The University of Hong Kong is one of the oldest public institutions in Hong Kong established in 1911. The university has a total enrollment of 30,000+ students including over 17,000 undergraduates and 13,000 graduates. International students make up around 35% of the total student body, justifying the high scores of the university in the international student ratio category. HKU has around 375 exchange partners across 45 countries that facilitates inbound and outbound exchanges for over 4,000 students. The institution has created a successful international outlook reputation, and is also the #1 THE World’s Most International Universities 2021.
The most sought-after subjects for admission at University of Hong Kong according to the latest rankings include Dentistry, Arts, Engineering, Social Sciences, Education, etc. The university is globally recognized as one of the top 25 institutions in the world in the QS World University Rankings in 2021 and 2022. In the Asian region, the university occupied the 4th spot in both QS as well as THE rankings of universities in Asia. The University of Hong Kong has claimed the 1st position in the U.S. News Best Global Universities in Hong Kong 2021.
The University of Hong Kong Ranking Highlights
The highlights of the global rankings of the University of Hong Kong are as follows:
- Ranked 22nd in the QS World University Rankings 2022.
- Secured the 39th position in THE World University Rankings 2021.
- On the 83rd rank in the Best Global Universities 2021 published by the U.S. News and World Report.
The University of Hong Kong World Rankings by QS
The University of Hong Kong bagged one of the top 25 places in the QS World University Rankings. Both in 2021 and 2022, the university has been ranked at the 22nd position. The university has seen an overall improvement in its position over the years. After being ranked at the 30th position in 2016 which was it's all time lowest rank, the university has positively risen by 8 places and ranked 22nd in 2021 and 2022 as well.
In the QS World University Rankings 2022, the university had an overall score of 86.3. The university scored 100 in international faculty ratio, 98.9 in international student ratio and 97.9 in academic reputation.
The breakdown of the individual scores of the University of Hong Kong on the metrics used by QS rankings are tabulated below:
| Ranking Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Overall | 86.3 |
| Academic Reputation | 97.9 |
| Citations per Faculty | 62.1 |
| Employer Reputation | 73.1 |
| Faculty Student Ratio | 85.4 |
| International Faculty Ratio | 100 |
| International Student Ratio | 98.9 |
Given below is a graphical representation of the ranks secured by the University of Hong Kong in the QS World University Rankings between 2012 and 2022:
The University of Hong Kong World Rankings by US News
In the U.S. News and World Report 2021, the University of Hong Kong has ranked 83rd among Best Global Universities. The university had a decent global score of 71.2 determined on the basis of 13 indicators of excellence.
Looking at the individual ranks on the indicators, it can be said that the university has a good research reputation both regionally and globally, ranked #6 and #57 respectively, making it an apt choice to pursue master’s in Malaysia. The bifurcation of the ranks of the university on the 13 indicators are given in the table below:
| Global Score | 71.2 |
| Global research reputation | #57 |
| Regional research reputation | #6 |
| Publications | #134 |
| Books | #75 |
| Conferences | #225 |
| Normalized citation impact | #238 |
| Total citations | #118 |
| Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited | #125 |
| Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited | #263 |
| International collaboration - relative to country | #254 |
| International collaboration | #743 |
| Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited | #126 |
| Percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited | #355 |
The University of Hong Kong ranked 39th in THE World University Rankings 2021 among 1,000 institutions. The university had an overall score of 75.2 based on 5 metrics. The 5 metrics used by THE are teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook.
The university performs very well in the international outlook category with a score of 99.
