About HKU

General Information

The University of Hong Kong, founded in 1911 to build on the work of the Hong Kong College of Medicine (established in 1887), is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. The main estate is situated on the north-western slopes of Hong Kong Island and overlooks Victoria Harbour.

In 2017-18 the University had a student population of more than 29,000, including over 17,000 undergraduate students and over 12,000 postgraduate students (including around 2,800 MPhil and PhD students). From modest beginnings with only three Faculties, the University has grown to embrace almost every major area of teaching and research, and can now confidently claim to be one of the best and most well-established universities in the region. It now has ten Faculties (Architecture, Arts, Business and Economics, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Sciences), which offer over 40 first degree programmes and over 100 taught postgraduate programmes. In addition, all Faculties and their departments provide teaching and supervision for research (MPhil and PhD) students.

The University is a self-governing corporation, which draws its income from endowments, grants from the Hong Kong SAR Government, and fees.

About HKU

Research Postgraduate Studies and Research at The University of Hong Kong

Research postgraduate students are an important and valued part of the University. They currently make up around 10% of the total student population and contribute significantly to the research work of the University. The University also values the important role of non-Hong Kong research postgraduate students (77% of the total research postgraduate student population). They come from over 60 different countries, and provide intellectual stimulation and make an important contribution to the social and cultural life of the University. International graduates are attracted to HKU mainly because of its reputation as an international research-intensive university, and also because of its use of the English language as the medium of instruction.

The University recognises that quality teaching, particularly from a strong research base, is often the stimulus for graduates to embark upon research studies. As the leading comprehensive research university in Hong Kong and the region, we aim to maintain high quality research and postgraduate activities across a broad spectrum of disciplines, and to encourage work of a multidisciplinary nature. In this connection, the University has identified and provided support to various Areas of Excellence as well as proposals that will make leading-edge contributions to the academic community. Many of these areas have developed extensive international networks and strong inter-institutional collaboration work.

The University currently has over 7,700 teaching and research staff. They are recruited internationally, and are highly visible in cutting-edge research and international publications. They form a strong team in the provision of high quality postgraduate programmes. The University is committed to fulfilling its mission to offer the highest standards of teaching, research and scholarship by continuing to recruit high quality staff internationally.

Graduates of the University are employed in high-level positions in universities, government, business and industry in Hong Kong and around the world. According to our alumni survey, many of our research graduates hold senior academic positions in local tertiary institutions, while others are senior academics or active researchers in overseas universities and institutions of learning. Some of our graduates work in prominent universities such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The University offers MPhil, 3-year PhD (for those who already have a research Master's degree) and 4-year PhD (for those who have a Bachelor’s and/or a taught Master's degree) programmes. In addition to the long-established one-to-one mentorship system of supervision, a coursework component has been introduced that aims to provide research training to assist the students to complete their studies within their study period.

The University has excellent infrastructure, and provides a range of services and facilities to support postgraduate studies. Postgraduate scholarships, other scholarships and financial support for conference attendance/travel are provided to high-calibre research students. All full-time local research students may be eligible to apply for financial assistance from the government. The University’s world-class libraries and computer facilities ensure that students have access to an unrivalled learning and research environment.

The Graduate House and graduate student hostels provide accommodation and amenities for postgraduate students and serve as a focal point for postgraduate activities. Postgraduate students also have access to student and medical services and sporting and leisure facilities. They have the opportunity to take an active part in the social life of the University through various activities organised by the University and student associations.

There has been a strong commitment to the development of communication technologies and multi-media teaching within the University in recent years. The University has endeavoured to create a digital campus to encourage teachers and students to make wider use of information technology and to benefit from efficient electronic information exchange.

Medium of Instruction

The medium of instruction of the University is English except in the School of Chinese, where it is either Cantonese or Putonghua (Mandarin). All applicants for admission are expected to be fluent in English. Applicants for admission to higher degree studies in Chinese must also be fluent in both written and spoken Chinese. Applicants for admission may be required to sit for English language tests or examinations conducted either by the University or by a public examination authority (please refer to the section “General Qualifications for Admission”).

Graduate School

The Graduate School was formally established by the Council in September 1998. It is responsible for the quality assurance and overall management of the research postgraduate (RPg) degrees, i.e. Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). It helps to set guidelines and regulations for research postgraduate education, and it implements policies on admissions, academic progress, examinations and quality assurance in respect of training for research students. It also provides compulsory courses and optional workshops to students.

The Graduate School is governed by a Policy Board of Postgraduate Education (“Policy Board”) which is a Senate Committee and the School’s main strategic and policy-making body. Under the Policy Board is the Board of Graduate Studies (BoGS) chaired by the Dean of the Graduate School or his/her designate.

The BoGS is given the authority to ensure that best practice is followed in the Faculties. It also has the responsibility for determining examination results of research postgraduate students and maintaining regular review mechanisms to provide feedback for policy considerations.