HKU 384K, CUHK 412K, HKUST 420K? A Full Review of 2025 Hong Kong Eight UGC-Funded Universities’ Undergraduate Tuition Hikes
Over the past thirteen years, non-local undergraduate tuition at Hong Kong’s eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) has undergone a structural reset. Before the full implementation of the four-year curriculum in the 2012/13 academic year, a non-local undergraduate student paid three years of tuition to complete their degree. Taking the final year of the old three-year system (2011/12) as an example, the total three-year cost at HKU was approximately HK$384,000, at CUHK about HK$412,000, and at HKUST around HK$420,000. While these figures are now historical benchmarks, they are frequently cited by academics and parents amid consecutive tuition hikes across universities in the 2025/26 academic year, serving as a yardstick to measure the cost curve of Hong Kong’s higher education. According to data from the Immigration Department (ImmD) on “Study in Hong Kong” visas, the number of non-local students approved in 2023 rebounded by over 40% compared to 2019, indicating that demand-side pressure has not weakened universities’ room to raise prices. A document submitted by the Education Bureau (EDB) to the Legislative Council in early 2024 also showed that the eight UGC-funded universities have been permitted to adjust non-local tuition fees at a higher rate than in previous years to reflect the long-term accumulation of teaching costs. This article cross-references official fee documents from all eight universities—HKU, CUHK, HKUST, PolyU, CityU, HKBU, LU, and EdUHK—with UGC funding accounts, providing a data-driven review across five dimensions: “Total Cost Anchor,” “Five-Year Annualized Growth Rate,” “Non-Local/Local Tuition Ratio,” “Cumulative Increase Ranking,” and “Inflation Comparison.”
Baseline: Total Cost Anchor Under the Final Three-Year System
The 2011/12 academic year was the last year of Hong Kong’s British-style three-year undergraduate system. At that time, the annual tuition fees for non-local undergraduates across the eight universities largely followed an unwritten consensus: most institutions set fees between HK$100,000 and HK$140,000, with slightly higher rates for a few specialized programs. HKU charged HK$128,000 per year for general programs like Arts and Science, totaling HK$384,000 over three years. CUHK’s general programs cost HK$137,300 per year, totaling HK$411,900 over three years. HKUST’s basic undergraduate programs were HK$140,000 per year, totaling HK$420,000 over three years. The Hong Kong Institute of Education (now EdUHK) charged approximately HK$85,000 per year for non-local students in 2011/12, totaling just HK$255,000 over three years. It is important to note that these total tuition figures did not include accommodation, living expenses, or miscellaneous costs, but they clearly established a financial baseline.
The introduction of the four-year curriculum in 2012 directly extended the mandatory degree duration by one-third, leading to a significant jump in the total amount paid by non-local students. In the 2012/13 academic year, HKU raised the annual tuition for the same faculties from HK$128,000 to HK$135,000, and with the additional year of study, the total four-year cost rose to HK$540,000. For family financial planning, this was not simply a matter of splitting costs annually but a permanent repricing. The increase from HK$384,000 to HK$540,000 represents a rise of approximately 40.6%, far exceeding the cumulative increase of less than 20% in Hong Kong’s Composite Consumer Price Index over the same period.
2025-26 Academic Year Non-Local Tuition Panorama: Median and Year-on-Year Increase
The “median tuition” referred to in this article is calculated based on the most representative general full-time undergraduate programs (e.g., non-laboratory-intensive subjects like Arts, Science, and Social Sciences) as published by each of the eight universities, excluding high-cost specialized programs (e.g., Medicine, Dentistry, or Global Business). For the 2025-26 academic year, all eight universities have implemented a new round of increases. The median annual tuition for different institutions is shown below, along with the year-on-year increase compared to the 2024-25 academic year.
