#18 in the world · QS 2027

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

香港中文大學

Hong Kong's only collegiate university: nine colleges on a hillside campus above Tolo Harbour in Sha Tin.

Hong Kong, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China Collegiate public research university Founded 1963 Official website

See my chances at CUHK Admissions office

Photo: 建園春秋 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tuition: HK$230K; 2027-28
Founded: 1963
QS World Ranking: #18; 2027 edition
THE World Ranking: #41; 2026 edition

About CUHK

The Chinese University of Hong Kong was established in 1963 as a federation of three existing colleges, Chung Chi, New Asia and United, and is Hong Kong's second-oldest university. It remains the only collegiate university in the city: every undergraduate belongs to one of nine colleges (Chung Chi, New Asia, United, Shaw, Morningside, S.H. Ho, Lee Woo Sing, Wu Yee Sun and C.W. Chu), which shape housing, pastoral care, general education and much of social life.

Academic teaching is organised into eight faculties covering arts, business administration, education, engineering, law, medicine, science and social science. The university works in both English and Chinese, and its four-year curriculum combines major studies with university and college general education. CUHK is especially strong in medicine: its MBBS Global Physician-Leadership Stream has had the highest median JUPAS admission score in Hong Kong for 12 consecutive years.

CUHK had 18,438 publicly funded undergraduates in its latest facts and figures, 2,696 of them non-local, and offers more than 5,800 exchange and non-local learning places a year across 290 partner institutions. It suits students who want a residential campus with a strong community rather than a downtown commute, and who value a bilingual environment rooted in Chinese culture.

博文約禮

“Through learning and temperance to virtue” — university motto

Why students choose CUHK

The nine-college system gives each student a smaller community with its own hostels, traditions and general education courses.

Medicine, including the MBBS Global Physician-Leadership Stream, draws Hong Kong's highest-scoring JUPAS applicants.

More than 5,800 exchange and non-local learning opportunities are taken up each year through 290 partner institutions in 37 countries and regions.

Over 9,000 hostel places on a 137-hectare campus overlooking Tolo Harbour.

Admissions

Entry in September 2027 (2027 Admissions Exercise)

Selectivity

CUHK does not publish an overall admit rate. For JUPAS, it admitted 3,019 students in 2024, over 99% of them Band A choices, and 50% of Hong Kong's top 100 HKDSE students. Non-JUPAS applicants are assessed on academic record, non-academic achievements and, for some programmes, interviews; published minimums are for guidance only.

Testing SAT/ACT used for US-curriculum applicants: general minimum of SAT 1190 or ACT 24 plus two AP tests at grade 3; competitive programmes expect far more.

Grades General minimums (not competitive levels): IB Diploma 30 points; 3 A-level passes or 2 A-levels plus 2 AS; SAT 1190 / ACT 24 plus 2 APs at grade 3; ATAR 80. Programme subject requirements apply.

Typical entry requirements

HKDSE (via JUPAS)	Apply through JUPAS; 14 CUHK programmes admitted students with best-five scores of 33 or above in 2025
IB Diploma	Minimum 30 points; competitive programmes expect considerably higher, with programme-specific subject preferences
GCE A-level / International A-level	Minimum 3 A-level passes or 2 A-level + 2 AS passes; subject requirements vary by programme
US high school diploma + SAT/ACT + AP	Minimum SAT 1190 or ACT 24 plus 2 AP tests at grade 3
Gaokao (Mainland students)	Current gaokao candidates must apply through the National Colleges and Universities Enrolment System, not the international route
English language	IELTS 6 · TOEFL iBT 80 IELTS Academic 6.0 overall; TOEFL iBT 80 (tests before 21 January 2026) or 4.5 on the new 1-6 scale; or SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 590, ACT ELA 23, or GCSE/IGCSE English grade C/4. TOEFL Home Edition, MyBest scores and IELTS Online are not accepted.

Deadlines

Advance Offer Round (overseas/other qualifications) Non-binding Next deadline · In 37 days

12 November 2026

Applications open 2 October 2026; advance offers from December 2026. Unsuccessful applicants roll into the Regular Round automatically.
JUPAS (HKDSE applicants) Non-binding In 57 days

2 December 2026, 5:00 pm HKT

JUPAS application period 7 October to 2 December 2026.
Regular Round (overseas/other qualifications) Non-binding In ~3 months

7 January 2027

Offers released on a rolling basis from February; accepting an offer requires a HK$10,000 first instalment of composition fees.

Dates from CUHK's 2027 Admissions Exercise Important Dates page and JUPAS 2027 application period, checked 28 September 2026. Teaching starts early September 2027.

How to apply

HKDSE students apply via JUPAS. Applicants with overseas or other qualifications apply online (HK$500 fee) with passport, personal statement, transcripts, public exam results and one recommendation submitted by a referee through CUHK's recommendation system. Only one application is needed: advance-round applicants not selected are automatically considered in the Regular Round. Some programmes interview shortlisted candidates.

What admissions looks for

Past academic performance and relevant qualifications, judged on individual merit.
Non-academic achievements alongside grades.
Interview performance, for programmes that interview shortlisted applicants.
Meeting programme-specific subject requirements on top of the general minimums.

