Hong Kong public universities’ non-local fees jump by up to 26% as quota expands

Hong Kong public universities will raise undergraduate tuition fees for non-local students by up to 26 per cent in the 2027-28 academic year, marking the sharpest increase in recent years as institutions adjust to an expanded quota.

Non-local students admitted to the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medicine and dentistry programmes will face the steepest jump, with annual tuition rising by 137 per cent to HK$590,000 (US$75,187) to recover the high costs of clinical training.

Seven of the eight public universities have published their 2027-28 non-local tuition fees, with the average increase standing at 17 per cent compared with the current academic year.

The cumulative hike for 2027-28 represents a 41 per cent rise since 2023-24, when the non-local quota stood at 20 per cent of local places.

The latest increases far exceed the 6 to 13 per cent annual rises seen over the past three years, following the government’s decision to lift the non-local quota to 40 per cent in 2024-25 and up to 50 per cent from this academic year.

Four of the seven universities that have announced fees increased their non-local undergraduate rates by 20 per cent or more.

In July, rankings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) warned that Hong Kong’s high living costs and the region’s steepest tuition fees in East Asia continued to deter international applicants.

By comparison, the National University of Singapore charges international students around HK$205,000 annually for business and HK$244,000 for computing in the current academic year.

The fee hike generated some discussion on the Chinese social media platform Rednote, with some describing the surge as “going too far”.

“The value for money in studying in Hong Kong has dropped a lot, but lots of parents still really want [their children] to go,” one user named Landwave said.

But universities said the adjustments reflected teaching costs, international benchmarking and cost-recovery principles.

They stressed that scholarships remained available, with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Education University of Hong Kong (EdU) planning to expand such schemes.

HKU, which raised fees by 12 per cent for other undergraduate courses apart from medicine and dentistry, said non-local students in STEM programmes would pay HK$280,000 next year – HK$31,000 more than current rate – while non-STEM courses would cost HK$250,000, up by HK$26,000.

“The adjustments to tuition fees are part of HKU’s ongoing efforts to review and align its fee structure with the costs of providing high-quality education, especially for medicine and dentistry, which are inherently costly due to the need for top professors, cutting-edge equipment and intensive clinical training,” a spokesman for HKU said.

“While the tuition fees are increasing, they remain significantly lower than those of comparable top universities overseas, particularly those in the UK and North America.”

The university added that it would offer scholarships to students who met admission criteria and demonstrated outstanding performance.

City University (CityU) and Baptist University both raised fees by 26 per cent, or HK$50,000, to HK$240,000 per year for non-local undergraduates in 2027-28.

A CityU spokeswoman said the university regularly reviewed its fee structure to ensure competitiveness and reflect programme quality.

Baptist University had been approached for comment.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) will increase non-local undergraduate fees by 21 per cent, from HK$215,000 to HK$260,000 – a HK$45,000 rise. It said the adjustment was not tied to its proposed medical school, which is funded separately.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is raising non-local undergraduate fees by 20 per cent, or HK$40,000, to HK$240,000 for 2027-28, saying it remained committed to high-quality education.

CUHK, which increased non-local fees by 23 per cent and 20 per cent in 2025-26 and 2026-27 respectively, will raise them by a further 7 per cent. Non-local undergraduates entering in 2027-28 will pay HK$230,000 annually, up from HK$214,000 in 2026-27.

EdU raised non-local undergraduate fees to HK$210,000 from HK$180,000 – a 17 per cent increase – though its 2027-28 rate remains the lowest among the universities that have announced fees.

The fee increases come as the government opened applications last month for proposals to establish the first university town in the Northern Metropolis at Hung Shui Kiu, saying “favourable consideration” would be given to institutions that do not require government loans to build facilities.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said last month that no institutions had expressed financial viability concerns about establishing a presence in the university town, noting they could generate revenue by admitting non-local students.

Government figures showed the non-local student intake reached 27.1 per cent of local places in 2025-26, representing around 20,093 students, with more than 70 per cent from mainland China.

Only Lingnan University had not announced its 2027-28 non-local fees as of Friday.