How does the UGC allocate the research postgraduate places for the 2025-28 triennium?

The total number of UGC-funded RPg student places will remain at 7 200 for the 2025-28 triennium to be allocated according to a new allocation mechanism to achieve greater competition and to encourage universities to align their research directions with the Government's strategic priorities for Hong Kong's development. The new allocation mechanism has three elements, namely (i) Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS), (ii) Strategic Allocation, and (iii) Research Performance. After reserving a sufficient number of RPg student places for HKPFS, 3 000 places will be distributed under the Strategic Allocation element and the remaining places will be taken up by Research Performance element. The new allocation mechanism above is considerably more dynamic and competitive compared to the previous allocation mechanism. To ensure a smooth transition, the overall growth of each university's UGC-funded RPg student places in the 2025-28 triennium shall not exceed 3% compared to that of the 2022-25 triennium. Note: The number of HKPFS award places is being progressively increased in two phases from 300 to 350 for the Fifteenth Round (2024/25 intake) exercise, and from 350 to 400 for the Sixteenth Round (2025/26 intake) exercise.