Address: 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Engineering, Computing, Business, Science, Veterinary Medicine, Law, Creative Media
City University of Hong Kong began as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, which opened on 8 October 1984 with 480 full-time and 680 part-time students. It became a university and took its present name in 1994. It is governed by the City University of Hong Kong Ordinance and is one of the eight statutory universities of Hong Kong. The first phase of its campus opened on 15 January 1990, and the second in 1993.
The campus is on Tat Chee Avenue in Kowloon Tong, administratively in Sham Shui Po District. It is an urban campus of about 15.6 hectares, connected to the Festival Walk shopping centre and to Kowloon Tong station on the East Rail and Kwun Tong lines. Student residences, in use since August 2024, house 2,200 undergraduate and postgraduate students. CityU (Dongguan) opened in September 2024 in the Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.
The university has eleven colleges and schools: the College of Biomedicine, the College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Science, the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, the College of Computing, the School of Creative Media, the School of Energy and Environment, the School of Law and the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies. It offers more than 150 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The CityU Shenzhen Research Institute and the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study belong to it.
Times Higher Education ranked CityU the most international university in the world in 2024 and 2025. Its motto is Officium et Civitas in Latin, which is rendered in Chinese as an expression of dedication to work and fellowship. About 256 scholars of CityU were on Stanford’s list of the world’s top two percent of scientists in 2025. City University of Hong Kong Press, founded in 1996, publishes on China, Hong Kong and Asian studies.
Alumni include the former Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen, the environmentalist and former legislator Christine Loh, the Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah, the painter Matthew Wong and the singer Fiona Sit. The language of instruction is English. Fees differ for local and non-local students. Check the current tariff.
Domains taught:
Chemistry, Data Analytics, Engineering, Finance, Life Sciences, Materials, Mathematics, Physics, Software Engineering
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
CityU Shenzhen Research Institute, CityU (Dongguan), the Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, and City University of Hong Kong Press.
Research:
Engineering, computing, materials, science, business, law and creative media, with a Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences.
Famous Alumnis:
Rimsky Yuen, Christine Loh, Lau Kong-wah, Matthew Wong, Fiona Sit
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
N/A
Current students***:
N/A
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Urban campus linked to the Kowloon Tong MTR station, English as language of instruction, highly international, strong engineering and computing.
Cons
Compact urban campus, competitive admission, high cost of housing in Hong Kong.
Best For
Students who want an English-language, highly international university in Hong Kong with strong engineering, computing and business.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology sits close to this institution on finance, chemistry and physics; it also offers mba programmes and covers AI and machine learning as well.
Both schools build their programmes around finance, chemistry and physics, and Chinese University of Hong Kong is the one to compare first within the country, since it covers statistics as well, and enrols about 21,110 students.
Both schools build their programmes around materials, life sciences and data analytics, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University is the one to compare first within the country, since it covers logistics and industrial design as well, and enrols about 33,900 students.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
National University of Singapore in Singapore pursues a similar profile in finance, chemistry and physics, and it also offers mba programmes and covers AI and machine learning as well.
Macquarie University in Australia pursues a similar profile in finance, chemistry and physics, and it also offers graduate certificate and mba programmes, and enrols about 44,015 students.
A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on chemistry, physics and mathematics is University of Granada in Spain, and it covers astroscience as well, and enrols about 60,000 students.
For a study option in Saudi Arabia with a comparable spread of finance, chemistry and life sciences, King Khalid University is the reference point: it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and enrols about 61,708 students.
For finance, chemistry and physics outside the home country, University of New South Wales in Australia is a natural reference; it enrols about 82,300 students, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is City University of Hong Kong?
On Tat Chee Avenue in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, connected to Kowloon Tong MTR station.
When was it founded?
As the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, which opened on 8 October 1984.
When did it become a university?
In 1994, when it took its present name.
How large is the campus?
About 15.6 hectares.
How many colleges and schools does it have?
Eleven, from the College of Business to the School of Law.
How many programmes does it offer?
More than 150 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
What is CityU Dongguan?
A campus opened in September 2024 in the Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.
What is its motto?
Officium et Civitas in Latin.
What language is used for teaching?
English.
What does it cost?
Fees differ for local and non-local students. Check the current tariff.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biology, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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