PhD Programme in Data Science

Admission Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the PhD programme should satisfy the following minimum entrance requirements.

English Proficiency Requirements

Applicants from an institution where the language of teaching is not English should satisfy the minimum English proficiency requirements as follows:

College English Test (CET) is NOT accepted as an equivalent English proficiency test for Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). For applicants with strong academic and research potential who have only taken CET-6 with a minimum score of 490, special consideration may be made on a case-by-case basis during normal round admission. 

Applications for the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) programme are not considered.

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (2026/27)

The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, established by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the HKSAR government, aims to recruit the brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong. 300 PhD Fellowships will be awarded in the 2026/27 academic year. While academic excellence is the primary consideration, applicants should demonstrate research ability/potential, communication and interpersonal skills, and leadership abilities. The result of the HKPFS 2026/27 will be announced in May 2026 by RGC.

The Fellowship awardee will receive:

For Fellowship awardees who are admitted to a 4-year PhD programme, CityUHK will provide a monthly studentship at the same level as the RGC Fellowship for their fourth year of study.

How to Apply

Remarks:

1. Submit initial application as early as possible to ensure that you have sufficient time to submit application to CityUHK.
2. Applications which are not selected for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme may be considered as normal applications.

Application Timeline

 

 

Supporting Documents

Academic Referee's Report	Compulsory - Two Academic Referee's Reports are required
Official academic transcripts and award certificates	Compulsory Bachelor's Degree/ and Master's Degree Graduation / Degree Certificate in Chinese/ original language and English Transcript in Chinese/ original language and English Verification Report (if applicable) Remarks: For qualifications obtained from universities in Mainland China (both Chinese and English version): Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate (教育部學歷證書電子註冊備案表) issued by the CHSI 學信網 Verification Report of Higher Education Degree Qualification Certificate (OVRD) (中國高等教育學位在線驗證報告) issued by the CHSI 學信網 Verification Report of China Higher Education Student's Academic Transcript (OVRT) (中國高等學校學生成績驗證報告) issued by the CHSI 學信網 Online Verification Report of Student Record (教育部學籍在線驗證報告) issued by the CHSI 學信網 (for final year student) Applicants from the Mainland with academic qualifications obtained from outside the Mainland are required to provide Overseas Credentials Evaluation Report (國/境外學歷學位認證書) issued by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) (教育部留學服務中心).
Publication record	If applicable - the front page of the papers (for papers that have been published) or the letter of acceptance (for papers that have been accepted for publication)
Curriculum Vitae	Compulsory
Personal Statement	Compulsory
Research Proposal	Compulsory
Proof of English proficiency	Compulsory e.g. TOEFL/IELTS (Academic Module) score report Note: College English Test (CET) is NOT accepted as equivalent English proficiency test for Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS).
Institution Grading System	Official explanations of the GPA grading system, showing the maximum GPA obtainable if the transcript did not show grading scales or a 100-mark system is not adopted. It is normally found at the back of the transcript or in a handbook for students.

Remarks: Hard copies of the documents are required for further verification only if you are given an offer. Documents which are not in English should be accompanied by a formally translated version in English.

Selection Criteria

While the academic excellence is of prime consideration, the Review Panels will take into account, but not limited to, the following yardsticks for the selection of candidates:

1. Academic excellence;
2. Research ability and potential;
3. Cultural diversity;
4. Communication and interpersonal skills;
5. Leadership abilities and societal responsibility;
6. Institutional support.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to admission interview (either face-to-face or via online means e.g. Zoom, Skype, etc.).

Programme Structure

1. Coursework Plan
To be eligible to be awarded an MPhil/PhD degree, students are required to complete the following coursework requirements and to submit a thesis.

PhD: 20 credit units (including at least 9 credit units of core courses and at least 2 credit units of research methodology and ethics course at postgraduate level)

And

1 credit unit compulsory course: Teaching Students: First Steps (SG8001). Individual students with insufficient English proficiency may be required to take a 1 credit unit course English as Medium for Instruction (SG8002) before they are allowed to enrol in SG8001. The credit unit earned from SG8001 will not be counted towards the minimum coursework requirement.

And

Training on Research Integrity (CITI Programme).

Please refer to the programme requirements for PhD in Data Science at https://www.cityu.edu.hk/catalogue/pg/202526/programme/DS2_P.htm.

2. Credit Transfer and Exemption
Students who possess postgraduate qualifications of relevance to their research studies may apply for credit transfer or coursework exemption. At least half the coursework (4 credit units for MPhil and 7 for PhD) should be taken at CityUHK or other local institutions recognised under the Cross-institutional Course Enrolment Scheme.

Credit transfer/coursework exemption should be limited to a maximum of 3 credit units for MPhil and 7 for PhD. Recommendations on credit transfer/coursework exemption require the approval of the Department Head.

3. Cross-departmental Course Registration
Students who wish to take courses offered by Departments/Schools outside their home Departments/Schools should obtain approval from the course offering Department/School before submitting the Form SGS16A/SGS16B to their home Departments/Schools for endorsement and approval.

A list of approved courses and the syllabi are available for reference on the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies (SGS) website.

Scholarship and Funding

Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies Entrance Scholarships (Applicable to government-funded students only)

CityUHK offers Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies Entrance Scholarships to encourage outstanding international students to undertake MPhil or PhD studies at the University with a view to promoting academic exchange and enhancing the international mix of the University’s student population.

The Scholarship covers students’ tuition fees and on-campus hostel accommodation expenses in their first year of their research studies (equivalent to approximately HK$95,496 (~US$12,243)). If granted a Scholarship, the above-mentioned expenses will be off-set by the award.

Tuition Waiver for Local Research Postgraduate (RPg) Students

The University Grants Committee (UGC) has introduced a ‘Tuition Waiver Scheme’ (‘The Scheme’) for all local students enrolled in full-time UGC-funded Research Postgraduate (RPg) programmes in local institutions, to cover their tuition fees with effect from the academic year 2018-19 (i.e. from July 1, 2018).

This Scheme provides non-means-tested funding to all current and new local students from all disciplines of study enrolled in full-time UGC-funded RPg programmes. Eligible students do not need to apply for the Scheme.

For more information of Tuition Waiver Scheme for Local Research Postgraduate Students, please refer to http://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/tws.html

For the full list of scholarships and financial aid, please visit https://www.cityu.edu.hk/pg/research-degree-programmes/scholarships-financial-aid-and-fees.

Annual Tuition/Continuation Fees

(normally adjusted in September every year)

Type of Fee	Mode of Study		Remarks
	Full-time	Part-time
Government-funded Students
Tuition fee	HK$44,496	N/A	Non-refundable
Continuation fee	HK$11,124	HK$5,562	Non-refundable
External Funds/Self-financing Students/Self-financed (institutional-funded)
Tuition fee	HK$88,992 HK$120,600 (non-local self-financing students)	HK$44,496 HK$60,300 (non-local self-financing students)	Non-refundable
Continuation fee	HK$22,248 HK$30,150 (non-local self-financing students)	HK$11,124 HK$15,075 (non-local self-financing students)	Non-refundable

Contact Us

Potential Supervisors:
Potential applicants are encouraged to contact a potential supervisor prior to submitting an application to our University, though it is not compulsory.