Prior Educational Background

Applicants for admission to PhD programs must possess a good first degree from a recognized university or an approved institution. An applicant's undergraduate background is not a precondition for admission. We encourage students from both business and non-business majors, such as science, engineering, arts and other areas, to apply.

Priority will be given to full-time applications, and part-time applications are only considered in very exceptional cases.

Application Date

Admission to PhD programs is for the beginning of the fall semester. Applicants are urged to submit all application materials (including copies of GMAT and TOEFL scores) by the designated deadline. Applications submitted after this date will be considered only if spaces are available. As not every department will consider admission to their PhD program for each year, applicants should check with individual departments before they apply. Applicants will be notified of the decisions no later than May.

Applications for PhD study in the academic year of 2025/26 will start in September 2024.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS), which was established by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong to attract the best and brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong's institutions.

The Fellowship provides the awardee with:

• Stipend: HK$337,200 (~USD43,230) per year, for 4 years
• RedBird PhD Scholarship: HK$40,000 (~US$5,110) in the first year of study + Academic Excellence Award of HK$20,000 (~US$2,560) per year, in the following years^
• Conference Travel Allowance: HK$14,000 (~US$1,790) per year, for 4 years; and
• University Accommodation: Guaranteed in the first 2 years of research postgraduate studies

^ renewable in subsequent years, subject to continual meeting of renewal conditions

Please note that Acceptance Letters from HKUST are not required for application for the HKPFS. For more details, please visit here.

Important Dates to Note

Deadline for completing the initial HKPFS application via RGC System: 1 December 2024 (12:00nn, GMT+8)

Deadline for HKPFS application via HKUST Online Admissions System: 1 December 2024 (11:59pm, GMT+8)

Deadline for non-HKPFS application

Applications must be submitted to the online admission system by the stipulated deadlines.

GMAT/GRE Requirements

An applicant must demonstrate his/her capability for graduate studies by obtaining a satisfactory score in the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), or other equivalent means. The test score is not the primary deciding factor for admission to doctoral studies. However, applicants with a GMAT score below 600 must have a strong academic record and/or extensive experience in their chosen field to demonstrate their potential.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English and whose degree or equivalent qualification was awarded by an institution where the medium of instruction was not English will also have to meet the English requirements.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

Paper-based test (PBT) score ≥ 550

Internet-based test (iBT) score ≥ 80

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall score ≥ 6.0, all sub-scores ≥ 5.5

N.B. TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for two years from the test date.

In addition to the above, individual departments may require higher English proficiency results.

Statement of Purpose

Applicants will be invited to talk about the following topics as part of our online application form:

• Reasons for wishing to pursue PhD / MPhil Studies in Hong Kong (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
• Long-term career plan, aims and interests for future development after graduation (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
• Contribution that you would like to make to the development of research in Hong Kong and to the society (up to 2000 characters including spaces).
• The intellectual vision and aspirations that you would like to demonstrate through your proposed research plan (up to 2000 characters including spaces).

Research Proposal

Applicants will be invited to share their research plans in the following three aspects in the online application form:

• Your experience or participation in research projects (if any) (up to 7500 characters including spaces).
• Your proposed research topic (up to 500 characters including spaces). 
• Your proposed plan and, if applicable, provide references or citations (up to 7500 characters including spaces).

Study Cost

Application Fees
Online application (per program)	HK$180

Tuition Fees
Full-time RPg tuition fees* per annum *Payable in two equal instalments at the beginning of each semester.	HK$42,100

For other fees and expenses, please visit here.

Other Information

After Getting an Offer

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