A method for operating a UE comprises receiving configuration information including a list of CCs and a set of TCI states; receiving, based on the configuration information, a TCI state update via a medium, wherein: the TCI state update is common for a first subset of CCs, the first subset of CCs includes n≤N CCs, and N=a number of CCs in the list of CCs; and for each CC(i) in the first subset of CCs, determining a beam based on the TCI state update, and applying the beam for a reception of a downlink control channel or a downlink data channel associated with the CC(i), wherein i is an index and takes a value from {1, 2, . . . , n}, wherein the beam is determined based on a spatial quasi-co-location property used to receive or transmit a source RS indicated via the TCI state update.