2025 / 26

HONG KONG

PhD FELLOWSHIP SCHEME
Experience world-class academic programmes andresearch opportunities in Asia's World City
Established in 2009 by the Research Grants Council, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship
Scheme aims at attracting the best and brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD
programmes in Hong Kong’s universities.
The Fellowship Scheme will provide a competitive annual stipend and conference andresearch-related travel allowance per year up to three years.
Initial application is accepted from 1 September to 1 December 2024
(12:00 noon Hong Kong Time (GMT + 8 hours)).

For details, please visit

www.rgc.edu.hk/hkphd

Welcome Message from the Chairman,
Research Grants Council
The Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee (UGC) is committedto promoting world-class research in Hong Kong. Through our PhD Fellowships, Hong Kong’s outstanding
universities offer research opportunities in a broad range of PhD programmes, with generous stipends andexcellent support for the best and brightest students in the world. On behalf of the RGC, I proudly present to you
the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme 2025/26.
Established by the RGC in 2009, the prestigious Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme has brought over three
thousand four hundred top students from around hundred countries/regions to Hong Kong to undertake PhD
studies in our highly ranked universities in fields ranging from humanities, business studies and social sciences,to engineering, biology and medicine, and physical sciences. Following the success in the past fifteenth rounds,
we are looking for talented people who wish to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong, and aspire to be researchelites of the time to take part in the Sixteenth Round, study awards of which will commence in the 2025/26
academic year.
Hong Kong, long an international business and finance centre and a unique bridge between East and West,draws talent from all corners of the world. Our universities have strong dynamism and drive, with international
faculty and students excelling in the forefront of research. Our Fellowship programme unites cultural diversity
and a rich research environment.
Hong Kong’s universities are extending the boundaries of various fields including sciences, engineering,humanities, arts, social sciences, medicine, biotechnology, business, and specialisations such as AI and robotics,
infectious diseases, Fintech, urban green engineering, textile design, logistics and supply chain management.
Our universities host some of Asia’s – and the world’s – best facilities and programmes, from our world-classbusiness management programmes to pioneering research in areas such as A.I. and data science, livertransplantation, nanoscience and new materials, computer engineering, China studies, clean energy andsustainable environment, Chinese medicine, and arts technology. With English as the medium of instruction andresearch universities steeped in international collaboration, research and career opportunities abound.
Being part of China and an Asia’s World City, Hong Kong is an education and research hub in the rapidly growing
Greater Bay Area. I encourage you to learn more about Hong Kong and the opportunities our universities
present. A culturally rich, cosmopolitan city set amidst the sea and mountains, Hong Kong and its universities
offer the world’s best and brightest students an ideal place to study, live and work.
I look forward to welcoming you to Hong Kong.

Professor Timothy W. Tong
Chairman, Research Grants CouncilHong Kong, China

Who can apply
Candidates seeking admission as new full-time PhD
students in the eight UGC-funded universities, irrespectiveof their country of origin, prior work experience, and ethnic
background are welcomed to apply.

About the award
The Fellowship will provide a competitive annual stipend
and a conference and research-related travel allowance
per year up to three years1.

How are awardees selected
Shortlisted applicants, subject to their proposed areas of studies,
will be reviewed by one of the following two Selection Panels:- Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology- Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies.
While candidates’ academic excellence is the primary consideration,
the Selection Panels will take into account factors such as thecandidates’ research ability and potential, communication andinterpersonal skills as well as leadership abilities.

How to apply
Eligible candidates should make their initial
application to the RGC through the online system
at https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/InitApplication.jsp toobtain an HKPFS Reference Number before submitting full
applications to their selected universities.

1 Universities in Hong Kong normally start their academic year in September.

Initial application deadline
1 December 2024 at 12:00 noon Hong Kong Time (GMT + 8 hours).

Enquiries
For enquiries on the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, please email to hkpf@ugc.edu.hk.
For enquiries on admission requirements, eligibility criteria for research programmes, application
methods and deadlines, regulations and policy of individual universities, please contact relevant
universities direct.

Further information
For further information, please visit Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme website at
http://www.rgc.edu.hk/hkphd.

City University of Hong Kong

The Education University of Hong Kong

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/sgs/hkphd
email: sgfellow@cityu.edu.hk

https://www.eduhk.hk/gradsch/index.php/hkpfs
email: rpg@eduhk.hk

Hong Kong Baptist University

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

https://gs.hkbu.edu.hk/admission/
hong-kong-phd-fellowship-scheme/introduction
email: hkbu_rpg@hkbu.edu.hk

http://www.polyu.edu.hk/gs/hkpfs
email: gs.enquiry@polyu.edu.hk

Lingnan University

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

http://www.ln.edu.hk/rpg/
hong-kong-phd-fellowship-scheme-hkpfs
email: rpgadm@LN.edu.hk

https://fytgs.hkust.edu.hk/hkpfs
enquiry form: https://fytgs.hkust.edu.hk/enquiry

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The University of Hong Kong

http://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk/hkpfs
enquiry form: www.gradsch.cuhk.edu.hk/help

https://gradsch.hku.hk/hkpfs
email: gradsch@hku.hk

After completing an initial application, applicants should submit full applications for their selected PhD
programmes to the proposed universities (quoting the assigned HKPFS Reference Number) before thedeadlines of individual universities. As deadlines for submission of full applications to universities may
immediately follow that for initial application, candidates should consult relevant universities regarding theapplication deadlines to ensure that they have sufficient time to submit full applications.

Other useful information
Research Grants Council,Hong Kong
http://www.rgc.edu.hk
About Hong Kong
http://www.brandhk.gov.hk

Hong Kong Higher Education
http://studyinhongkong.edu.hk
Postgraduate Studies in Hong Kong
http://www.grad.edu.hk

Immigration Policy on Study and Guidebook
for Entry for Study in Hong Kong
https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/
visas/study.html