The University of Hong Kong – HKU Reviews

The University of Hong Kong - HKU • Hong Kong, China

The University of Hong Kong, 香港大學 in Chinese, or HKU as it is abbreviated to, is the oldest institution of higher education in Hong Kong. In March 1910 the university’s foundation stone was laid by the Governor of Hong Kong, and the institution was opened to students two years later. At this time, HKU was made up of three faculties, namely: Arts, Engineering, and Medicine – the Faculty of Medicine was borne out of the Hong Kong College of Medicine.Show more

World War II put academic endeavours to a halt at HKU – at the time there were four faculties – the three the university opened with, as well as the Faculty of Science.

After WWII ended in 1945, academic efforts were restarted at HKU. Architecture studies began at the university in 1951, the Department of Extra-Mural Studies for continuing adult education was founded in 1956, the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1967, the Law Department in 1969, the Faculty of Dentistry in 1982, and the Faculty of Business and Economics in 2001.

Studying at HKU

The University of Hong Kong offers programmes of study at under- and postgraduate levele across many faculties and departments, namely: the Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Business and Economics, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Law, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Graduate School.

Students at HKU come from nearby in Hong Kong as well as mainland China and many international students.

In addition to its taught programmes, the institution also conducts research, and in 2003 its medical researchers were the first in the world to identify the coronavirus that caused SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Life at HKU

There are many, many student clubs and societies at HKU covering lots of topics, such as AIESEC-LC-HKU, Buddhist Studies Society, China Study Society, Computer Society, cultural associations such as: Bridge Club, Calligraphy Society, Drama Society, and Music Club, and sports associations such as: Archery Club, Badminton Club, Dragon Boat Club, Fencing Club, and Karate Club. You can find a full list of activities like these here.

Support for students on campus includes: Crisis Counselling, Emergency Financial Assistance, and Emergency Health Service, among others.

As for accommodation, there are many options for students, like Jockey Club Student Village III, and Halls of Residence.

What About You?

Do you have an experience studying at HKU? Then please tell us all about it! You may leave a review below telling us your story – we can’t wait to hear it!

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7 Reviews

Anonymous Student

03/11/2017

International, stratified and political

Adequate resources and very convenient campus with sufficient channels to expand your social and professional circle. Also politically active, and perhaps too biasedly so. Its law school is firmly established, with the longest history in Hong Kong. Practical and professional training, with a constant atmosphere of anxiety and competition that encourages a relatively focused and narrow vision of career outlook. Good range of extra curricular activities available.

Anonymous Student

12/10/2017

Life in HKU

HKU provides students with lots of opportunities in multidisciplinary researches and experiences. This encourages students to widen their horizons and prepare for the future. The programme I attended organised both local and oversea field trips that allowed me to have the first hand experiences of relative aspects. It was very useful for my later career.

Anonymous Student

06/10/2017

A place where you best understand local and international cultures

With plenty of experiences available, HKU provides a plenty of experience for me to explore our own and other countries culture. She has excellent teaching and research staffs in the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity. Time allocate to students are considered sufficient and staffs are ready to reach anytime.

Besides academic, she has various subsidised programmes that allow students to explore. This credit should be given to GenEd (general education) Office to provide different interesting programmes. These ranged from guest speaker giving talks on China-Hong Kong relationship; Contemporary art in Asia; or holding mini forum on geopolitics. Most, if not all, of which are free of charge!