The table below represents the scores of the university of the indicators used by THE rankings:
| Indicator | Scores |
|---|---|
| Overall | 75.2 |
| Teaching | 67.5 |
| Research | 73.3 |
| Citations | 80.3 |
| Industry Income | 57.4 |
| International Outlook | 99.0 |
The graph given below depicts the ranking trend of the University of Hong Kong in the THE World University Rankings between 2011 and 2021:
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The University of Hong Kong Rankings in Asia
The University of Hong Kong is one of the top institutions in Asia. It has impeccable rankings in Asia and has ranked among the top 10 institutions on influential rankings. In the THE Asia University Rankings 2021 as well as the QS Asian University Rankings 2021, the university has bagged the 4th position. The institution ranks 7th in the U.S. News Best Global Universities in Asia 2021. The rankings of the University of Hong Kong in the Asian region are summarized in the table below:
| Category | 2021 Rank |
|---|---|
| THE Asia University Rankings 2021 | #4 |
| QS Asian University Rankings 2021 | #4 |
| U.S. News Best Global Universities in Asia 2021 | #7 |
The University of Hong Kong Rankings in Asia by THE
The University of Hong Kong has maintained its position on the 4th spot in the THE Asia University Rankings 2021 consistently since 2018. In 2021, the university had a decent overall score of 76.3. The rankings of universities in Asia are based on similar parameters as used for world university rankings. The scores of the university on the various indicators in Asia University Rankings are given below:
| Indicator | Score |
|---|---|
| Overall | 76.3 |
| Citations | 80.3 |
| Industry Income | 57.4 |
| International Outlook | 99.0 |
| Research | 77.8 |
| Teaching | 68.6 |
The QS Asia University Rankings uses a more elaborate system for ranking universities in Asia. The University of Hong Kong ranked 4th in Asia with a remarkable overall score of 98. The university scored a perfect 100 in 5 categories that include academic reputation, international faculty, international students, outbound and inbound exchange. The evaluation is based on 11 indicators that are discussed in the table below:
| Indicator | Score |
|---|---|
| Overall | 98 |
| Academic Reputation | 100 |
| Employer Reputation | 96 |
| Faculty Student Ratio | 94.6 |
| International Faculty | 100 |
| International Students | 100 |
| Faculty Staff with PhD | 95.7 |
| Papers per Faculty | 46.3 |
| Citations per Paper | 93.9 |
| Outbound Exchange | 100 |
| Inbound Exchange | 100 |
| International Research Network | 99.2 |
The University of Hong Kong Subject-wise Ranking by QS
Over 45 programs offered by the University of Hong Kong are featured in the QS WUR Ranking by Subject 2021. The subjects have achieved remarkable rankings and the highest ranked 9 areas of study are within the top 25 category. Subjects such as Dentistry and Education have featured in the top 10 at the 3rd and 7th ranks respectively. Other subjects ranked include Geography, Linguistics, Architecture, Law, Civil Engineering, Social Policy etc. The table below represents subjects ranked in the top 25 category:
| Subject | 2021 Rank |
|---|---|
| Dentistry | #3 |
| Education | #7 |
| Geography | #11 |
| Linguistics | #11 |
| Architecture and Built Environment | #14 |
| Civil and Structural Engineering | #19 |
| Law | #21 |
| Social Policy and Administration | #23 |
| Development Studies | #25 |
The University of Hong Kong Subject-wise Ranking by THE
THE subject rankings have ranked 6 subjects offered by the University of Hong Kong. Out of the 6 subjects, 5 have ranked in the top 50 category. The ranked subjects include Social Sciences, Health, Engineering and Technology, Arts and Humanities, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. The THE subject rankings 2021 are given in the table below:
| Subject | 2021 Rank |
|---|---|
| Social Sciences | #26 |
| Clinical, Pre-clinical and Health | #28 |
| Arts and Humanities | #42 |
| Engineering and Technology | #42 |
| Life Sciences | #48 |
| Physical Sciences | #54 |
The University of Hong Kong Subject-wise Ranking by US News
The U.S. News and World Report subject rankings 2021 has listed 36 subjects offered at the University of Hong Kong. Among the subjects ranked, Arts and Humanities, Civil Engineering, Engineering, Microbiology and Electrical and Electronic Engineering were placed in the top 50. The rankings of the top 10 subjects in the U.S. News subject rankings are as follows:
| Subject | 2021 Rank |
|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities | #21 |
| Civil Engineering | #29 |
| Microbiology | #30 |
| Engineering | #36 |
| Public, Environmental and Occupational Health | #42 |
| Electrical and Electronic Engineering | #46 |
| Social Sciences and Public Health | #51 |
| Geosciences | #52 |
| Gastroenterology and Hepatology | #74 |
| Infectious Diseases | #75 |
The University of Hong Kong Miscellaneous Ranking
Some other categories in which the University of Hong Kong has notable rankings are given below:
- Bagged the 1st position in the U.S. News Best Global Universities in Hong Kong 2021.
- Ranked #1 in THE World’s Most International Universities 2021.
- Secured the 9th place in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020.
- As an inaugural participant in the THE Impact Rankings 2020, the university ranked 41st.
- Ranked 51-60th in THE World Reputation Rankings 2020.
Over the years, the University of Hong Kong has gathered a number of accolades in its name besides global, national and subject rankings. It has maintained an outstanding employment rate for more than 10 years consecutively. The university scored 96 in the QS Asia University Rankings’ employer reputation survey in 2021. In THE Impact Rankings 2020, the university had highest scores in peace, justice and strong institutions, good health and well-being, industry innovation and infrastructure and partnerships for goals. An idea choice to study abroad, HKU has a very high research output and global reputation.
