Aside from meeting the financial requirements of studying in a foreign country, international students coming from non-English speaking countries have to meet the minimum International English Language Testing System or IELTS band requirement of the school. This applies to schools and universities around the world, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Schools in Hong Kong have their own requirements, which makes it essential for international students to check if their IELTS score meets these requirements. The following are the IELTS band requirements of some schools in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
IELTS band requirements for Hong Kong Universities
1. Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6.5
The Chinese University of Hong Kong was established in 1963 and is the second oldest university in Hong Kong. It was the result of the merger of three colleges, Chung Chi College, the New Asia College, and the United College. While many colleges in the university use English as their medium of instruction, Chinese is also used as the medium of instruction of some classes. The Chinese University of Hong Kong is the sole tertiary educational institution in Hong Kong to have members of its faculty who are recipients of the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal, Veblen Prize, and Turing Award.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong offers several programs for its students, including Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Fine Arts, English, Music, Philosophy, Chinese Studies, Engineering, Nursing, Economics, Sociology, and Global Studies, among others.
2. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6.5
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is the third educational institution in Hong Kong SAR to receive the university status. Established by the British Hong Kong government in 1991, it is among the world’s fastest-growing universities. It was founded to meet the increasing demand for university graduates to support the growing economy of Hong Kong in the late 1980s. While it was originally set to officially open in 1994, the death of the Governor of Hong Kong at that time, Sir Edward Youde, led to the effort in opening it early.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology features four academic schools offering different programs in business and management, engineering, humanities, and social service, and science. The courses offered by the university include Accounting, Bioengineering, Economics, Life Science, Marketing, General Education, Environmental Science, Finance, and Social Science. As you can see, the IELTS requirement at this university in Hong Kong is 6.5.
3. Lingnan University, Hong Kong
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6.5
The Lingnan University, which was formerly called the Lingnan College, is the only public liberal arts university in the Special Administrative Region. It is among the top liberal arts colleges in Asia and is the first Hong Kong university to provide four-year residence for its undergraduates. The university was originally called the Canton Christian College when it was established in 1889 in Guangzhou, China. In 1938, the university moved to Hong Kong after the Japanese military took over Guangzhou. It kept on moving from one location to another. While it has a permanent campus in the Haizhu District in Guangzhou, it opened a campus in Hong Kong in 1967.
Lingnan University, Hong Kong offers several courses for its students, including Global Liberal Arts, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Visual Studies, and Business Administration, among others.
4. Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 5.5
This university in Hong Kong requires that international students receive at least 5.5 IELTS Band. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a public research university that traces its roots to the Government Trade School. Established in 1937, it was Hong Kong’s first publicly-funded, post-secondary technical educational institution. It became the Hong Kong Technical College after World War 2. By 1972, the school was renamed Hong Kong Polytechnic and was granted its university status in 1994. The main campus of the university is located in the Yau Tsim Mong District and is home to most of its classrooms, academic facilities, and student hostels. The university has eight schools and facilities offering a variety of programs, including business, applied science, engineering, environment, humanities, and design, among others.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University offers a variety of courses for its students, including Business, Humanities, Design, General Education, Health and Social Sciences, and Hotel and Tourism Management.
5. University of Hong Kong
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6
The University of Hong Kong is a public research university that was established in 1911 but traces its roots to the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. The university is the third oldest tertiary educational institution in Hong Kong. It is also the first university created by the British in East Asia. The British established the university to compete with other countries that opened universities in China at that time. Aside from being among the most prestigious Asian universities, the University of Hong Kong is also regarded as among the world’s most international universities. It was also the first team to successfully isolate the causative agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The University of Hong Kong offers a wide array of courses for its students, including Education, Medicine, Humanities, Law, Economics, Biomedicine, and Business, among others.
6. Education University of Hong Kong
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6
The Education University of Hong Kong was originally called the Hong Kong Institute of Education when it was established in 1994. It is one of the universities receiving subsidies under the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong. Among the eight universities receiving subsidies, it is the only university focused on teacher education. Around 75 percent of the recipients of the Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence are graduates of the university.
The Education University of Hong Kong offers courses mainly focused on teacher education, including Special Education, Language Studies, Creative Arts and Culture, General Studies, and Chinese History, among others.
7. City University of Hong Kong
- Minimum IELTS Band score required: 6
The final candidate in our list of Hong Kong universities and the IELTS requirements is the City University of Hong Kong. The City University of Hong Kong is a public research university established in 1984. In 1994, it became a fully-accredited university and is among the degree-granting tertiary educational institutions funded by the government. The university features four schools and five colleges, including the College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of Engineering, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, and College of Science. It is also among the best young universities in Asia.
The City University of Hong Kong offers a variety of courses for its students, including Accountancy, Information Systems, Economics and Finance, Marketing, and Management Sciences, among others.
Several universities in Hong Kong may be young when compared to other universities in other parts of the world, but they provide quality education to anyone who decides to study here.
We hope that this article on IELTS requirements at Hong Kong universities was helpful. If you are interested in studying abroad, check out the Available Programs for International Students!
