The University of Hong Kong

The City

Asia’s Metropolis

Hong Kong is defined by commerce. Established to facilitate trade between Asia and the West, it is the world’s 4th most important financial centers, most competitive country, and freest economy.  It also sits at the apex of the Pearl River Delta, an industrial powerhouse accounting for more than 25% of China's exports and doubling as the world's largest urban area.

Doorstep to China

Long a gateway to China, Hong Kong is the perfect base for those keen to engage with China while also maintaining an international perspective. Students eager to experience the reality of China can use their studies to intern with companies active in the mainland China, travel across the country, or join one of the many programmes we offer to either exchange, work or volunteer in the mainland. 

Fun & Safe

Asia’s word city never sleeps, and its heady mix of entertainment can leave you dizzy. The social calendar is filled with events ranging from international plays to stand-up comics and music festivals that mix hip hop and DJs acts with Chinese rocks bands and Japanese punk performers. From sushi to curry, thousands of restaurants ensure that students never go hungry. Nature enthusiasts rave about the city’s natural parks, which cover 80% of the city and hide secluded, pristine beaches. An added bonus? With a remarkably low crime rate, Hong Kong is in fact one of the world’s safest city!

The People

The HKU community

More than 30,000 students, including 9,000 from outside Hong Kong, stay with HKU for their study. Their journey of discovery is nurtured by an elite faculty, where nearly 60% of our professoriate come from overseas, and supported with dedicated mentorship as well as career and academic advice.

Foreign students & Work

Hong Kong welcomes HKU’s foreign students. As a foreign student, you can take on part-time and summer work throughout the course of your study on campus. Upon graduation, you will be entitled  to work in Hong Kong. You can also gain permanent residency after a period of 7 years, inclusive of the time spent as a student with us. 

Currently, HKU ranks:

• 27^th in the world overall ¹
• 3^rd globally  for our international outlook ²
• 1^st in Hong Kong

Some of our programmes are the best in the world ³:

• 1^st  in Dentistry
• 6^th  in Education
• 9^th in Mineral and Mining Engineering
• 9^th  in Civil and Structural Engineering
• 10^th in Linguistics
• 10^th in Social Policy and Administration

And so are many of our professors and students.

• 111 of our professors are considered as being in the top 1% scientists worldwide.
• 59.2% of our professors are from overseas.
• 79% of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education top scorers chose to study with HKU in 2016.
• In 2016, HKU accepted some of the world’s top academic achievers, including: 10 IB students with full marks; 58 with a score of 43 or more; 13 with a GCEA 5A* or above and 4 with a SAT1 2350/2400 or better.

¹ QS World University Rankings (2016-17)

² Times Higher Education World University Ranking (2016-17)

³ QS World University Rankings by Subject (2016)

At HKU, we believe that you should take the lead in crafting your education. HKU’s flexible, cross-discipline learning approach means that students are empowered to customize their  programmes to suit their interests. HKU invites students to select their own unique combination of majors, minors and electives, to study abroad, and to be involved in service learning or to pursue an internship.  

Choose from a wide array of programmes offered by our 10 faculties:  

Architecture : Real Estate, Urban Planning, Conservation, Landscape

Arts: Humanities, Languages, Liberal Studies, China-West Studies

Business & Economics: Management, Accounting, Quantitative Finance, Business Administration, Econometrics             

Dentistry: Oral Health, Orthodontics, Periodontics, Hygiene. Oral Surgery

Education: Educational Leadership, Comparative Education, Communication Disorders, Special Education, Speech & Hearing

Engineering: Electrical & Electronics, Civil, Mechanical, Industrial, Computer Science            

Medicine: Surgery, Pharmacy, Nursing, Biomedicine, Chinese Medicine              

Law: Constitutional Law, Commercial, Corporate and Financial Law, International Trade & Economic Law

Science: Basic Sciences, Food and Nutrition, Statistics, Enviromental Science, Ecology and Biodiversity

Social Sciences: Psychology, Politics and Public Administration, Journalism, Geography             

If you are keen to pursue an undergraduate degree at HKU, please visit our international admissions page. If you want to know more about our graduate programmes, we offer both research and taught programmes.  

Dual Degree Programme

In a world without  borders, why limit yourself? With our dual degree programmes, you get to study at, and graduate from, two world’s leading universities. Be it France’s Sciences Po, Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies or the United Kingdom’s University College London, you too can get the best of both worlds! 