Tips for applying to CUHK

1 Submit by the 12 November 2026 Advance Offer deadline: you lose nothing, because unsuccessful early applicants are reconsidered in the Regular Round.
2 Nominate your referee early; they receive the recommendation invitation only after you submit and pay.
3 Budget for the HK$10,000 acceptance instalment, which must be paid by the stated date or the offer lapses.
4 Look at the colleges before you arrive: your college affects your hostel, general education courses and community for four years.

Costs & financial aid

2027-28 · figures in HKD

Local students (incl. LS5 Category I) Tuition HK$49,500

+ estimated on-campus accommodation (about hk$17,000) plus living expenses (about hk$45,000) per year HK$62,000 ≈ HK$111,500 per year

Non-local students (any yearly increase for the 2027 cohort capped at 3%; dual-degree programmes may differ) Tuition HK$230,000

+ estimated on-campus accommodation (about hk$17,000) plus living expenses (about hk$45,000) per year HK$62,000 ≈ HK$292,000 per year

Tuition Estimated on-campus accommodation (about HK$17,000) plus living expenses (about HK$45,000) per year

Financial aid

CUHK offers merit-based scholarships to both local and non-local students, some covering tuition and living expenses. In 2024-25 it distributed 11,010 university scholarships worth HK$259 million; local students can also access government grants and loans.

11,010 awards, HK$259 million
University scholarships awarded (2024-25): 4,093 awards, HK$30 million
University financial aid (2024-25): HK$500
Application fee (non-JUPAS, 2027 entry)

Academics

Academic calendar: Two terms per year, plus summer session

MBBS Global Physician-Leadership Stream

Highest median JUPAS admission score in Hong Kong for 12 consecutive years.

Tsinghua-CUHK Dual Undergraduate Degree in Economics

A joint economics programme awarding degrees from both CUHK and Tsinghua.

College general education

Each of the nine colleges runs its own general education and community programmes alongside the university curriculum.

Chinese studies and humanities

CUHK grew out of colleges including New Asia College and remains a bilingual university with a strong Chinese-language academic tradition.

Research

Charles K. Kao, later CUHK vice-chancellor, received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for fibre-optic communication; CUHK is the only Hong Kong university on the Nobel Prize affiliations list.
CUHK reported 7,270 research output items and 349 patents granted, with HK$1,270 million in external research funding in 2023-24.
CUHK hosts State Key Laboratories and InnoHK research centres in Hong Kong's innovation programme.

Schools & faculties

Faculty of Arts
CUHK Business School
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Social Science

Student life

College membership is the core of life at CUHK. The three founding colleges (Chung Chi, New Asia and United) carry decades of tradition, while the newer colleges (Shaw, Morningside, S.H. Ho, Wu Yee Sun, Lee Woo Sing and C.W. Chu) are smaller communities with their own hostels and events. The campus is large and hilly, with lifts and bridges built as shortcuts between levels, and it has its own libraries, art museums, music halls, swimming pool, sports fields, tennis and squash courts and a water sports centre.

Nine colleges, each with its own hostels, traditions and general education
Over 9,000 hostel places on campus
Water sports centre, swimming pool, sports fields and art museum on campus
More than 5,800 exchange and non-local learning places taken up each year

Housing. CUHK has over 9,000 hostel places, and on-campus accommodation costs about HK$17,000 a year according to the admissions office.

Location

CUHK sits in Ma Liu Shui, Sha Tin, in the New Territories, with its own MTR stop (University station) on the East Rail line linking it to Kowloon and the Shenzhen border crossings. The area is greener and quieter than Hong Kong Island, with hiking trails and Tolo Harbour on the doorstep, and it feels more like a campus town than a downtown university.

Nearest airport: Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)

Notable alumni

SY
Shing-Tung Yau

Mathematician; 1982 Fields Medal and 2010 Wolf Prize (studied at Chung Chi College)
LT
Lap-Chee Tsui

Geneticist; former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong
YY
Yu Ying-shih

Historian who held tenured professorships at Harvard, Yale and Princeton (New Asia College)
MH
Michael Hui

Actor, comedian and director; 1982 Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
NC
Norman Chan

Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
VC
Vincent Cheng

Former chairman of HSBC's Hong Kong bank and HSBC China
PC
Paul Chan Mo-po

Financial Secretary of Hong Kong
DL
Daniel Lee

Olympic triathlete (2004 Athens) and 2006 Asian Games silver medallist

Frequently asked questions

How much is CUHK tuition for international students?

Non-local students pay HK$230,000 a year in 2027-28, with any yearly increase for the 2027 cohort capped at 3%. Local students pay HK$49,500.

What IELTS score does CUHK require?

IELTS Academic 6.0 overall, or TOEFL iBT 80 (4.5 on the new scale), SAT Reading and Writing 590 or ACT ELA 23; individual programmes may ask for more.

When is the CUHK application deadline for 2027 entry?

Non-JUPAS applicants can apply from 2 October 2026 with deadlines of 12 November 2026 (Advance Offer Round) and 7 January 2027 (Regular Round). HKDSE students apply through JUPAS by 2 December 2026.

What IB score do you need for CUHK?

The general minimum is an IB Diploma with 30 points, but this is only for guidance: admission is competitive and popular programmes admit students well above it.

What is the college system at CUHK?

Every undergraduate joins one of nine colleges, which provide hostels, pastoral care, general education courses and a smaller community within the university.

Sources & methodology

Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.