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Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme

Research Grants Council of Hong Kong · Hong Kong

Level
PhD
Where
Hong Kong
Money
A stipend and a travel allowance, for up to three years
Fields
Law, Medicine, Engineering

In short

A PhD fellowship for the eight public universities in Hong Kong. You apply to the Research Grants Council before you apply to the university. Missing that first step means the university cannot treat you as a fellowship applicant.

Law, medicine and engineering are all taught at these universities, but each department decides whether it has a place and a supervisor. The fellowship does not create a topic for you. You need a department that wants the project.

Who can apply

  • You are applying to start a full-time PhD, not a master’s, and you are a new student on that programme.
  • The university is one of the eight: City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Education University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKUST, or the University of Hong Kong.
  • Nationality does not matter. Sierra Leone is eligible.

Papers they ask for

  • The initial RGC application, which issues your HKPFS reference number.
  • The full PhD application at the chosen university, quoting that number, with transcripts, a research plan, and the referees that department wants.

What it pays

  • A monthly stipend for up to three years. The leaflet describes it as competitive and does not print one figure on the page we checked
  • A conference and research travel allowance each year
  • Whatever extra the university adds on top. Some do. That extra is the university’s, not the RGC’s

How to apply

  1. Choose the university and the department, and write to a possible supervisor if that department expects it.
  2. Submit the initial application at the RGC site before noon Hong Kong time on 1 December 2026.
  3. Keep the reference number and put it on the university application before that university’s own deadline.

Read this before you file

  • Noon in Hong Kong is 04:00 in Freetown. A file sent on the evening of 1 December, Sierra Leone time, is late.
  • The fellowship runs for up to three years. A PhD that runs longer is not automatically funded for the extra year.
  • Do not pay an agent for an HKPFS “slot”. The initial form is on the RGC site.

Checked against the provider’s page on 11 October 2026. If this note and that page disagree, the provider is right. Lanbuk does not award this scholarship.