“I get two Bachelors in four year’s time, one in Europe and one in Asia. It was clearly worth the shot because both universities are top-tier.”

Mehdi,  HKU & Sciences Po Dual Degree Programme

Research Opportunities at all Level

As we seek to nurture the researchers of tomorrow, we have developed a set of unique research opportunities for our undergraduates . For example, students can apply for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship Programme (URFP) and undertake a substantive research project as part of their studies. Budding scientist may also join our Young Scientists Scheme, an innovative framework that will provide opportunities to students to explore their interests, by engaging in research projects at HKU and overseas, guranteed exchange opportunities at prestigous universities as well as participation in international science conference. A research mentor is also assigned to every student in the scheme, to provide guidance on their research path. 

“With four Harvard and MIT postgraduates, I worked on a state-of-the-art topic, the Hi-C genome project, that was originally published in the journal Science as the cover article several years ago.”

Tang Yun Fan, Bachelor of Science

Global Links

The world is interconnected like never before. At HKU, we have embraced this seminal shift by forging a network of collaborations with more than 340 of the world’s leading universities. With HKU as your base, you’ll get to go to places like Cambridge, or Harvard to further expand your horizons!

“A summer spent at Cambridge The Pembroke-King's Programme truly changed my life, as this is where I’ve learned what it takes to write a real scientific essay. Easy? No. Gratifying? Very!!”

Abdullah Husain , Bachelor of Science

Gateway to China   

The resurgence of China is this century’s biggest story. While China is modernizing fast, its ancient culture continues to inform its development. Studying at HKU, you are in a unique position to participate in this seismic shift. With our China Vision initiative, our students can participate in a wide range of China-related activities ranging from studying crowd control and evacuation in Shanghai, fighting liver diseases in Yunnan or working in R&D for car maker Nissan China.

“I helped build a school in the Dabao Village in China as part of Project Mingde. I will always remember what those kids said to me, as I was leaving. ‘Brother, please stay!’ I was touched.”

Pung Chun Nok Samson, Bachelor of Engineering

Real Word Experience with the Best

What happens in the classroom matters. But you need something more. At HKU, we strive to make sure that our students learn to tackle real world challenges. For example, our business school works with organisations like Citibank to develop programmes giving students real insights about career choices, while our mentorship programmes put students in direct contact with industry leaders keen to help them make the most of their abilities.

“After  a 10-week summer internship at JPMorgan Chase, I was hired as a technology analyst in the Global Risk and Finance Technology team! I never thought an internship could be that important.

Ken Ho , Bachelor of Business Administration

Become Better World Citizens with Service Learning

We believe that learning has a higher purpose than simply earning a living. Knowledge can transform lives. That’s why we embrace Service Learning, an approach that empowers students to make a difference about something they believe in. Be it building bridges in China or spending six months in Myanmar students can experience learning in a whole new way.

“Working in Kenya with HKU’s Service 100 really opened my eyes to the reality and potential of that wonderful country, This is why I co-founded  Children of Change. As students, we too can make a difference.”

Sundararaja N.Valiyapan, Bachelor of Engineering 

After graduation, our graduates:

Secure employment: year in, year out, nearly 100% of our graduates are gainfully employed, often with leading firms like Apple, Google, Microsoft or HSBC. Many even start their own businesses!

Make Hong Kong their second home:  upon graduation, international students are entitled to stay in Hong Kong even as they are looking for work. They can also secure permanent residency after a period of 7 years, inclusive of their studies.

Stay connected with HKU: our close-knit alumni network spans the globe and is a unique resource to tap in for work, advice, friendship and more.

Interested undergrads should visit our international admissions page, while those interested in postgraduate studies can choose between our research-based or taught postgraduate programmes..   

Scholarships and Faculty Prizes

HKU ensures the most talented and intellectually gifted students are granted access to HKU, regardless of financial considerations. Each year, we award scholarships and prizes in excess of HK$100 million to support our students. As our scholarships schemes are improving each year, interested students should not hesitate to enquire about their options.

For the year 2014-2015, we have granted :

• 680 four-year scholarships to new entrants, with a commitment of more than HK$32.99 millions.
• 65 full scholarships, covering tuition and living expenses.
• 1000 undergraduates enrichment scholarships for students to study abroad in programmes such as Yale Visiting Student Programme, visiting and exchange students at Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge universities, summer programmes at UC Berkeley, John Hopkins University and the Pembroke-King’s Programme at Cambridge.
• HK$137.28 millions in scholarships and prize directly linked to academic achievements.