Higher education in Hong Kong

See also: List of higher education institutions in Hong Kong

Higher education in Hong Kong means any education higher than secondary education, including professional, technical, and academic. It is the highest level of education in Hong Kong, regulated under the Hong Kong Law.

Admission

Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) is a scheme and the main route of application designed to assist students with Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) or Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) results to apply for admission to the universities in Hong Kong.

Institutions

According to the Education Bureau, Hong Kong has 22 degree-awarding higher education institutions, including:

UGC funded universities

Below universities funded under the University Grants Committee (UGC):

• The University of Hong Kong (HKU, founded in 1911) – University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1053)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, founded in 1963) – The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1109)
• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST, founded in 1991) – The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ordinance (Cap. 1141)
• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU, founded in 1937, granted university status in November 1994) – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ordinance (Cap. 1075)
• City University of Hong Kong (CityU, founded in 1984, granted university status in November 1994) – City University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1132)
• Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU, founded in 1956, granted university status in November 1994) – Hong Kong Baptist University Ordinance (Cap. 1126)
• Lingnan University (LU, founded in 1967 as Lingnan School in Hong Kong, granted university status in July 1999) – Lingnan University Ordinance (Cap. 1165)
• The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK, founded in 1994, granted university status in May 2016) – The Education University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 444)

Self-financing institutions

Statutory university

• Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU; known as the Open University of Hong Kong, OUHK; founded in 1989, granted university status in May 1997) – The Open University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1145)

Approved post secondary colleges

Approved post secondary colleges are educational institutes registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320). This type of colleges are allowed to give out academic awards at bachelor's degree level or above as well as to include the Chinese words "學院" or "大學", or the English word "University" in the registration name with prior approval from the Chief Executive-in-Council.

• Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU, founded in 1971, granted university status in December 2006)
• Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK, founded in 2010, granted university status in October 2018)
• Saint Francis University (previously Caritas Institute of Higher Education)
• Chu Hai College of Higher Education
• HKCT Institute of Higher Education
• Tung Wah College
• Centennial College
• Gratia Christian College
• Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education
• Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Vocational Training Council
• UOW College Hong Kong

Publicly funded institutions

Statutory institution

• The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA, founded in 1984) – The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ordinance (Cap.1135)

Ranking

QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings	Times Higher Education World University Rankings

QS World University Rankings

Institution	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
HKU	23	22	23	26	28	30	27	26	25	25	22	22	21
CUHK	42	37	40	39	46	51	44	46	49	46	43	39	38
HKUST	40	40	33	34	40	28	36	30	37	32	27	34	40
CityU	129	110	95	104	108	57	55	49	55	52	48	53	54
PolyU	166	177	159	161	162	116	111	95	106	91	75	66	65
HKBU	342	243	271	288	318	281	278	299	277	261	264	287	281
LU	—	—	—	551-600	601-650	601-650	601-650	551-600	601-650	591-600	571-580	581-590	601-650

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Institution	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
HKU	21	34	35	43	43	44	43	40	36	35	39	30
CUHK	—	151	124	109	129	138	76	58	53	57	56	49
HKUST	41	62	65	57	51	59	49	44	41	47	56	66
CityU	—	193	182	201-225	192	201-250	119	119	110	126	126	151
PolyU	149	251-275	251-275	251-275	201-225	201-250	192	182	159	171	129	91
HKBU	111	276-300	301-350	301-350	301-350	351-400	351-400	401-500	401–500	401–500	351–400	401–500

QS University Rankings: Asia

Institution	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2018	2019	2021	2022	2023
The University of Hong Kong	1	1	2	3	2	3	2	2	5	2	4	3	4
The Chinese University of Hong Kong	2	4	5	5	7	6	6	8	10	9	13	11	12
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	4	2	1	1	1	5	5	4	3	7	8	9	14
City University of Hong Kong	18	15	15	12	12	11	9	7	8	21	18	20	23
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	38	30	30	26	25	27	27	29	27	31	25	25	26
Hong Kong Baptist University	73	45	49	48	43	45	51	64	64	65	64	66	68
Lingnan University, Hong Kong	>200	191-200	151-160	121	115	128	142	109	100	123	120	131	152

QS World University Rankings by Subject

Institution	2016 (Top 20)	2017 (Top 100)	2018 (Top 20)	2018 Best subject of this institute	The highest ranking of this subject in Hong Kong (2018)
The University of Hong Kong	29	37	10	1st:Dentistry	The University of Hong Kong (1st)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong	17	30	1	20th:Communication & Media Studies	The Chinese University of Hong Kong (20th)
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	12	16	4	14th:Computer Science & Information Systems	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (14th)
City University of Hong Kong	7	18	0	26th:Linguistics	The University of Hong Kong (11th)
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	8	16	3	3rd:Hospitality & Leisure Management	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (3rd)
Hong Kong Baptist University	0	2	0	51-100th: Communication & Media Studies	The Chinese University of Hong Kong (20th)
The Education University of Hong Kong	1	1	1	9th:Education & Training	The University of Hong Kong (7th)
The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts	0	1	0	50-100th:Performing Arts	The University of Hong Kong (44th)

Notes:

• UGC is the abbreviation of University Grants Committee.
• HKCAAVQ is the abbreviation of Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (formerly HKCAA).
• Programme Area Accreditation means the programme operator can operate specific programmes at designated subject areas and academic levels during specific period, granted and reviewed by HKCAAVQ. Prior notice and individual accreditation to HKCAAVQ are not required.
• Honour diploma (academically equivalent to higher diploma and associate degree in Hong Kong, and equivalent to bachelor's degree in some countries) was an academic award issued by colleges or institutes before they were granted full university status, such as HKBU, LU and SYU. It is no longer awarded.

See also

• Education in Hong Kong
• Medical education in Hong Kong
• Joint University Programmes Admissions System
• Self-financing Higher Education in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong

Further reading

• French, N.J., (1999). The Reform of Higher Education in Hong Kong. In C.B. Teather (ed) Higher Education in a Post-binary Era: National Reforms and Institutional Responses (pp. 158–180) London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1999.
• Mok, K.H. (2001). Academic Capitalisation in the New Millennium: The Marketisation and Corporatisation of Higher Education in Hong Kong. Policy & Politics, 29(3), 299–315
• Postiglione, G.A. (2002). The Transformation of Academic Autonomy in Hong Kong. In M.K. Chan and A.Y. So (eds.) Crisis and Transformation in China's Hong Kong (pp. 307–321). London : M.E. Sharpe.
• Shive, G. (1992). Educational Expansion and the Labour Force. In G.A. Postiglione (ed) Education and Society in Hong Kong: Toward One Country and Two Systems (pp. 215–234). Hong Kong: HKU Press.
• Sutherland, S. (2002). Higher Education in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Research Grant Council.
• Tang, H.H. (2010). "Higher Education Governance and Academic Entrepreneurialism in East Asia: The Two Episodes of Hong Kong and Macau". Research Studies in Education 8: 106–124. (ISBN 978-988-19820-1-8).
• University Grants Committee. (1996). Higher Education in Hong Kong: A Report by the Universities Grants Committee. Hong Kong: Government Printer.

External links

• Education Bureau
• University Grants Committee (in English and Chinese)
• Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (in English and Chinese)
• Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC) (in English and Chinese)