Established in 2009 by the Research Grants Council (RGC), the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) aims at attracting the best and brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD programmes in Hong Kong's universities.
Eligibility
Those who are seeking admission as new full time PhD students in Hong Kong universities funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC), irrespective of their country of origin, prior work experience and ethnic background, should be eligible to apply. Applicants should demonstrate outstanding qualities of academic performance, research ability / potential, communication and interpersonal skills, and leadership abilities.
Fellowship Award
The Fellowship provides an annual stipend of HK$322,800 (approximately US$41,400) and a conference and research related travel allowance of HK$13,500 (approximately US$1,730) per year for the awardees for a period of three years. 300 PhD Fellowships will be awarded in the 2022/23 academic year1. For awardees who need more than three years to complete the PhD degree, additional support may be provided by the chosen universities. For details, please contact the universities concerned directly.
*Universities in Hong Kong normally start their academic year in September.
Selection Panels
Shortlisted applications, subject to their areas of studies, will be reviewed by one of the two HKPFS Selection Panels with experts in the relevant broad areas - one for Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology and another one for Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies.
Selection Criteria
While academic excellence is of prime consideration, the Selection Panels will take into account, but not limited to, the four yardsticks below for the selection of candidates:
Academic excellence;
Research ability and potential;
Communication and interpersonal skills; and
Leadership abilities.
Application Process
Applicants may choose up to two programmes in one or two universities for PhD study in their HKPFS applications. They are also required to submit application(s) for PhD admission to the relevant university(ies) directly for their selected programme(s). Applicants are therefore required to fully comply with the admission requirements of their selected universities and programmes.
The HKPFS 2022/23 calls for applications on 1 September 2021. Details on application procedures are available at http://www.rgc.edu.hk/hkphd.
For information and admission requirements of individual universities, please visit the websites below:
City University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Baptist University
Lingnan University
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Education University of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The University of Hong Kong
Individual universities will conduct interviews with applicants as part of the assessment for selection. Candidates not selected for the HKPFS award may be accepted by the universities concerned for regular PhD admission and offered postgraduate studentship by the universities.
Postgraduate Studies in Hong Kong
For more information on postgraduate studies in Hong Kong, please visit http://www.grad.edu.hk/grad/. For details concerning the immigration policy on studying in Hong Kong, please visit the website of the Immigration Department at https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/study.html.
Enquiries
For enquiries about the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, please address your questions to HKPF@ugc.edu.hk.