University of Hong Kong (HKU)

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is Hong Kong's oldest university and describes itself as the only English-medium, research-led comprehensive university in China. It ranks 11th in the QS World University Rankings 2027. International students apply directly through the non-JUPAS route, and 2027/28 tuition starts at about $31,863 (HK$250,000) a year.

HKU was incorporated in 1911 and admitted its first students in 1912. Today it runs 10 faculties and 3 schools with more than 100 major areas, from law and medicine to computing, architecture and interdisciplinary BASc degrees.

A good fit if you:

• have excellent school results and can prove them with an internationally recognised qualification or strong national exams;
• want a research university in Asia with English as the working language;
• plan to stay in Hong Kong after graduation and use the IANG route to look for work.

Probably not the right choice if you:

• need a low total budget: tuition alone is $31,863–35,687 (HK$250,000–280,000) a year for most 2027 entrants;
• are applying with average grades and no backup list;
• are set on medicine but cannot plan for the separate MBBS fee of $75,198 (HK$590,000) a year.

HKU publishes two headline positions: 11th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and 1st in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026.

• 11th in the world — QS World University Rankings 2027
• 1st in Asia — QS Asia University Rankings 2026
• Incorporated in 1911, first students in 1912

Rankings reflect research strength. For a school leaver the practical questions are different: the entry score HKU expects for your qualification, the fee band of your faculty and whether a hall place is realistic.

HKU has 17 residential halls and colleges plus non-hall housing in three residential areas close to the university. The hall fee covers 285 residential days and excludes the summer semester, so students who stay for summer internships pay separately.

Your faculty decides both the entry bar and the fee band. HKU groups Engineering, Science, Medicine (except MBBS), Biomedical Engineering, Computing and Data Science, and Innovation as STEM, which costs $3,824 (HK$30,000) more a year than Architecture, Arts, Business and Economics, Education, Law, Social Sciences, Future Media, and Governance and Policy.

Among HKU's newer signature degrees are a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Engineering in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, a BSc in Marketing Analytics and Technology from HKU Business School, BASc(Design+) from the Faculty of Architecture and a BA in Humanities and Digital Technologies. Dual degrees with overseas partners are listed separately and have their own entry rules.

Medicine (MBBS) and dentistry (BDS) are in a separate band at $75,198 (HK$590,000) a year and are the hardest routes for non-local applicants.

Applicants with international or non-Hong Kong national qualifications, including school leavers from Russia, Kazakhstan or the CIS, apply through HKU's International/Non-JUPAS Admissions Scheme on the university's online portal. HKU says it does not authorise intermediaries to admit students and that non-local applicants must submit their applications directly, so the account and submission stay in your name.

Apply in the first round if you can. Places in popular programmes are allocated as decisions roll out, and a file sent in spring competes for what is left. Applicants aged 25 or over on 1 September of the entry year are treated as meeting the general entrance requirements, but still compete on merit.

HKU's standard English requirement is IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in writing and speaking in the same sitting. For TOEFL iBT tests taken from 21 January 2026 on the new scale, HKU asks for 5.0 overall with 5.0 in writing and speaking; older tests need 95 with 25 in both. The test must be taken within two years before 1 September of your entry year, and IELTS Online or TOEFL Home Edition is not accepted.

School leavers from Russia have another option: a score of 80 or more in English in the Unified State Exam (EGE) meets the requirement. Grades are judged against an expected lower boundary for each programme, published in HKU's admissions standards tool, not against a single national cut-off.

• Passport or identity document
• School transcripts and final or predicted exam results
• English test report or EGE certificate
• Any extra items your programme asks for, such as a portfolio or interview

Mistakes we see most often:

• booking IELTS Online, which HKU does not accept;
• missing the 6.0 writing or speaking minimum even with a 7.0 overall;
• waiting for final school results instead of applying in November with predicted or current grades;
• budgeting with fee figures from older guides instead of the 2027/28 rates.

HKU has already published non-local tuition for the 2027/28 academic year. Dollar figures below are rounded conversions of the Hong Kong dollar amounts.

A realistic first-year budget for a non-STEM student in a hall is roughly $40,000–43,000 before flights, the student visa and insurance. Keep a reserve for the summer months, when the hall fee does not apply.

HKU awards merit scholarships to both local and non-local students. Some cover tuition and, in a few cases, living costs as well. The admissions site has a scholarship finder: choose non-local student, international qualification and your faculty to see the awards you can be considered for.

Treat a scholarship as a bonus rather than the plan. Build the budget on full fees, and if HKU makes an award with the offer, the family simply spends less.

Non-local graduates of full-time degree programmes can stay under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates. A recent graduate does not need a job offer to apply and may be granted 24 months of stay. That window turns an HKU degree into a real chance to start a career in Hong Kong's finance, law, consulting and technology sectors.

Graduates who move on to a master's elsewhere use HKU's research reputation as a strong signal in applications to the UK, the US or Australia. Internships during the degree still decide the first job more than the university name.

• HKU: 2027/28 tuition fees and cost of living
• HKU: International/Non-JUPAS Admissions Scheme
• HKU: English language requirement
• HKU Business School: 2027 non-JUPAS key dates
• HKU: history
• Hong Kong Immigration Department: IANG
• European Central Bank reference rates, 29 September 2026: US$1 = HK$7.846.