Discover HKU

" Welcome to HKU Undergraduate Admissions! "

Since 1997, HKU has consistently been ranked as one of the best universities in Asia. The current QS World University Rankings rankings are 1st in Asia and 23rd in the world.

Choosing a university is an exciting yet difficult decision. We are pleased that you are considering HKU for your study.

At this website you will find detailed information on our undergraduate admission requirements, application procedures and deadlines, as well as general information of interest to prospective students. We hope that this website will help you make the right choice of university and study.

Top 10 Reasons

A University for the Best

HKU admits the best-qualified students and it is an honour to be a HKU student...

HKU admits the best-qualified students. As in the previous years, last year many of our new students have obtained the highest average HKALE score among students admitted to universities in Hong Kong in the same year, making HKU the top university in Hong Kong. Our admissions standards for Mainland students are better than those of the top universities, and we have more applications than any other institution in Hong Kong. The best Early Admissions Students (those taken in a year early because of outstanding academic results) come to HKU.

Amongst the local universities in Hong Kong, HKU has the best English language admissions scores, the best score in 3 ALs, the best score in 2AL+1AS, the best combined score (UE, CLC, and 3 AL), the most students with average Grade A in English, the most with average Grade A in UE, CLC and 3AL, the most Early Admissions Scheme students placing HKU as their first choice, the largest number of students admitted with 8 to 10 As in HKCEE, the largest number of As achieved by EAS applicants...

At graduation, HKU students achieve the best English language scores amongst UGC funded institutions. HKU Libraries have the largest holdings, HKU spends more on library resources, HKU has the largest annual expenditure, HKU has more exchange students than any other institution in Hong Kong...

More evidence on the quality of HKU students is available here.

A History of 100 Years

Our graduates make a vital contribution to the society of Hong Kong, serving the community in different sectors...

HKU is the oldest University in Hong Kong, having produced over 100,000 graduates during the past century. We take great pride in the fact that Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Father of Modern China, was a graduate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine. Over 40 principal officials, permanent secretaries and EXCO/LEGCO members of the Hong Kong SAR Government are HKU graduates. HKU graduates also form the senior management teams of many large organisations in the private sector, covering all business and professional fields. The network of our graduates will be able to provide you with valuable assistance in your career development in future. In the past 9 decades, degrees from HKU have been so well recognised internationally that its graduates have been admitted to the very best institutions abroad, such as Cambridge, Harvard, MIT and Oxford.

International Perspective

The University is committed to providing its undergraduate students with international education opportunities...

HKU wishes you, as a student, to have international exposure and global outlook. Through the wide range of student mobility programmes with overseas and Mainland universities, such as student exchange scheme, internship and placement programmes, intensive language courses as well as collaborative research projects, undergraduate students have invaluable chance to explore new cultures and perspectives, open their minds, gain intercultural competence, confidence and maturity that equip them for leadership roles in the 21st century.

The University has over 200 exchange partners around the world. Undergraduate students across faculties can choose to study for a semester or an entire year in one of the University's partner institutions worldwide, which include Cambridge, Oxford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, British Columbia, Toronto, Uppsala, Sciences Po, Melbourne, Waseda, Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan and many other prestigious universities. Summer classes and intensive language programmes are also organised for you in universities in Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia and in many cities in the Mainland China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Nanjing and Hangzhou. Students would be provided with scholarships and financial assistance to enable them to study abroad. HKU intends to provide not less than 30% of its students with international education opportunities during their undergraduate year in future.

There are currently over 8,000 students from over 80 different countries on campus whose residency is outside Hong Kong, making HKU a truly international university (further evidence here). The atmosphere in the halls of residence that compete in attracting large number of non-local students is vibrant in its multiculturalism. The University's staff are recruited worldwide, and currently, about half of the academic staff are from outside Hong Kong, representing nearly 50 different countries. In 2005, the University opened a new Global Lounge, a truly world-class international centre for students, with multiple plasma TVs showing news and sports stations from around the world, a gym, library resources, comfortable sofas, reading areas, work areas and staff on hand for advice.

