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Hong Kong Radiography Bachelor (PolyU JS3612) Complete Guide 2026

If you have set your sights on becoming a registered radiographer in Hong Kong, there is essentially one route: the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Radiography offered by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) under JUPAS code JS3612. Together with Physiotherapy (JS3636) and Occupational Therapy (JS3624), Radiography forms part of the so-called “PolyU Three Treasures” — the three allied-health degrees at PolyU that lead directly to statutory registration with a Hong Kong supplementary medical professions board, with no qualifying examination required after graduation.

This guide walks you through everything a 2026 JUPAS applicant (and their parents) needs to know: the programme structure, the choice between the Diagnostic Radiography and Radiation Therapy streams, the registration pathway through the Radiographers Board, JUPAS scoring strategy, Hospital Authority salary expectations, and where else in the world the degree is recognised.

Why Radiography Is Worth a Serious Look

Radiographers are the imaging and radiation-treatment specialists of modern medicine. Without them, a hospital cannot run X-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, mammography, fluoroscopy, nuclear medicine, or radiotherapy services. The job is technical, patient-facing, and increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence — image reconstruction, dose optimisation, lesion detection, and treatment planning are all being augmented by machine learning.

Three structural factors make this an unusually attractive field for Hong Kong students:

Programme at a Glance

Item Detail
JUPAS code JS3612
Full title Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Radiography
Awarding institution The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
Department Department of Health Technology and Informatics (HTI)
Faculty Faculty of Health and Social Sciences
Duration 4 years full-time
Credits 116 academic credits + 26 clinical/field credits
Annual intake ~115 students (JUPAS + Non-JUPAS combined)
Streams Diagnostic Radiography (Medical Imaging) and Radiation Therapy
Statutory recognition Eligible for Part II of the Register, Radiographers Board of Hong Kong
2025/26 admission score (avg) ~196.5 (Best 5 with subject weighting)
Entry month September 2026

The Two Streams: Diagnostic vs Radiation Therapy

A defining feature of JS3612 is that you choose a stream — usually at the end of Year 1 or beginning of Year 2 — and the curriculum diverges substantially from then on.

Diagnostic Radiography (Medical Imaging)

This is the larger of the two streams and the one most students initially apply for. Diagnostic radiographers operate the imaging modalities that produce the pictures clinicians use to diagnose disease and guide procedures:

Radiation Therapy

The radiation therapy stream trains therapeutic radiographers (often called “RTs”) who deliver radiation treatment to cancer patients, working alongside radiation oncologists and medical physicists. Core competencies include:

Radiation therapists carry an enormous amount of patient-facing responsibility: they often see the same patient daily for six weeks of treatment, making strong communication skills essential. PolyU notes that normal colour vision is not an admission requirement, but is typically required for employment in the radiation therapy sector, and that proficiency in Cantonese, while not an admission criterion, is in practice essential for clinical training because patients communicate in Cantonese.

Four-Year Curriculum Outline

The exact module list is updated annually, but the structural progression has been stable for years:

Year 1 — Common Foundation

All students take the same modules. The goal is to build biomedical, physical, and clinical fundamentals before stream selection.

Year 2 — Stream Differentiation Begins

Diagnostic students dive into projection radiography, CT principles, and sectional anatomy. Radiation therapy students start treatment planning principles, oncology fundamentals, and cross-sectional anatomy with a treatment focus. Both streams continue physics, instrumentation, and image processing.

Year 3 — Advanced Modalities + First Major Clinical Placement

Diagnostic students move into MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, mammography, and quality assurance. Radiation therapy students cover IMRT/VMAT, brachytherapy, paediatric and palliative oncology, and clinical dosimetry. Substantial clinical placements (in Hospital Authority hospitals such as Queen Mary, Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern, and Tuen Mun) are integrated into both streams.

Year 4 — Specialisation, Research, and Capstone Placement

The final year combines an honours research project, advanced electives (paediatric imaging, interventional radiography, advanced practice in radiation therapy), and the longest clinical placement block — usually 6 to 8 months in total — to consolidate practice readiness for registration.

Clinical Placements and Hospital Authority Partnership

Clinical training is the heart of JS3612. The 26 clinical credits represent over a thousand hours of supervised practice in real diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology departments, organised primarily through the Hospital Authority (HA) clinical training network. Students rotate through multiple HA hospitals to experience different patient populations, equipment vendors (Siemens, GE, Philips, Canon, Varian, Elekta), and clinical workflows.

Clinical placements are competency-based: students work through structured logbooks, supervised by HA radiographers and clinical instructors from PolyU. Failure to meet clinical competencies can delay graduation.

