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The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public university in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status, the first research university and the first university without any precursory existence upon its formation with English as its primary medium of instruction and assessment since its establishment. It occupies a 60-hectare (150-acre) seaside site in Tai Po Tsai, Clear Water Bay Peninsula.

The university is organized into six academic schools: School of Science, School of Engineering, School of Business and Management, School of Medicine, School of Humanities and Social Science, and the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies. In the 2025-26 academic year, it enrolled 11,765 undergraduates and 8,710 postgraduates, and employed 973 academic staff. All undergraduate programs lead to bachelor's honours degrees in Science (BSc), Engineering (BEng) or Business Administration (BBA).

The university is traditionally considered one of Hong Kong's "Big 3" universities, alongside The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) due to their long history, strong academic programs, and high global standing.

History

In the late 1980s, the Hong Kong Government anticipated a strong demand for university graduates to fuel an economy increasingly based on services. Sir Sze-Yuen Chung and the territory's governor, Sir Edward Youde, conceived the idea of establishing a third university, in addition to the pre-existing The University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Planning for the "Third University", as the university was known provisionally, began in 1986. On 8 November 1989, Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) laid the foundation stone of the campus, which was constructed at the Kohima Barracks site in Tai Po Tsai on the Clear Water Bay Peninsula. The site was earmarked for the construction of a new British Army garrison to house the 2nd King Edward VII's Own and 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles, but plans for its construction were shelved after the 1984 signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration resulted in the downsizing of army presence in Hong Kong.

Originally scheduled to finish in 1994, the planning committee for the university decided in 1987 that the new institution should open its doors three years early, in keeping with the community's need and in fulfilment of the wishes of Youde, who died in 1986. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club pledged to contribute HK$1,500 million (later increased to $1,926 million) towards the construction cost of the university campus, and took up the role of project manager. This has the effect of accelerating construction as it relieved the project from complicated approval procedures for government capital projects.

The university was officially opened by Youde's successor as governor, Sir David Wilson, on 10 October 1991. Several leading scientists and researchers took up positions at the university in its early years, including physicist Leroy Chang who arrived in 1993 as Dean of Science and went on to become vice-president for academic affairs. Thomas E. Stelson was also a founding member of the administration.

The project was criticized for surpassing the budget set forth by the Hong Kong Government and the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. Under the fund-raising efforts of its president, Woo Chia-wei, the first students enrolled in October 1991. By 1992, the second phase of HKUST's campus was completed, expanding laboratories, student and staff accommodation, and athletic facilities to support about 7,000 students.

Several more expansion projects such as the construction of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Enterprise Center have since been completed.

Governance

Established in 1991 under Chapter 1141 of the laws of Hong Kong (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Ordinance), HKUST is one of the eight statutory universities in Hong Kong. It is an institution funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC).

As with all other statutory universities in Hong Kong, the chief executive of HKSAR acts as the chancellor of HKUST. Prior to the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, this was a ceremonial title bestowed upon the governor of Hong Kong.

The supreme governing body of the university is its Council, formed by a total of 27 members. Council members include university administrators, the chairperson of the alumni Convocation, an elected staff member, an elected full-time student representative, as well as 14 "lay members" not being employees or students at the university. Under the HKUST Ordinance, the chief executive of Hong Kong (as chancellor) possesses the power of directly appointing the chairman and vice-chairman of the council, the treasurer of the university, and not more than 9 of the lay members.

The Senate acts as the university's supreme academic body, responsible for making and reviewing the academic policies of the university. It is composed mostly of academic staff members but also includes the Students' Union president, an elected representative of the undergraduates as well as an elected representative of the postgraduates.

Being the supreme advisory body of the university, the Court is responsible for promoting the university's interests and to raise funds.

