CUHK has placed continual emphasis on enhancing students’ command of Chinese and English by offering mandatory courses in both languages. The University has been a pioneer and the first institution in Greater China to introduce general education as a core subject in the undergraduate curriculum. To ensure their all-round development, students are required to study Chinese language, English language, general education, physical education and information technology in the reinstated four-year curriculum in 2012. The general education programme under the new curriculum consists of three components: general education foundation, the “four areas”, and college general education. From 2022–23 onwards, two China-related courses, “Understanding China” and “Hong Kong in the Wider Constitutional Order”, have become part of the University core, which reaffirms the University’s resolve to enhance students’ understanding of the nation and promote Chinese cultural heritage.

First Year Chinese and First Year English (1980)
General Education Foundation Programme (2012)
GE Salon (2010s)
College general education programme – Service-Learning Programme, Chung Chi College (2010s)
Physical education lesson (1982)
‘Digital Literacy and Computational Thinking’ core course (2022)