Registration Pathway: The Radiographers Board of Hong Kong

This is what makes JS3612 different from a generic biomedical or imaging-related degree. PolyU graduates of the BSc (Hons) in Radiography are eligible to apply for registration in Part II of the Register of the Radiographers Board of Hong Kong, the statutory body under the Supplementary Medical Professions Council that regulates the practice of radiography in Hong Kong.

The practical implications:

  1. You can be employed legally as a radiographer in Hong Kong immediately after graduation and registration. There is no separate licensing examination as there is in some other jurisdictions.
  2. Without Part II registration, you cannot practise radiography in Hong Kong’s public or private hospitals.
  3. There is no other locally-accredited bachelor’s programme that confers this eligibility. Postgraduate options exist (e.g. PolyU’s MSc in Medical Imaging and Radiation Science, MMI), but they primarily serve practising radiographers seeking specialty advancement, not first-time entrants.

JUPAS Admission Scoring

PolyU calculates a programme-specific admission score for JS3612 using the Best 5 subjects with subject weighting.

Subject Requirements and Weighting

There is no compulsory subject requirement beyond the general PolyU entrance requirements (3322 + 33 in 4 core subjects). However, JS3612 designates a list of preferred subjects with the highest weighting — and given how competitive admission is, in practice you need at least two or three of these to be a serious candidate:

In practice, the strongest applicants usually present English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (or two of Bio/Chem/Phys with another preferred subject) so that all five Best-5 subjects fall into the weighted category.

Indicative Cut-Off

The 2025/26 average admission score for JS3612 was approximately 196.5 under the Best-5-with-weighting formula. Translated to a non-weighted Best-5, this corresponds roughly to a median DSE applicant of around 5/5/5/5/5 or 5*/5/5/5/5 — broadly comparable to mid-tier business or engineering programmes at HKU or CUHK, and clearly competitive but well short of medicine or dentistry at HKU.

Flexible Admission

PolyU operates a flexible admission scheme allowing applicants who fall short of the formal cut-off but demonstrate exceptional non-academic achievements (regional sports representation, music distinction, social service leadership, science Olympiad, etc.) to be considered. This is rarely the deciding factor for JS3612 specifically, but can help borderline candidates.

Personal Qualities and Realistic Expectations

Beyond the score, the admissions interview probes whether you actually understand the profession. Useful self-assessment questions:

Career Outcomes and Salary

Hospital Authority

The HA hires the majority of new graduates as Radiographer II on the public-sector master pay scale. Starting salary for Radiographer II is typically around HK$36,000 to HK$45,000 per month depending on Master Pay Scale (MPS) entry point, with annual increments. Senior Radiographer (after several years), Department Manager, and Chief Radiographer roles take you considerably higher.

Allowances on top of base salary include shift, on-call, and (for radiation therapy) special radiation allowances where applicable. Total cash compensation for a mid-career HA radiographer can exceed HK$70,000–HK$90,000 per month.

Private Sector

Private hospitals (Hong Kong Sanatorium, Adventist, Union, Matilda, Gleneagles, CUHK Medical Centre, HKU-Shenzhen) and private imaging centres compete aggressively for HA-trained radiographers. Private-sector base pay is often 20–40% higher than HA, especially for MRI- and CT-experienced staff, though benefits packages differ.

Industry and Adjacent Careers

A radiography degree opens doors beyond the imaging suite:

Overseas Recognition

PolyU radiography graduates are recognised by several major overseas registration bodies, which makes the degree unusually portable:

For most overseas registrations, one year of post-qualification clinical experience in Hong Kong is the practical prerequisite. A small number of graduates use this as a springboard to relocate to Australia or Canada.

Non-JUPAS, International, and Mainland Routes

JS3612 also admits Non-JUPAS Year 1 applicants (associate-degree holders, IB, A-Level, GCE, SAT, Gaokao, and other international qualifications). Indicative benchmarks:

Mainland and international students should note that clinical placements take place in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong hospitals. Conversational Cantonese ability is in practice essential for the clinical years, even though it is not formally tested at admission.

Decision Framework: Should You Pick JS3612?

Pick JS3612 if you:

Look elsewhere if you:

Final Word

JS3612 is one of Hong Kong’s most pragmatic degree choices: a single, focused, four-year route that ends with a registration certificate, a job offer, and a portable qualification. The JUPAS score required is real but achievable for a strong DSE candidate, and the long-term career trajectory — clinically, technically, and financially — is more secure than most undergraduate options at the same admission band. If healthcare without the seven-year medical track appeals to you, this should be high on your Band A list.

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