Senior management

• President
• Nancy Ip (2022–)
• Wei Shyy (2018–2022)
• Tony Fan Cheong Chan (2009–2018)
• Paul Ching Wu Chu (2001–2009)
• Chia Wei Woo (1988–2001)
• Provost
• Guo Yike (2022–)
• Lionel Ni (2019–2022)
• Wei Shyy (2010–2018)
• Vice-Presidents
• Vice-President for Administration and Business: Kar Yan Tam
• Vice-President for Research and Development: Tim Kwang Ting Cheng
• Vice-President for Institutional Advancement: Charles Wang-Wai Ng
• Vice-President for Development: Ir John Kwong
• Academic Registrar
• King Lau Chow (2026–)
• James Prince (2016–2026)

Campus

The university is largely a campus university, occupying a 60-hectare site at the northern part of Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong, overlooking Port Shelter in Tai Po Tsai. The campus layout and architecture is based on a master plan submitted jointly by Simon Kwan & Associates and Percy Thomas Partnership, the runner-up entry in an architectural competition held before the university was founded.

As the campus has a sloped terrain, buildings and facilities are built on separate terraces carved out of the hillside, with the academic facilities occupying the top-level terraces, and undergraduate halls of residence and sporting facilities at the seafront. The terraces are connected by motor roads as well as a network of footbridges and elevators known as Bridge Link.

The countryside setting of the university contributed to the fact that HKUST was once the only public university in Hong Kong not being directly served by an MTR station, prior to the re-titling of the Education University of Hong Kong. The university is connected to the metro network through public bus routes including 91, 91M, 91P, 291P and 792M, complemented by a handful of minibus services, with Choi Hung and Hang Hau stations being the major feeder points.

Academic complexes

Academic activities are mainly conducted in the Academic Building, which contains 10 lecture theaters (A–H, J–K), a multitude of classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices. The lecture theaters can accommodate classes of up to 450 students and offer audiovisual equipment. In addition, an information center and a souvenir shop can be found at the Piazza. The semi-outdoor Hong Kong Jockey Club Atrium located near the main entrance of the campus serves as the focal point of campus life, and is where major events such as student societies recruitment, performances, and (before the Shaw Auditorium opened) congregations are staged.

Prior to 2013, offices and classrooms of all of the four schools were grouped under the same roof in the Academic Building. With the completion of the Lee Shau Kee Business Building (LSK) in 2013, most facilities for the School of Business and Management have relocated from the Academic Building. Opened in 2015, the Cheng Yu Tung Building (CYT) afforded the other schools with a lecture theater (L), additional classrooms and laboratories.

Located at the southern tip of the campus, the Lo Ka Chung Building houses the HKUST Jockey Club Institute of Advanced Study (IAS). The adjacent Conference Lodge, managed by the hotel-operating arm of Chinachem Group offers on-campus accommodation for conference attendees and official guests of the university.

Reputation and rankings

Overall Rankings

Globally, HKUST is #33 in QSWUR 2027, #58 in THEWUR 2026, #82 in USNWR 2026-2027, #20 in THE's Sustainability Impact Rankings 2026 (#1 in Hong Kong), and #2 in THE's Most International Universities in the World 2026.

HKUST was ranked 23rd worldwide in the latest Nature Index's normalized leading academic institutions ranking published in 2019.

HKUST has previously been ranked Asia's No.1 by the independent regional QS University Rankings: Asia for three consecutive years between 2011 and 2013. HKUST was also ranked 28th in the world and 1st in Hong Kong by QSWUR 2016.

The THE's World Reputation Rankings of 2018 considered it the second reputable in the territory, while it was first in the HKU Public Opinion Programme survey (2016).

Young University Rankings

One of the world's fastest growing institutions, HKUST ranked 1st in Times Higher Education Young University Rankings in 2019 and 2nd by QS world's under-50 universities in 2020.

Most International University Rankings

HKUST ranked 2nd in Times Higher Education Most International University Rankings in 2026.

Subject Rankings

QS World University Rankings by Broad Subject Area 2026:

THE rankings by subjects 2026:

U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Ranking by subjects 2026:

2026 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) by ShanghaiRanking:

Graduate Employability Rankings

According to THE's Global University Employability Ranking 2025, the university's graduates have the highest employment rate among universities in Hong Kong, and ranked among the top 30 worldwide for 12 years in a row.

