Overview
Basic facts and historical timeline, world and subject rankings, admissions/tuition and graduate outcomes.
00 Overview Overview · Facts · History
6 articlesBasic fact sheet, FAQ, key numbers, pre-founding history, historical timeline, motto and crest, governance structure, and year-on-year statistics.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Key Facts & Figures at a Glance
All of CUHK on one card: Hong Kong's second university, founded in 1963 by the merger of three colleges. 8 Faculties, 9 Colleges, 23,088 UGC-funded students (~30,000 all-programmes total), a campus of roughly 137 hectares. Data is organised by UGC-funded methodology; methodological pitfalls and historical trends are marked in place.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Historical Evolution: From the Pre‑History of Three Colleges to 2026
CUHK was founded on 17 October 1963 through the amalgamation, on the “federal basis” advocated by the Fulton Report, of New Asia (1949), Chung Chi (1951), and United (1956). Its first Vice‑Chancellor, Li Choh‑ming, was the first Chinese person to head a university in Hong Kong’s history. This article traces the story from the three colleges’ pre‑history all the way to the 60th anniversary and the inauguration of the ninth Vice‑Chancellor.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Motto, Emblem, Anthem, and Colours
A line from the Analects, a regardant phoenix, a melody borrowed from Cornell — CUHK’s symbolic repertoire carries the twin imprimaturs of Chinese classical culture and Christian-college heritage. This article traces each element’s origins, adoption process, and institutional particulars.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Governance Structure and Successive Vice-Chancellors
CUHK's governance rests on three pillars: the Chancellor (held ex officio by the Chief Executive), the Council, and the Senate. Founded in 1963 as a federation, it shifted towards unified administration after 1976. This article provides the complete roster of nine Vice-Chancellors from Li Choh-ming onwards and traces the timeline and governing priorities of the ninth Vice-Chancellor, who succeeded Rocky Tuan in early 2025.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Firsts and Bests
From Hong Kong's second university to Asia's first business school, and from the city's first graduate school to the invention of NIPT — the \"firsts\" amassed by CUHK over six decades are scattered across its founding, faculties, research, and medicine. This article systematises them one by one, distinguishing documented facts from official self-descriptions.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong — General FAQ
A rapid‑reference Q&A overview of CUHK (Sha Tin main campus) covering the year of foundation, origin of the name, campus scale, student and staff headcounts, governance structure, motto and emblem, global rankings, Nobel connection, and other frequently asked questions. All key figures carry time‑stamps and official sources.
03 Rankings World · Subject
4 articlesQS / THE / ARWU / U.S. News world rankings and their year-on-year trends, plus subject rankings for standout disciplines.
A Deep Dive into Five Years of QS and U.S. News Rankings (CUHK 2021–2027)
The Chinese University of Hong Kong rose to 18th globally in the QS 2027 edition and 28th in the U.S. News 2026–2027 edition — both all-time bests and leading positions within Hong Kong. The two tables measure different things: QS is nearly half reputation and internationalisation, while U.S. News is a pure contest of papers and citations. The five-year trajectory is explained by two main threads: QS changing its yardstick, and a bibliometric surge in U.S. News.
CUHK Rankings: QS/THE/USNews Year-by-Year Positions for The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Collates CUHK's year-by-year positions across four major world rankings — QS (18th globally in 2027, an all-time high), THE, ARWU, U.S. News — and standout subject performances, all based on official announcements.
Business School Global Rankings Archive: FT EMBA #22 and MSc Finance #21 — a record of staying power
The CUHK Business School EMBA ranks 22nd globally in the Financial Times 2025 edition, its eighth consecutive year in the world’s top 30, with the No. 3 alumni network in Asia-Pacific. The MSc in Finance ranks 21st globally (1st in Hong Kong, 3rd in Asia) in the FT 2026 edition — its highest position since first appearing in 2017 — and has now held that peak for two straight years. The two rankings follow different indicator paths but jointly point to sustained competitive strength in alumni career development and employment support.
