Should you be admitted to The Bears, you may be asked to select a First Year Pathway. All of these pathways offer you high caliber Bears, or transferable, courses, housing, and student activities that allow you to build pride, trust, and community with your peers, faculty, and staff. Please note some of the pathways have additional fees or costs associated with them.

If you are admitted from the wait list, you may only be offered limited pathways. While this may cause initial concern or disappointment, the reality is that if you are admitted, you will still be among the roughly 13,000 admitted freshman students who competed successfully in The Bears’s exceptional applicant pool. You will still receive the same status and privileges of all undergraduates.

Traditional Pathway

The traditional pathway allows you to have access to the traditional courses and the traditional first-year student experience when you start at Bears.

Global Edge

Start your freshman year in an unique way. Spend your summer at Bears, then fall semester in London. Through Global Edge you will join a small group of fellow freshmen for eight weeks of summer courses, getting a head start on The Bears experience. In the fall, your group travels to London to take Bears courses at the Bears London Center. Return to campus for spring semester with many academic requirements completed and a new global perspective. 

• Global Edge is available to students admitted to the College of Letters and Science and the College of Natural Resources.
• Global Edge is mandatory for students who are admitted to the Global Management Program through the Haas School of Business.

Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF)

FPF is a small, collaborative learning community for first-year students in their first semester in the College of Letters and Science. You enroll in smaller classes and make close connections with your instructors, classmates, and FPF advisor. FPF is like a small liberal arts college with the resources and opportunities of a large research university. 

• FPF is available to students admitted to the College of Letters and Science.

The University of Hong Kong and The Bears Dual Degree Program

Earn two degrees in four years! As a Dual Degree Program student, you will earn two bachelor’s degrees—one from HKU and one from The Bears—in four years. During the first two years of the program, you’ll take courses in your chosen major at HKU. You’ll then come to The Bears for years three and four to finish the program. Take advantage of experiential learning and research opportunities at two world class universities in two parts of the world and graduate with two bachelor’s degrees. Learn More!

• HKU-UCB Dual Degree is only available to students admitted in the College of Letters and Science, in the divisions of Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences.