Skip to main content
Find Your Program
David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies
Give Back

Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong

Dates: 23 April–14 June 2027
Priority Deadline: 1 November 2026
Application Deadline: 1 December 2026
Apply Now

HONG KONG, CHINA, VIETNAM

Learn to discover a need and launch a startup in one of the world’s most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Hong Kong is one of the world's most dynamic startup and innovation hubs. It is a city where East meets West, colonial history meets cutting-edge finance, and street-level hustle meets world-class research universities. This study abroad program immerses students directly in that ecosystem, engaging with student entrepreneurs from Hong Kong universities to explore what it takes to build a venture in one of Asia's most competitive markets. You will move through the same process used by successful founders: discovering customer problems, testing ideas, validating demand, building prototypes, and launching a real venture.

We will spend a week each in Guangzhou, China and Hanoi, Vietnam, but the focus will be Hong Kong. This isn't a five-day sightseeing trip. This is five weeks of living in Hong Kong. Beyond the classroom and your startup business, you'll go deep into the city's neighborhoods through custom-designed cultural trails built around local food, customs, and history that push past the typical Instagram stops to discover the identity of a city and a people defined by change. You'll develop something most travelers never do: a real practice for how to enter a new city and culture. You will learn how to build local knowledge and design a genuine life of interaction with a place, not just a highlight reel of it.

Click here to apply today!

data-content-type=""

Contact Us

Lisa Jones Christensen
5255 TNRB
(919) 225-9988
ljc@byu.edu

Nile Hatch
626 TNRB
(801) 422-1723
nile@byu.edu

Geoff Wright
230 SNLB
(801) 422-7804
geoffwright@byu.edu

Andrew Gartz
159 SCOB
(801) 822-1878
andrew.gartz@byu.edu

PDF

Program Flyer

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=

More Information

Pencil and paper BIG-01.svg

Courses

Students are required to enroll in a 1-credit hour course during winter term 2027:

ENT 490R—Global Ideation and Validation (meets online one evening per week)

Students are also required to enroll in 6 credit hours during spring term 2027:

ENT 300—Fundamentals of Starting a Business (3 credit hours)
ENT 434R—New Venture Launchpad (3 credit hours)

This program will fulfill course and international experience requirements for the Global Management Certificate offered by the Marriott School and for the Global Business and Literacy Minor offered by the Marriott School.

Students may not take any other courses on this program, including BYU Online courses, without approval by the program director and ISP.
moneystack NAVY BIGsvg-01.svg

Cost

$7,500–7,900

Includes Latter-day Saint undergraduate full tuition (increased cost for graduate and non–Latter-day Saint students); housing; daily breakfast; daily public transport allowance in Hong Kong; travel to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hanoi; approximately one-third of dinners; China visa application fees; and required international health insurance.

Does not include airfare to and from Hong Kong, other meals, Vietnam tourist visa, or any extra personal expenses.
Scroll NAVY BIG-01.svg

Funding Sources

Regular BYU tuition scholarships, Pell Grants, and Federal Insured Student Loans may be applied to study abroad programs.

Students who submit the financial aid section of the ISP application and who have a current FAFSA form on file at the Financial Aid Office (A-41 ASB) will be considered for a Study Abroad scholarship.

Academic departments and colleges may assist with scholarships and grants.

Private grants and scholarships outside of BYU may also assist (see kennedy.byu.edu/scholarships).

Scholarships are not applied until the last payment is due.
Backpack NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Preparation

During the semester before departure, students are required to participate in an international cross-cultural preparation class (IAS 201R, 1 credit hour). This class will be held during the second block of winter semester 2027. Part-time BYU students and non-BYU students will need to pay an additional tuition fee for enrolling in this prep class.

International study programs are physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing and you must be in good health to participate. These programs often take place in international locations that do not have the same level of safety and services in terms of transportation, living conditions, residential accommodations, food, public behavior, and policing that you may be used to on campus. If you have further questions or concerns on this, please see our travel policy.
House NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Housing

Students will stay in hotels in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hanoi. In Hong Kong, each student will have a private suite in co-living accommodations at Weave Studios Kowloon West.
Plane NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Travel

Students are responsible for purchasing their own airfare to and from the program sites. Airline reservations must be made through BYU Travel. Students should contact a BYU Travel agent.

BYU Travel
280 HRCB
(801) 422-6293
travel@byu.edu
Check mark NAVY BIG-01.svg

Application Process

Students must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Complete the online application here. A nonrefundable $35 application fee is required; applicants will be interviewed once the application is complete.

Students will be notified via e-mail of their acceptance into the program. The first payment is due upon acceptance; please refer to the Payment Information page.

Priority Deadline: 1 November 2026
Application Deadline: 1 December 2026
Gears NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Program Adjustments

International Study Programs (ISP) reserves the right to cancel this program, revise its offerings, or make any adjustments to the preliminary cost.

If it becomes necessary for ISP to cancel a program, all program payments made to BYU ISP will be refunded to the student’s BYU Financial account.

ISP is the only office authorized to cancel any of its programs.
Faculty NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Faculty

Lisa Jones-Christensen, Management Department—Entrepreneurship
5255 TNRB
(919) 225-9988
ljc@byu.edu

Nile Hatch, Management Department—Entrepreneurship
626 TNRB
(801) 422-1723
nile@byu.edu

Geoff Wright, Technology and Engineering Studies
230 SNLB
(801) 422-7804
geoffwright@byu.edu

Andrew Gartz, Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship
159 SCOB
(801) 822-1878
andrew.gartz@byu.edu
Phone NAVY-BIG-23.svg

Contact Us

International Study Programs
101 HRCB
(801) 422-3686
isp@byu.edu
Book NAVY-BIG-21.svg

ISP Student Handbook

To see the student handbook, click here.
Calendar NAVY-BIG-01.svg

Payment Schedule

To see the payment schedule, click here.