Subject Rankings Deep Dive: Global Positions of Communication, Geography, Nursing, Theology and Other Strengths
CUHK has 21 subjects in the global top 50 in the QS 2026 Subject Rankings, with Nursing (#6), Communication (#16), and Geography (#21) as its three flagships. In ARWU 2025, Nursing ranks #10, Communication ranks #10, and Geography places at #15. Theology (the only divinity school in a Hong Kong public comprehensive university), along with Linguistics, Anatomy & Physiology, and other humanities and medical disciplines, also hold stable leading positions, revealing a differentiated strength profile anchored in medicine and the social sciences.
香港中文大学 ranking overview(updated 2027)
| University | QS World | U.S. News World |
|---|---|---|
| HKU | 11 | 40 |
| CUHK · This university | 18 | 28 |
| HKUST | 33 | 82 |
| CityU | 52 | 47 |
| PolyU | 50 | 52 |
World rankings as officially reported by each list; every figure is sourced — see each university's deep-dive for detail. Machine-readable data (JSON · with sources) ↗.
香港中文大学's world-class subjects
Ranking FAQ
What is 香港中文大学's (CUHK) QS World Ranking in 2027?
In the QS World University Rankings 2027 (released 2026-06-18), 香港中文大学 is ranked 18 in the world.
What is 香港中文大学's U.S. News World University Ranking?
In U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026-2027 (released 2026-06-16), 香港中文大学 is ranked 28 in the world.
How do Hong Kong's five universities rank in QS 2027?
QS 2027: HKU #11, CUHK #18, HKUST #33, CityU #52, PolyU #50.
What are 香港中文大学's strongest subjects?
香港中文大学's world-class strengths include 护理学 Nursing (ranked 6 in the world), 传播与媒体研究 Communication & Media Studies (ranked 16 in the world), 地理学 Geography (ranked 21 in the world), among others.
02 Admissions Admissions · Tuition · Outcomes
6 articlesJUPAS and non-JUPAS admissions, mainland and international applications, tuition and scholarships, graduate outcomes and the programme catalogue.
CUHK Undergraduate Admissions: JUPAS, Non-JUPAS, Gaokao, and College Allocation
Explains CUHK's four undergraduate admissions pathways (JUPAS, Non-JUPAS, Gaokao, International), including entry requirements, the dual DSE scoring scales with subject weighting, 2025 admissions scores and competition ratios, and the college allocation mechanism.
Tuition Fees and Financial Aid at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
After a near-three-decade freeze, local undergraduate tuition at CUHK rises over three years starting in 2025, while non-local tuition sees its first and highest increase among the eight UGC-funded institutions in seven years. The article also details entrance scholarships, mainland top-scorer awards, and the government grant and loan mechanism.
Graduate Outcomes at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
CUHK bachelor's graduates earned an average annual salary of HK$381,000 in 2023/24, ranking second in Hong Kong behind only HKU. Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing starting salaries peaked at HK$540,000. In a 2024 employer survey, CUHK overtook HKU to top the \"most preferred to recruit\" chart with a 57.1% vote share. It ranked 90th globally and third in Hong Kong in the THE 2024-25 Global Employability Ranking.
CUHK Undergraduate Programme Directory: Master Table of 88 JUPAS Programme JS Codes
A master table, grouped by Faculty, of JUPAS (JS) codes for all 88 UGC-funded undergraduate programmes at CUHK, with minimum indicative scores for non-JUPAS IB/A-Level applicants for each programme, for cross-reference purposes.
Mainland Gaokao Direct‑Admission Route: Early Batch · Code 81002 · English 120 Threshold
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shatin campus), approved by the Ministry of Education for the Early Admission batch under institutional code 81002, plans to admit roughly 400 undergraduates across 31 mainland provinces in 2025. Candidates must achieve an English‑subject score of at least 120 (out of 150), are selected purely on raw gaokao results across four broad categories — Arts, Science, Engineering, and Business — and are not required to sit an interview. Since admissions began in 1998, more than 6,700 mainland students have studied at CUHK through this route.
School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS): An Elite Admissions Pathway That Bypasses the HKDSE
The Chinese University of Hong Kong participates in the Education Bureau-led School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS, launched in the 2022/23 academic year), which permits secondary school principals to nominate up to two academically talented Secondary 6 students per year who, after an interview, receive a direct admission offer before the release of HKDSE results — in the 4th cohort (2025/26 academic year), CUHK received nominations from 152 schools for a total of 169 students and ultimately admitted 54.