Admission Requirements

Academic Qualification Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the PhD degree programme should possess:

1. a master’s degree from a recognised university or comparable institution; or
2. a bachelor’s degree with first-class honours from a recognised university or comparable institution

Language Proficiency Requirements

An applicant seeking admission on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution of which the language of teaching and/or examination is not English is required to obtain a minimum score in the

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) at 79(iBT)*; or
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at 6.5 (Academic).

^{* IBT: Internet-based Test. The TOEFL institution code of the University is 9467.}

Note: Test results of TOEFL-iBT Special Home Edition or IELTS Indicator will not be considered.

Students are also required to meet the subscore requirement of TOEFL (Reading ≥18; Listening ≥18; Speaking≥18; Writing≥19) or IELTS (at least 5.5 for Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing). 

Specific Requirements by Faculty/School

For programme-specific entrance requirements, please refer to the respective academic unit's website (Programme Page) for details.

HKPFS Selection Criteria

While the academic excellence is of prime consideration, the Review Panels will take into account, but is not limited to the yardsticks below for the selection of candidates:

• Academic excellence
• Research ability and potential
• Leadership ability and societal responsibility, and
• Communication, interpersonal skills