Our History

The Hong Kong College of Medicine is founded. Among its earliest students is Dr. Sun Yat Sen, often referred to as the founder of modern China.

The governor of Hong Kong, Sir Frederick Lugard, first proposes establishing a university in Hong Kong. His associate, the wealthy businessman Sir Hormusjee Mody, makes a significant donation to the cause.

Sir Frederick Lugard lays the foundation stone of what would become HKU.

The University of Hong Kong is incorporated in Hong Kong as a self-governing body of scholars.

HKU welcomes its first students, who may enroll in one of its three faculties: Arts, Engineering, and Medicine, the last of which evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine. 

The University is granted a shield and a motto by the College of Arms. Learn more about the history of HKU’s visual identity and how to display it here. 

The University holds its first congregation, with 23 graduating students. 

The first female students are admitted to HKU.

The Fung Ping Shan Library is established.

Queen Mary Hospital opens as the University’s teaching hospital – a role it continues to serve today. 

The Faculty of Science is established. Eileen Chang enrolls at HKU, but the war interrupts her studies. 

The University is damaged during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. Classes will not resume until after the war. 

The University begins offering architecture classes for the first time. 

In response to growing demand, HKU establishes a Department of Extra-Mural Studies to provide continuing education services to adult students. 

HKU celebrates its Golden Jubilee. The University now has a student body of 2,000, up 400% in just 20 years.

The Faculty of Social Sciences is established.

The Law Department is established. 

The Faculty of Dentistry is established. Based at Prince Philip Dental Hospital, it remains Hong Kong’s only faculty for training dental professionals.

The Faculties of Architecture and Education are established. The Law Department becomes the Faculty of Law. 

The Swire Marine Laboratory opens at Cape d’Aguilar. It will be expanded and relaunched as the Swire Institute of Marine Science in 1994.

The Department of Extra-Mural Studies becomes the School of Professional and Continuing Education. It remains Hong Kong’s largest tertiary institution for continuing education.

The Graduate School is founded.

The Faculty of Business and Economics is established, becoming HKU’s tenth Faculty.

As SARS sweeps across Asia, researchers from the University of Hong Kong play a leading role in its treatment and prevention, sequencing the virus’ genome and identifying the novel ways in which it spread.

The HKU-Shenzhen hospital is formally established, to open the following July. The University also establishes the HKU Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation. 

HKU launches its new four-year undergraduate curriculum and opens its new Centennial Campus as the University prepares for a 40% increase in its student body.

The HKU MTR station opens, connecting the University to Hong Kong’s metro system for the first time.

HKU becomes the world’s first university to launch a UN HeForShe campaign, spreading awareness about gender discrimination. 

The first COVID-19 cases are reported in Hong Kong, and HKU researchers and professionals again take the lead in responding to the virus. 

Construction on the new Pokfield Campus begins, part of a major expansion of campus facilities. The Tech Landmark will also begin construction the following year. 

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Fraser Stoddart joins HKU.

HKU, which has grown to over 40,000 students, is named the top university in Asia by QS.