Read Mphil at zero cost? Who says the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's Red Bird Master's Program is a new one? This project is just amazing!

Date：2024-12-12   Author：admin

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) has a highly anticipated full-scholarship master's program called "Redbird Master's", which has long been favored by students. This program is a two-year Research Master's Degree (MPhil) program (full-time), which is very suitable for students who plan to pursue a doctoral degree in the future.


The main features of the Redbird Master's program, apart from its full scholarship and research-oriented nature, a major highlight is its "interdisciplinary" approach. It does not set boundaries between disciplines and majors, breaking away from the traditional model of departmental division for master's admissions. It is the first to establish four major hubs and multiple academic domains, allowing students to choose their training directions based on their own interests, educational backgrounds, and future career plans.

As there are no restrictions on disciplines and majors, the four major hubs mainly have 16 fields under which students can flexibly choose without having to determine their major directions in advance.

However, apart from the above-mentioned advantages, the "full scholarship" alone has already attracted many students. But for many students, there are still quite a few questions about this program, including how to apply, what the study experience is like, and what the recognition is...

With these questions in mind, we have specially invited a senior who is currently studying in the Redbird Master's program to share his insights. Today, let's help all the students lift the "veil of mystery of Redbird" ~

01. Application Method for Redbird's Master's Program

The Redbird Master's program adopts an independent and self-recruiting approach. It mainly recruits students globally through a model of individual application → committee review, and selects the best candidates for admission. After submitting the application, the applicant needs to pass the selection and interview of the Redbird Master's Program Admissions Committee, and then obtain the Offer Recommendation qualification.

Or, through the selection of a specific organization or institution, if recommended, enter the review process of the Redbird Master's Program Admissions Committee. Those who pass the review will obtain the qualification of admission recommendation.

Image source: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

Applications for the year 25-26 are now open. The application deadline is ��

June 15, 2025.(International Students)

2025.7.15 (Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan students)

Image source: The official website of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

With the number of applications increasing year by year, the Redbird Master's Program has set up a university whitelist and a "filter" for academic performance screening. By setting conditions, the scoring system automatically selects applicants. Applicants who pass the initial selection will proceed to the next stage of selection, while those who fail the initial selection will be sent a rejection letter.

After passing the initial screening, the scoring system of the Redbird Master's Program will match each application material with at least three judges from the selection and interview committee. The committee will determine the applicants based on their different disciplinary backgrounds such as science, engineering, liberal arts, art, design, business, management, and medicine. The completion and scoring of indicators with different weights, including mathematical ability, comprehensive language and writing ability, grades of core professional courses, grades of laboratory courses, graduation design/works, enterprise/clinical internships, social service activities, student club activities, and achievements in domestic and international competitions, are evaluated.

✅ redbird master 's application materials list

1. Graduated from a bachelor's degree-granting institution recognized by the Ministry of Education;
2. The TOEFL score should be no less than 80 or the IELTS overall score no less than 6.5 (with each score no less than 5.5). If the TOEFL or IELTS scores have not been obtained at the time of application, the application can be submitted normally.
3. Applicants do not need to contact their supervisors in advance. It is encouraged to prepare personal statements, research plans and recommendation letters, but they are not mandatory materials. In addition, this project has no mandatory requirements for applicants to have research experience or published papers.

After the scoring is completed, the selection result is determined through collective resolution:

Applicants whose selection results are "recommended" will be invited to attend an offline interview.

Applicants whose selection results are "in the middle" will be placed on the "Waiting List" so that the committee can conduct rolling selection in subsequent specific rounds (to ensure the quality and fairness of the recruitment, each applicant on the waiting list has only one opportunity for rolling selection).

For applicants whose selection results are "not recommended", rejection letters will be sent to them, and they are not allowed to resubmit applications for the same intake.

✅ redbird master 's offline interview requirements

1. Project team activities, used to assess the comprehensive quality and ability of the applicant (teamwork, communication skills, etc.);

2. Personal interviews are conducted to assess the applicant's academic accumulation and professional qualities.

Applicants who have obtained the admission recommendation qualification from the Selection and Interview Committee through the "application-review system" or the "recommendation-review system" must submit their materials to the Future Technology College and the Ho Ying Dong Graduate School for review step by step as required. Finally, the Ho Ying Dong Graduate School will approve and issue the official admission notice uniformly.

02. Redbird Challenge Camp

Although the Redbird Master's program is currently a newly established master's program and has only recruited a few batches of students, the number of applicants has been increasing year by year. Therefore, Redbird Master's has meticulously designed the "Redbird Challenge Camp" for outstanding college students across the country who possess creativity and professional expertise. This can be regarded as the "early batch" of Redbird Master's.

The directions cover multiple disciplines and professional fields such as mechanical design, mechanical manufacturing, electronic circuits, sensor technology, automatic control, signal processing, image processing, programming, machine vision, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, materials and chemical engineering, business administration, finance and trade, political economy, journalism and communication, and media creativity.

Data from the previous challenge camp (Image source: Official Weibo account of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou))

The Redbird Challenge Camp is also one of the recruitment methods for the Redbird Master's Program. According to the official introduction:

The Challenge Camp aims to discover talents with unique potential through innovative process evaluation methods, providing a growth opportunity for "eccentric talents, strange talents, extraordinary talents and unconventional talents". It adheres to the recruitment concept of "heroes are not judged by their origins", and follows the principles of "transparency, fairness and impartiality", adopting the same selection and admission standards as the "application-review system". Applicants who have submitted their applications through the "application-review system" channel but have not yet entered the selection and interview stage can also apply for the Redbird Challenge Camp simultaneously.

Therefore, for applicants who did not pass the initial selection but have special talents or other outstanding performances, they can be given priority to apply for the "Redbird Challenge Camp".

