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

Name, founding, scale, faculties, colleges, leadership and every core number, compressed into a single verifiable quick-reference card. This card covers only CUHK's main campus in Shatin (excluding The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen); every figure/year carries an official source at the point of use, with discrepancies flagged in-line. In line with house convention, the incumbent Vice-Chancellor and all currently serving office-holders are referred to by title only ("the incumbent Vice-Chancellor", "the Council Chairman"), while former Vice-Chancellors are named (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, founded in 1911). According to a CUHK Newsletter piece, "The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, 1963"^※, the University held its installation ceremony on 17 October 1963 at City Hall, presided over by the then-Governor of Hong Kong and Chancellor of the University, Sir Robert Black. The pre-history of the founding and the merger of the three colleges is covered in Historical Development.

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# 2. Positioning: Combining East and West, Bilingual and Bicultural

According to CUHK's official "Introducing CUHK" page^※, the University's founding purpose is to "combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West" — rendered in Chinese as 「融会传统与现代，联结中国与西方」("merging tradition with modernity, and linking China with the West"). Its educational character rests on four pillars: "a flexible credit unit system, a college system, bilingualism and multiculturalism." This self-positioning as "bilingual, bicultural, and blending East and West" is consistent with the University's very name — at its founding, Hong Kong already had the English-medium University of Hong Kong, so CUHK was entrusted with the mission of teaching primarily in Chinese and of preserving and advancing Chinese culture.

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# 3. Scale at a Glance (UGC-funded programmes, as at 30 September 2024)

The student figures below are for UGC-funded programmes, with reference date 30 September 2024^※. CUHK also runs a large number of self-financed taught postgraduate programmes that fall outside this scope, so the all-programme total is substantially higher (around 30,000; see the scope notes in Section 7).

The two campus-area figures both appear on official pages (137.3 on the Campus page, 138.4 on the Introduction page) — a minor inconsistency between official pages, which this archive records side by side without adjudicating. On staff–student ratio: CUHK has in recent years published no single "staff–student ratio" figure; the HRO overview's official staff count is simply "Full time Staff: 8000+". Any "approximately 1:X" ratio you see is a calculated estimate — do not cite it.

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# 4. The Eight Faculties

According to F&F 2024/25^※, CUHK has eight faculties (with the Graduate School coordinating postgraduate programmes); founding dates and organisational details for each faculty are in The Eight Faculties Overview.

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# 5. The Nine Colleges (with Founding Years)

CUHK operates a college system. The nine colleges, ordered by year of establishment, are as follows, per F&F 2024/25, "Our Colleges"^※:

For an in-depth look at the college system, see the College Module; the pre-history of the three founding colleges — Chung Chi (1951), New Asia (1949) and United (1956) — is covered in Historical Development.

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# 6. Leadership and Symbols (Incumbent Named by Title; Former Leaders Named)

Per CUHK's official Governance page^※ and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance, Cap. 1109^※, the University's governance rests on three pillars:

The incumbent (ninth) Vice-Chancellor took office on 8 January 2025 per a CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office announcement^※, with the formal installation on 20 May 2025^※, serving a five-year term. The full list of former Vice-Chancellors and the governance structure are detailed in Governance & Former Vice-Chancellors.

Motto, emblem and colours in one breath: the motto is 博文約禮^※ ("Through learning and temperance to virtue", from the Analects); the emblem is a feng (regardant) — a phoenix looking backward — granted by the College of Arms in London in 1967^※; the colours are purple and gold^※ (purple for "loyalty", gold for "perseverance"). The full historical account is in Symbols and Identity.

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# 7. Scope Notes (Read Before Any Cross-Comparison)

CUHK's statistics are scattered across several bodies, and the scopes differ considerably:

Key pitfall: the official Facts & Figures postgraduate count of about 4,000–4,650 looks suspiciously low because it counts only UGC-funded postgraduate students; CUHK's actual postgraduate population — including a large body of self-financed taught master's students — is far larger. The all-programme total, self-financing included, is around 30,000. At the postgraduate level, non-local students (2,951) outnumber local ones (1,699), reflecting the dominance of mainland-China students in research degrees (MPhil/PhD).

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# 8. Historical Student Profile: Local vs Non-Local (UGC-Funded Scope)

Long-term trend: CUHK's undergraduate population has been stable at 17,000–18,500; UGC-funded postgraduate numbers stand at about 3,900–4,650. Growth has come chiefly from self-financed taught master's programmes (not shown in this table).

Per Legislative Council LCQ4 (20 Nov 2024)^※ (UGC-funded programmes, 2023/24 academic year), non-local undergraduates across Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities accounted for about 19.9% of local places, roughly 14,800 students; the non-local share among research postgraduates is far higher, dominated by students from mainland China. CUHK's own figures (F&F 2024/25): non-local undergraduates 2,696 (about 14.6% of undergraduates), non-local postgraduates 2,951 (about 63% of UGC-funded postgraduates). For historical reference (2019, CUHK Strategic Plan page^※, all-programme scope including self-financed students): 8,542 of 30,794 students (27.7%) were non-local.

Policy background: Hong Kong raised the cap on non-local students in UGC-funded programmes from 20% to 40% starting in the 2024/25 academic year^※; per Hong Kong's 2025 Policy Address^※, this will rise further to 50% from the 2026/27 academic year. On gender balance: CUHK's official Facts & Figures has in recent years not published an overall male/female breakdown, and no official precise figure is available here — we do not fabricate one.

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# 9. Calibre of Admitted Students (2024 Entry)

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# 10. Alumni, Exchange and Collections (Reference Dates as Noted)

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# 11. Research (2023–24, F&F 2024/25)

Degrees awarded (2022, per F&F 2022^※): bachelor's 4,007; master's 6,149; doctorate 525. Master's degrees conferred (about 6,000+) far exceed the UGC-funded postgraduate enrolment, confirming that the bulk of CUHK's taught master's programmes are self-financed. Among the top occupations of bachelor's graduates, teaching ranks first, at 16.8% (F&F 2024/25^※, as at Jul 2024), followed by healthcare and nursing, information technology, banking and finance.

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# 12. World Rankings (Latest Tables, as at Jun 2026)

Rankings shift year to year and each table uses a different methodology; see the Rankings Module for the latest figures and historical trends. QS 2027's 18th place and U.S. News 2026–2027's 28th place are both all-time highs.

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Compiled: 1 July 2026. Figures change as official sources update; check the latest Facts & Figures and UGC datasets before citing. For CUHK's superlatives and firsts, see Firsts & Superlatives; for quick answers to common questions, see FAQ.