1、 University of Hong Kong (HKU) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$198,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$792,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +8.8% 2、 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$178,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$712,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +22.8% 3、 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$185,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$740,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +8.8% 4、 Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$175,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$700,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +9.4% 5、 City University of Hong Kong (CityU) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$170,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$680,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +6.3% 6、 Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$155,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$620,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +6.9% 7、 Lingnan University (LU) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$150,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$600,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +3.4% 8、 Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) · 2025-26 Non-Local Annual Tuition Median: HK$145,000 · Four-Year Total Tuition: HK$580,000 · Year-on-Year Increase: +3.6%
Note: HKU, CUHK, and HKUST offer some high-fee programs. For example, HKU’s Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) costs HK$280,000 per year for non-local students in 2025-26, with Dentistry even higher. CUHK’s Global Business and Quantitative Finance programs have annual fees ranging from HK$210,000 to HK$240,000. HKUST’s dual-degree program in Technology and Management also costs HK$210,000 per year. The median figures above exclude these programs to more accurately reflect mainstream fee levels.
From the median figures, HKU remains the most expensive university, easily surpassing the HK$790,000 mark over four years. CUHK’s year-on-year increase of 22.8% in the 2025-26 academic year, jumping from HK$145,000 in 2024-25 to HK$178,000, is the steepest among the eight universities. The policy background is that CUHK’s council approved a new financial budget in mid-2024, raising non-local tuition in one go to a level comparable with other leading institutions, thereby reducing the gap. PolyU and CityU also recorded increases of nearly 10%, reflecting the pressure on universities strong in applied sciences to use non-local tuition as a primary compensation channel amid rising equipment renewal costs.
Five-Year Annualized Tuition Growth Rate: Rapid and Moderate Approaches
By extending the review period to the five full academic years from 2019-20 to 2024-25 and calculating the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) based on general program tuition for each university, the divergence in pricing strategies becomes clear. In the 2019-20 academic year, non-local tuition at HKU was HK$171,000, CUHK was only HK$145,000, HKUST was HK$155,000, PolyU was HK$145,000, CityU was HK$140,000, HKBU was HK$140,000, LU was HK$130,000, and EdUHK was HK$126,000. By the 2024-25 academic year, HKU had risen to HK$182,000, CUHK remained unchanged at HK$145,000, HKUST was HK$170,000, PolyU was HK$160,000, CityU was HK$160,000, HKBU was HK$145,000, LU was HK$145,000, and EdUHK was HK$140,000. The estimated annualized growth rates and rankings are as follows:
- City University of Hong Kong: 3.4% (from HK$140,000 to HK$160,000)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University: 3.0% (from HK$145,000 to HK$160,000)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: 2.3% (from HK$155,000 to HK$170,000)
- Lingnan University: 2.2% (from HK$130,000 to HK$145,000)
- Education University of Hong Kong: 2.1% (from HK$126,000 to HK$140,000)
- Hong Kong Baptist University: 0.7% (from HK$140,000 to HK$145,000)
- University of Hong Kong: 1.6% (from HK$171,000 to HK$182,000)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong: 0% (tuition frozen for five years, with a one-time jump in 2025-26)
The data reveals a striking phenomenon: CUHK hardly increased the financial burden on non-local students over the past five years, only implementing a catch-up increase in the 2025-26 academic year, which incorporates the cumulative rise all at once. If the 2025-26 data is included in a six-year CAGR calculation, CUHK will become one of the fastest-rising universities. Although HKU’s absolute fees are high, its annualized growth rate is relatively moderate due to a larger base and a steady adjustment pace. CityU and PolyU, on the other hand, made continuous small adjustments between 2020 and 2023, with annualized increases exceeding 3%, representing a significant real-term price increase against the backdrop of low inflation in recent years.
Ratio of Non-Local to Local Tuition: From 3.0 Times to 5.4 Times
Local student tuition has long been strictly regulated by the government. Between 2012 and 2024, UGC-funded bachelor’s degree tuition was frozen at HK$42,100 per year for 12 years. It was only from the 2025/26 academic year that the government initiated a three-year gradual increase: HK$44,500 in 2025/26, HK$47,000 in 2026/27, and HK$49,500 in 2027/28. For the 2025-26 academic year, the total four-year undergraduate tuition for local students is HK$178,000. Comparing this with the non-local total tuition for each university yields the following multiples:
- HKU: 792,000 ÷ 178,000 = 4.45 times
- HKUST: 740,000 ÷ 178,000 = 4.16 times
- CUHK: 712,000 ÷ 178,000 = 4.00 times
- PolyU: 700,000 ÷ 178,000 = 3.93 times
- CityU: 680,000 ÷ 178,000 = 3.82 times