Recent international surveys show HKU to be not just the best university in Hong Kong but one of the top 40 in the world. Apart from its overall 23rd in the world ranking as a university (QS WUR, 2012), HKU is also currently ranked (by subject):

36th in the world for its HKU MBA programme (no.1 in Asia) by The Economist
27th in the world for Social Sciences (no.1 in Asia) by The Times Higher Education
36th in the world for Arts & Humanities ( no.1 in Asia) by The Times Higher Education

Academic Awards

Some 1500 scholarships and prizes are available for outstanding students of all years...

Some 1500 scholarships and prizes, amounting to HK$18 million, are available for outstanding undergraduate students. In addition, HKU has a fund of over HK$4 million for providing financial assistance to those in need, in addition to grants and loans of the Government. Our "Young of Tomorrow" - Community Leaders Scholarship Scheme is for first-year students who are able to demonstrate leadership potential in community service or extra-curricular activities from their secondary school days. Some 450 first-year students have been awarded such scholarships in the past five years.

Starting from the academic year 2006-2007, scholarships will be provided to the outstanding HKALE students admitted to the University under the JUPAS scheme. The value of each scholarship shall range from HK$5,000 to HK$50,000.

HKU also offers Entrance Scholarships for International Students on the basis of academic merits with consideration of non-academic achievement when you apply to study at the University. Find out more about the Entrance Scholarship here

Quality Education

The maintenance and improvement of teaching and learning standard is the University's top priority...

HKU teachers are among the best in the world. The maintenance and improvement of teaching and learning standard is the University's top priority, and it is a commitment which you, as a student, will be fully involved.

At the University, our educational approaches and modes of teaching is to ensure that you will be trainned to become independent life-long learners. Problem-based or student-centred learning, small group tutorials, interactive seminars and workshops, and internet and web-site teaching are used in different curricula to stimulate your interest in learning and to enable you to 'learn how to learn'. You are also given much flexibility in selecting inter-disciplinary courses and electives outside your core discipline. General education courses are also added to enrich your knowledge and perspective. HKU houses the Hong Kong Centre for Problem-Based Learning, an approach to learning that is widely regarded as perhaps the most effective at a university level, which advises throughout Asia.

In this rapidly changing world, teaching methods and syllabuses have to be updated and upgraded continuously to meet the demands of graduates geared for the future. More than ever, graduates in this day and age are looking for more opportunities outside a standard classroom education to equip themselves with knowledge that crosses boundaries and are practical for real-life environments. Therefore, starting in 2012, the University will adopt a new, four-year curriculum and welcome its first cohort of students under this programme. The new curriculum will introduce important components like the Common Core Curriculum and Experiential Learning, all of which aims to mold you towards becoming a global citizen with a 'whole-person' educational background.

The medium of instruction of the University is English. HKU puts enormous emphasis on strengthening your language skills in both Chinese and English. We hope you will leave the University with not only a solid degree but also excellent communication skills. Our curricula also enable you to learn with information technology (IT) and to further develop your IT literacy which is the key to success in learning in the University, and in virtually all career fields in the 21st century. As you probably know, our students achieve the highest standards in the IELTS test, which employers use to assess the English competency of applicants for jobs (click here for evidence and related data).

In the most recent Hong Kong wide quality assurance review of universities in Hong Kong, HKU received rave reviews, which pointed particularly to the quality of the interaction between staff and students.

Comprehensive University

HKU is a comprehensive University which offers a wide range of degree programmes.
It aims to produce graduates who will be future leaders...

As a comprehensive University, HKU offers a wide range of degree programmes, from humanities to science, from architecture to education, from law to medicine, and more. It emphasises the importance of education as more than just training, and aims at cultivating the 'whole' person concept among students, who will graduate with knowledge beyond the confines of their subjects. They will be future leaders in their disciplines, and indeed of the community. HKU is a comprehensive University also because as a HKU student, you can choose to benefit from residential hall life, leadership training, general education programmes, core competencies seminars and communication courses, not to mention many other activities organised by the Students' Union. Our new degree curricula prepare you for the challenges in the 21st century in a variety of different fields. You will have developed the sort of core competencies that the community and employers in particular need, such as creative and independent thinking, communication skills, leadership, teamwork, organisational and decision-making capabilities.

