Tuition Fees and Financial Support in Hong Kong: What University Actually Costs
Key takeaways
- Local students on UGC-funded programmes pay a common government-set annual rate — HK$49,500 per year for the 2027/28 cycle.
- Non-local students pay higher fees set by each university; self-financing institutions set their own rates for everyone.
- Designated self-financing programmes can attract SSSDP subsidies that cut tuition significantly.
- Means-tested grants and loans exist for local students on both funded and self-financing programmes.
Tuition in Hong Kong depends on three things: your residency status, whether your programme is government-funded, and which institution runs it. Get those three straight and the cost picture becomes simple.
Government-funded programmes
The eight UGC-funded universities charge local students a common annual rate set by the government — for the 2027/28 academic year, HK$49,500 for bachelor's degree programmes (always confirm the current figure on official pages). This rate is well below the true cost of teaching, which is why funded places are competitive.
Non-local students on the same programmes pay substantially more; each university publishes its own non-local rate, so compare across institutions when budgeting.
Self-financing institutions and programmes
Self-financing institutions — Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hang Seng University, Shue Yan University, Chu Hai College, Saint Francis University and others — set fees programme by programme, for local and non-local students alike. Rates vary widely, and some programmes are more affordable than a funded place seems once subsidies are applied, so read each programme's page rather than assuming.
Current fees for every major institution are summarised on their pages in our universities directory.
SSSDP: subsidies for designated self-financing programmes
The Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions (SSSDP) subsidises designated full-time locally-accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes in fields Hong Kong needs — nursing and health, testing, creative industries, logistics and others. If your programme is on the designated list, the subsidy is applied automatically against your tuition. The list of designated programmes and subsidy levels is published on the Education Bureau's dedicated SSSDP pages — check them each year, because the list changes with workforce demand.
Government grants and loans for local students
- Means-tested grants and loans through the Financial Assistance for Post-secondary Students scheme (FASP), for local students on funded programmes
- Non-means-tested loan schemes for eligible students who need to top up
- For students on self-financing accredited programmes, parallel assistance schemes exist — including non-means-tested options — administered by the Student Finance Office
- Institutional scholarships: every university runs entrance scholarships for strong applicants; check each admissions site
One warning worth repeating: never rely on forum posts for fee figures. Use official pages, and read our application timeline so funding applications — which have their own deadlines — don't slip.