Anonymous Student

06/10/2017

BSocSc

I am a graduate of the BSocSc programme several years ago. I appreciate that the programme provided a flexible choice of majors and minors. Even I was admitted into social sciences programme, I could explore various streams of studies in and out of the social sciences faculty, including global studies, human resources, politics, science and music. I did a double major in psychology and sociology. Among all learning experiences in lectures, tutorials, field trips…, I would say the internship experience was one of the most memorable part of my university life. The faculty offers a credit-bearing internship programme in which students can go to various NGOs to work on social issues, ranging from poverty, education to adjustment of ethnic minorities. Students can be placed locally or overseas, depending on placement quota, their personal preference and past experience. I went to a social service agency that serves adults who are intellectually challenged and have autism spectrum disorder. It was an eye-opening experience in observing how different professionals work together to provide training for those people and reflecting on how psychological knowledge could come into play. I was also able to gain some hands-on experience in leading an activity.
There are more and more internship opportunities for university students. It is just another way to gain practical experience apart from applying for interns in government agencies or business companies, especially in organisations that would not openly recruit interns but only work with tertiary institutions.
It should be noted that for some majors/courses, there are really a lot of people studying. When I was an undergraduate back then, we often expected a lecture with 100+ students and a tutorial with nearly 20 students. If you favour close student-teacher interaction in small classes, you may look into the enrolment of particular courses.

Anonymous Student

02/10/2017

The Master of Law in Human Rights at HKU

This opinion is made in respect of the Master of Law in Human Rights programme at HKU only (“Programme”).

The Law Department offers its students many opportunities to be involved in extracurricular initiatives. For instance, the academic staff often hire student researchers and the Center for Comparative and Public Law frequently seek volunteers to assist in their seminars and conferences. One of the Programme’s most notable opportunities is a grant with Open Society Foundations called the ‘rights and governance internship’. The Law Department also has innovative street law and clinic initiatives. Further, many of its academic staff are legal practitioners and integrate anecdotes from their practices in the classroom, which is both interesting and beneficial to the learning environment. The class sizes are intimate and allow for in-depth discussions.

The elective selection could be broader (the electives are also subject to last minute changes) and the compulsory courses are not the best-fitted for all students. Since the Programme accepts students without a law degree, it is sometimes difficult to reconcile the different backgrounds and meaningfully begin a legal discussion. Some students are in the Programme for the purpose of getting an ‘easy’ masters-level law degree.

Overall, the Programme is terrific if you are proactive in seeking opportunities to advance your studies and pave a path for your next steps. You can build strong networks. Students entering with a more passive mindset may be disappointed with the experience though.

Anonymous Student

01/10/2017

Life at HKU

Pursued the SHS degree at HKU, academic and clinical staff members were very devoted and passionate. The academic program is under constant reviews, staff members are open minded and willing to modify the program with regards to students’ opinions. Career prospect is good. Uni life is fruitful, many different activities for students to choose. Great facilities supporting learning.

Anonymous Student

29/09/2017

Student Life in HKU

As an Accounting and Finance year3 undergrad student in HKU, the university provides lots of opportunities for me to learn and explore my interests.

You could join a wide variety of activities, like being an committee member of societies and joining hall activities. As for me, I chose to join the winter exchange programme, be a committee member, and did volunteering servic and had latrine construction and volunteer teaching in Ghana, Africa. I also organized lots of activities for societies and had lots of meetings with company representatives. As for school work, it is okay normally but definitely u got a lot busier during November and April. You got a lot more free time compared to CUHK and HKUST. And of course, this is considered as the most ‘international’ uni in HK in a way that I could make friends coming from different countries.

Just wanna add, HKU has a good location for foodie as its near Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui. For those who love night lifes dont miss this. I didnt speak of anything i dislike coz there isnt anything i dislike much, but if I do have to say, it is the hall life of many local students, such as having cheers at night and never sleeps that may disturb others.

The University of Hong Kong - HKU
(Reviews)

The University of Hong Kong - HKU • Hong Kong, China

Studying at HKU

Life at HKU

What About You?

7 Reviews

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The University of Hong Kong - HKU • Hong Kong, China

Studying at HKU

Life at HKU

What About You?

Similar Universities

City University of Hong Kong – CityU

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School of Professional and Continuing Education – HKU Space

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Request information about The University of Hong Kong - HKU

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The University of Hong Kong - HKU
(Reviews)

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City University of Hong Kong - CityU

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The University of Hong Kong - HKU

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The University of Hong Kong - HKU