We know from our survey of employers that they are generally extremely satisfied with the quality of graduates produced by HKU. This is one of the reasons why, when we look at the campus recruitment firms (which include major international corporations), HKU provides them with more graduates than any other university - or, indeed, those who return from having completed a university degree overseas.

Excellent Supporting Facilities

The University has a collection of more than 2.48 million books in its libraries, the most powerful computer, and some of the best sports facilities including two swimming pools, one of the best floodlit all-weather artificial grass pitches in Asia, 15 tennis courts...

The teaching and learning facilities in HKU are among the best in Hong Kong. The University Libraries have a collection of more than 2.48 million books and bound volumes, 46,000 printed serial titles, over 1 million E-Books and 52,000 E-Journals. The Libraries have one of the best digitized collections, data-bases, and search facilities in the world. HKU has the fastest computer in Hong Kong with 356 CPUs, running at a theoretical peak performance of 2,045 Giga-FLOPS. There are language laboratories where you can learn Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Thai.

The sports provisions at HKU enable you to enjoy the best sports facilities, including two indoor sport centres, two swimming pools (one of which is of Olympic size), a floodlit all-weather artificial grass pitch, and three well-equipped fitness rooms. Other facilities for students include 4 amenities centres; 15 tennis courts; 7 restaurants including coffee shops; 13 residential halls and 3 non-residential halls; the University's own health (including dental) services, etc. Since the academic year 1998-99, the University has also introduced a notebook computer programme which enables all full-time first-year undergraduate students to own a notebook computer by paying an affordable price. By participating in the programme, some 18,000 undergraduate students have owned a notebook computer to date.

Students are Members of the University Management Team

Students are represented in all major governing bodies of the University...

HKU values students' contributions in managing the University. Student members are represented in all major governing bodies of the University, including the Court, Council, Senate, and Faculty Boards. There is a Staff/Student Consultative Committee in each teaching department and this allows you to discuss all the issues relating to your studies with your teachers. Indeed, all students are asked to evaluate every course that they take in HKU, and the results of these evaluations are taken very seriously by the professors involved as well as the University. All the management committees for student amenities, halls of residence and other facilities have student members. Through such participation, you experience not only in the management of the University, but also in democratic practices and teamwork.

Active Student Community

There are over 110 student societies and clubs under the Students' Union of the University and there are student associations in almost all departments and faculties...

The HKU student community is very active. There are over 110 student societies and clubs under the Students' Union of the University, catering for virtually any interest you might have. Astronomy Club, China Study Society, Christian Association, Debating Society, Film Society, Fishing Club, Judo Club, Magic Club, Ramblers' Club, Social Service Group, and Union Choir are just a few examples of these student societies and clubs. In addition, there are also student associations in almost all departments and faculties.

The Students' Union has its own assembly hall, council chamber, meeting rooms, information centres, co-op, photocopying centres and multi-purpose rooms. It also publishes magazines and two newspapers. The Campus TV is also operated by students.

We have an open and free campus in which we encourage you to debate issues of importance to the community. Our students form a student body with a social conscience and desire to try to continuously improve the society in which we all live and study.

Excellence in Research

The University has a large population of postgraduate students, and provides excellent facilities for those wishing to proceed to higher studies after completion of their Bachelor's degree...

In addition to excellence in teaching, HKU offers the highest standards of research. For the 10th consecutive year for 2011-2012, HKU continues to receive the most funding amongst other univerisities in Hong Kong with HK$184M (29% of the total) being awarded. This is one of the indicators showing the University's commitments to boost its academic and research achievement. Its staff had great success in the recent years' round of research grant awards from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC). Altogether there are more than 4,000 research projects underway in the University at the moment, funded from various sources amounting to more than $2,074 million. Their achievements in research ensure that HKU teachers can keep you up-to-date with the latest knowledge in all disciplines. The research on infectious diseases is, since it came to the fore during SARS, now acknowledged as of world-class quality.

The University has a large population of postgraduate students, studying for research (MPhil and PhD) degrees as well as taught Master's degrees. HKU provides excellent facilities and support to those students wishing to proceed to higher education after completion of their Bachelor's degree.

Data on the research excellence of HKU can be found here.