MBA Ranking

According to Bloomberg Businessweek Best Business School Ranking, HKUST's MBA program is #1 in Asia-Pacific.

The Financial Times ranks HKUST's MBA program #24 globally and #1 in Hong Kong. QS also ranks HKUST MBA program #1 in Hong Kong

Academic organisation

Schools and departments

The university is organised into five schools that offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs:

• Business and Management
• Engineering
• Humanities and Social Science
• Medicine
• Science

HKUST's School of Business and Management (SBM) is branded the HKUST Business School. It has over 140 faculty personnel. The school offers degree programs– undergraduate, MBA, EMBA, MSc and PhD – and a range of executive education programs, including the Kellogg-HKUST EMBA which was one ranked the best EMBA program by the Financial Times. The school includes the departments of Accounting; Economics; Finance; Information Systems, Business Statistics & Operations Management (ISOM); Management; and Marketing. They are supported by ten research centers assigned to areas from business case studies and investing to Asian family business and China business & management.

The School of Engineering (SENG) is the largest of HKUST's schools. It has 7 departments/divisions: Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Decision Analytics, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The school provides more than 40 degree programs at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels, and houses the only chemical engineering department in Hong Kong. In 2019, Times Higher Education World University Rankings in Engineering and Technology placed HKUST Engineering No.23 globally, the best ever position achieved by any local university since the establishment of this league table in 2010. QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019 – Engineering and Technology ranked HKUST No.18 globally which made SENG No. 1 in Hong Kong for nine consecutive years. SENG has over 150 exchange partner universities in 28 countries/regions in the world.

The School of Humanities and Social Science (SHSS) supports interdisciplinary academic training and research in fields including anthropology, creative writing, economics, history, innovation studies, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, political science, and sociology, through its two divisions: Humanities and Social Science.

In November 2025, the Executive Council of Hong Kong approved the plan proposed by the university to set up a School of Medicine, with enrollment to start in 2028. The medical degree that will be given upon graduation will be a 4-year post-graduate Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The new medical school plans to admit 50 students, with one-third being non-local students.

Student life

Student body

For year 2023–24, HKUST enrolled 10,347 undergraduates and 6,842 postgraduates, with over 40% (~2,000 undergraduates & ~5,000 postgraduates) of the total enrollment being non-local (not holding Hong Kong citizenship). In terms of student population, the School of Engineering is the largest among the university's four schools, hosting 34% and 38% of HKUST's undergraduates and postgraduates respectively; this was followed by the schools of Business and Management (33%/24%), Science (21%/19%), Humanities and Social Science (3%/5%), and Interdisciplinary Programs (3%/1%).

The university saw the graduation of 2,389 undergraduate students, 668 research postgraduates and 2,934 taught postgraduates in the 2023-24 academic year, amounting to a total of 5,991 degrees being conferred.

Students' residence

All full-time registered UG students and in-time full-time HKUST research postgraduate students (RPgs) of the university are eligible to apply for student housing. Under the current policy, all local UG students are guaranteed at least one semester of hall residence in their first year of study upon application, whilst their non-local counterparts are provided at least two years of residency.

The nine on-campus undergraduate halls provide a total of 146 bed places in single rooms, 3,094 in double rooms (twin + bunk) and 792 in triple rooms. Another 512 bed spaces in double rooms at the off-campus HKUST Jockey Club Hall in Tseung Kwan O New Town are also provided for undergraduates. For research postgraduates students and visiting interns, 1080 on-campus residential places in single or double rooms are available.

There are also off-campus accommodations available. 15 apartments in Tai Po Tsai Village (TPT308 and Wan's Lodge) are rented by the university to accommodate 90 TPgs.

On 27 April 2012, research postgraduate students organised a sit-down strike to raise the voice of the voiceless and reiterate the concerns of the research postgraduate students about the serious housing issue.

Students' union

Formed in 1992, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Students' Union (HKUSTSU) is an organization independent from but recognized by the university administration. The union is governed by four independent statutory bodies, namely the executive committee, the council, the editorial board and the court. All undergraduates and postgraduates are eligible for membership in the union, although this is not compulsory.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)