The Redbird Challenge Camp only offers offline camps and will be held for three sessions, with no more than 100 participants per session. It is mainly targeted at undergraduate students graduating before July. As long as you have an innovative spirit, a strong interest in integrated disciplines and research projects, and rich project experience, you can sign up. Students who are interested in the Redbird Challenge Camp can start preparing in advance.

✅ redbird Challenge camp application materials list

1. One copy of the "Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) Redbird Challenge Camp Application Form" (automatically submitted by the system after successful online registration);

2. Transcripts of all courses taken during the undergraduate stage;

3. Personal Statement (Please option1-3 valuable experiences of yours and describe them in detail. Limited to 1 page);

4. Resume (limited to 2 pages)

5. Portfolio (Limited to 6 pages)

�� Note: Items 1 to 5 above are mandatory. All materials must be true and valid. Any false information will result in disqualification from the camp.

The above information/images are from the official website of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

04. Reading Experience

Academic reputation

As a new school, it is currently in a period of rapid development. The application threshold has been increasing year by year. The admission line for the second batch of undergraduate students has reached the level of Form 9. The first batch of graduates have been widely recognized in the Greater Bay Area and have good prospects for both job hunting and applying for a PhD.

Academic resources

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology can be said to be extremely wealthy. It has a considerable amount of research funds, and its infrastructure, experimental equipment, and student benefits are all at the top level in China. Full scholarships are available upon admission to Mphil and PhD programs, at 10,000 or 15,000 RMB per month (Note: Mphil is funded by the university, while PhD is funded by the supervisor).

Ninety percent of the tutors are AP students who have returned from prestigious universities and are all in a period of rapid growth. The quality and quantity of Pubs are both good, and most of them are willing to take on students. Therefore, there are no shortage of students publishing in top conferences and top journals every year.

But!! Due to the expansion of undergraduate and Mphil enrollment starting from the 2024 fall intake, the number of Mphil students has directly doubled, leading to an imbalance in the school's mentor resources. Relatively speaking, it is no longer possible to have the time and energy to teach Mphil as in the first two sessions.

So, if you want to win over a good mentor and obtain sufficient training resources, you need to show your unique skills (the following data is provided for reference: In the AI direction, there will be about twenty or thirty people contacting the mentor, and at most five or six will be accepted).

In addition, there is still a certain degree of mobility in the AP programs offered by schools. This point should still be taken into account when making a choice and applying.

Training plan

Mphil recruits students from all majors. After admission, all majors are temporarily classified as general (general selection directions). After enrollment, there is approximately two months of real time to freely explore all the professional directions within the school (either by meeting with your own supervisor or attending various lectures). Eventually, you will determine your academic supervisor and future research direction through a two-way selection process. This offers students who want to change their major a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so painlessly and directly.

Graduation Requirements

It mainly consists of two concepts: the master's project and the Redbird project. The first one is the master's project. This is relatively simple. In the traditional sense, after determining the academic supervisor and the future research direction, the project is initiated. Only after the project is completed can one graduate.

The second is the Redbird Project, which is currently an important concept. Essentially, the Redbird Project is a team project oriented towards entrepreneurship and the practical application of research results. It mainly occurs after a major project is proposed by a project mentor (which is a different concept from an academic mentor, and the vast majority are full-time teachers responsible for Redbird projects) or an individual student (i.e To build an intelligent robot, we recruited several students whose individual master's topics could solve a certain part of the problems in the Redbird project to form a project team. Eventually, through teamwork, we completed this large-scale project.

For students to graduate smoothly, they not only need to complete their master's projects but also must prove that their personal projects have made sufficient contributions to the Redbird program (the first two sessions had an imperfect system, so they were not strictly controlled; starting from the third session, strict requirements will be imposed).

Campus life

The 8-person suite single room at 580 RMB per month is equipped with standard public areas, a public kitchen, a public refrigerator and two separate bathrooms. It is considered the top configuration in domestic university dormitories.

As Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is located in the suburbs of Dongchong Town, Nansha District, Guangzhou City, it is not so bustling. However, there is a subway right at the school gate. Within a 30-minute living circle by subway or taxi, there is the center of Nansha District (everything you can think of) and a large number of authentic Guangdong delicacies from the town. It takes only one subway stop to reach Qingsheng Railway Station to go to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. So, generally speaking, it is located in a remote area but has relatively convenient transportation.

There are only a few merchants providing basic services on campus. Many stores do not have them (such as milk tea, bread, etc.). The number of restaurants and the variety of food are extremely limited. Over time, the diet will become rather monotonous.

Most of the seats in the library are equipped with standard ergonomic chairs, 4K displays and screen-hanging table lamps. There are also a large number of public Apple all-in-one computers and an Apple experience store. All facilities in the gymnasium (gym, basketball court, badminton court, rock climbing hall, swimming pool, etc.) are open to the public for free.

✨ senior TIPS✨

The tuition fee is 40,000 yuan (separate from the scholarship). Referring to the application situations of the 24fall and 25fall, the current applicant profile is among the top 40% of 985/211 universities (60% for the 25fall strict card, those exceeding this will be directly rejected), with multiple projects including research, internships, competitions, articles, and patents, and a clear intention to conduct research or start a business.

The application fee is 150RMB. There are no special items. If you don't have a very clear and complete RP, it is recommended not to fill it out. Otherwise, it will have the opposite effect and you may be tortured during the interview.

For students who want to use it as a stepping stone to apply for overseas doctoral programs, I still highly recommend this program. It's like getting an Mphil at zero cost. However, it should be noted that both the graduation certificate and the degree certificate will indicate that it is from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Radio and Television, not Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Students who are ultimately considering direct employment can still think it over carefully.

The above information/images are from Explore Y Senior (Please do not reproduce at will).