in the table on the page Interpreting GUR Subject Code) can fulfil the cluster-area requirements of the corresponding GUR type as shown in the table on the page Interpreting GUR Subject Code. For instance, if you complete DDD1E01, you will have fulfilled both CAR A and B requirements. However, you are still required to take an additional CAR subject from any cluster area to make up the credit requirements for each cross-cluster CAR subject taken.

Retaking of failed CAR subjects
If you failed a CAR subject and would like to retake the same CAR subject to replace the failure grade, you are required to retake the exact same subject code (with the exact same suffix, if any). Subject codes with different suffixes are considered different subjects. Students taking a different subject code, even with the same subject title, cannot replace the failed grade of your previous subjects because they are not the exact same subject. For instance, the grade of a retaken DDD1A01 cannot replace the grade of DDD1A01P.

Useful Information for CAR Fulfillment