The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Key Facts & Figures at a Glance

Name, founding, scale, faculties and colleges, leadership, and every core number, compressed into a single verifiable fact sheet. This sheet covers the Shatin main campus of The Chinese University of Hong Kong only (excluding CUHK-Shenzhen). Every figure and year is sourced directly from an official reference; discrepancies in methodology are noted alongside the tables. In university governance contexts, the incumbent Vice-Chancellor and all currently serving office-holders are referred to solely by title (e.g., "the current Vice-Chancellor", "the Chairman of the Council"). Former Vice-Chancellors are recorded by name (see Governance & Former Vice-Chancellors).

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# 1. Identity and Name

CUHK is the second university in Hong Kong to receive statutory status (after The University of Hong Kong in 1911). According to a CUHK Newsletter article, "The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, 1963"^※, the University's inauguration ceremony was held on 17 October 1963 at City Hall, officiated by Sir Robert Black, the then Governor of Hong Kong and the University's first Chancellor. For the pre-history and full story of the three-college merger, see Historical Timeline.

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# 2. Positioning: Where China Meets the West, Bilingual and Bicultural

According to CUHK's "Introducing CUHK" webpage^※, the University's founding mission is "to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West" (融會傳統與現代，聯結中國與西方). Its distinctive educational character rests on four pillars: a flexible credit unit system, a college system, bilingualism, and multiculturalism. This self-positioning as a bilingual, bicultural institution bridging China and the West is integral to the name "The Chinese University of Hong Kong"—at its founding, an English-medium university (HKU) already existed, and CUHK was entrusted with a mission to prioritise Chinese and to preserve and promote Chinese culture.

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# 3. Scale at a Glance (UGC-funded Programmes Only, as of 30 Sep 2024)

The student figures below cover University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded programmes only, with a reference date of 30 September 2024^※. CUHK also has a significant number of self-financed taught postgraduate students not included in this count; the all-programmes total student body is therefore markedly higher (roughly 30,000; see Section 7 for an explanation of methodologies).

Two different campus area figures appear on separate official CUHK webpages (137.3 ha on the campus page, 138.4 ha on the introduction page). This is a minor discrepancy between the pages; we record both without adjudicating. Regarding the student-to-staff ratio, CUHK has not published a single official "student-to-staff ratio" recently. The HRO overview page cites only "Full time Staff: 8000+". Any inferred ratio (e.g., "around 1:X") is a calculation and should not be cited as an official figure.

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# 4. Eight Faculties

According to F&F 2024/25^※, CUHK has eight Faculties (the Graduate School separately administers postgraduate programmes). For the founding year and structure of each, see the Eight Faculties Overview.

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# 5. Nine Colleges (with Founding Year)

CUHK operates a college system. The nine colleges, listed in chronological order of founding/establishment, are from F&F 2024/25, "Our Colleges"^※:

For an in-depth dossier on the college system, see the Colleges Module. For the pre-history of the three founding colleges (Chung Chi, 1951; New Asia, 1949; United, 1956), see Historical Timeline.

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# 6. Leadership and Symbols (Incumbents by Title; the Vice-Chancellor is Named Neutrally)

According to CUHK's Governance webpage^※ and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1109)^※, the University's governance rests on three pillars:

The current (9th) Vice-Chancellor took office on 8 January 2025^※ and was formally installed on 20 May 2025^※, for a five-year term. For the full list of past Vice-Chancellors and governance architecture, see Governance & Former Vice-Chancellors.

The motto, emblem, and colours in a sentence: The motto is 「博文約禮」^※ ("Through learning and temperance to virtue", from the Analects of Confucius). The emblem is a feng regardant (a phoenix looking back; 回頭鳳), granted by the College of Arms in London in 1967^※. The University colours are purple and gold^※ (purple signifying "devotion" and gold "perseverance"). For a complete study, see the Symbols & Insignia special file.

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# 7. A Note on Methodologies (Essential Reading Before Cross-Comparisons)

CUHK's statistics are scattered across multiple bodies, with significant methodological differences:

Critical Pitfall: The "postgraduate" figure of only 4,000–4,650 in the official Facts & Figures appears low because it counts only UGC-funded postgraduates. CUHK's actual postgraduate cohort (including a large number of self-financed taught master's students) is much larger; the all-programmes total student body is roughly 30,000. At the postgraduate level, non-local students (2,951) outnumber local students (1,699), reflecting the fact that research-based MPhil/PhD programmes are predominantly populated by students from mainland China.

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# 8. Historical Student Body and Local/Non-Local Ratios (UGC-funded)

Long-term trend: CUHK's undergraduate body has long remained stable at roughly 17,000 to 18,500; UGC-funded postgraduates range from 3,900 to 4,650. Growth has primarily come from self-financed taught master's programmes (not reflected in this table).

According to a Legislative Council reply, LCQ4 (20 Nov 2024)^※ (UGC-funded programmes, 2023/24 academic year), non-local undergraduates across Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities accounted for roughly 19.9% of local student places, totalling about 14,800 individuals. The proportion of non-local students is much higher among research postgraduates, the majority of whom are from mainland China. CUHK's own data (F&F 2024/25): 2,696 non-local undergraduates (~14.6% of all undergraduates); 2,951 non-local postgraduates (~63% of UGC-funded postgraduates). For historical reference (2019 data from the CUHK Strategic Plan page^※, an all-programmes count): out of a total of 30,794 students, 8,542 were non-local (27.7%).

Policy Background: From the 2024/25 academic year^※, Hong Kong raised the cap on non-local student intake for UGC-funded programmes from 20% to 40%. According to Hong Kong's 2025 Policy Address^※, this will be further increased to 50% from the 2026/27 academic year. As for the gender ratio, the official Facts & Figures has not published a detailed breakdown of the overall male-to-female ratio in recent years. No precise official figure exists here, and none should be invented.

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# 9. Intake Quality (2024 Intake)

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# 10. Alumni, Exchange, and Collections (Reference Dates in Notes)

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# 11. Research (2023-24, from F&F 2024/25)

Degrees awarded (2022 calendar year, from F&F 2022^※): Bachelor's 4,007; Master's 6,149; Doctoral 525. The number of taught master's degrees conferred (roughly 6,000+) far exceeds the UGC-funded enrolment figures, confirming that the bulk of CUHK's taught master's students are self-financed. Among industries entered by bachelor's degree graduates, teaching accounts for the largest share, at 16.8% (F&F 2024/25^※, as of Jul 2024), followed by healthcare, information technology, and banking & finance.

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# 12. World Rankings (Latest, as of June 2026)

Rankings shift annually and vary in methodology; for the latest figures and historical trends, see the Rankings Module. Both the QS 2027 rank of 18th and the U.S. News 2026–2027 rank of 28th are all-time highs.

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Compiled on: 1 July 2026. Figures are subject to change with official updates. Please verify against the latest Facts & Figures and UGC datasets before citing. For highlights of "firsts and superlatives", see Firsts & Superlatives; for quick answers to common questions, see the FAQ.