Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme: Eligibility and Stipend for ASEAN Applicants

What the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme covers

The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) is a government-funded award run by the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the University Grants Committee. For the 2026-27 intake, each fellow receives an annual stipend of HK$344,400 and a conference and research travel allowance of HK$14,400 a year, for up to three years. Around 400 fellowships go out across all eight UGC-funded universities and every subject area, from engineering to the humanities.

The stipend sits well above the standard Research Postgraduate Studentship that ordinary UGC-funded PhD students receive, and it carries the added weight of a competitive, university-independent award on your CV. Amounts get reviewed annually, so treat the 2026-27 figures as this cycle's rate rather than a fixed number for future years. The HK$344,400 annual stipend works out to roughly HK$28,700 a month, enough to cover rent, food and daily costs in most of Hong Kong's postgraduate housing options without needing a second income.

Who can apply

HKPFS is open to anyone seeking admission as a new full-time PhD student at a Hong Kong UGC-funded university, regardless of nationality, so ASEAN applicants from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and the other member states apply on the same terms as any other international candidate. You do not need an admission offer before you apply. The fellowship application and the PhD admission process run in parallel.

Selection criteria focus on academic record, research potential, communication skills and leadership, judged by a panel that reviews your research proposal, references and prior academic performance. A strong undergraduate or masters transcript, a clear research question, and a supervisor at your target university who supports your application matter more than which ASEAN country you come from.

How the application process works

HKPFS runs on a two-step process. First, submit an Initial Application through the HKPFS Electronic System (HKPFSES) to get an HKPFS Reference Number, before the 1 December 2025 deadline (12:00 noon Hong Kong time) for the 2026-27 intake. You can list a maximum of two PhD programs at one or two universities under a single HKPFS reference number.

Second, use that reference number when you apply for PhD admission directly to each university's graduate school. Each university runs its own shortlisting and interview process, and the final fellowship decision follows university-level admission recommendations submitted to the RGC. Because timelines differ slightly by university, check your target department's PhD application deadline as soon as you get your reference number, since some close well before the RGC's own cutoff.

What happens if your PhD runs past 3 years

The fellowship funds up to three years of the standard PhD timeline. If your program needs longer, and many humanities and social science PhDs in Hong Kong do, your host university is expected to provide additional financial support for the remaining period. The exact arrangement, a continued stipend, a teaching assistantship, or a departmental award, is set at university level, so ask your supervisor and graduate school what happens after year three before you accept an offer.

Applying alongside other funding

HKPFS replaces the standard Research Postgraduate Studentship rather than stacking on top of it, so you do not receive both awards at once. If you are not shortlisted for HKPFS, you still get the regular studentship (HK$19,100-19,600 a month for 2025-26) as a normal UGC-funded PhD student, so applying for HKPFS carries no downside beyond the extra paperwork and an earlier reference-number deadline.

Strengthening an ASEAN application

Contact a potential supervisor months before the deadline. Hong Kong PhD admission runs on a supervisor-driven model, and departments prioritize HKPFS nominations for applicants who already have a professor willing to take them on. Build your research proposal around the department's existing research strengths rather than a generic topic, and ask your undergraduate or masters supervisor for reference letters early, since referees need time before the December deadline.

Publications, conference presentations or an existing masters research thesis strengthen your case, but a well-defined, feasible research proposal matters most to the review panel. If English is not your first language, check each university's minimum IELTS or TOEFL score for PhD admission separately from the HKPFS process, since fellowship eligibility does not waive the university's own English requirement.