More than half of HK uni programs rise in rankings

Jamie Liu

More than half of programs offered at Hong Kong's universities rose in their rankings, with six making into the world's top 10, according to Britain-based education rating firm Quacquarelli Symonds.

In the newly published 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subject, 231 programs from nine Hong Kong universities were rated, of which 68 percent, or 181, climbed in their rankings, making the city the most improved location.

Dentistry at University of Hong Kong ranked second in the world. HKU also boasted three more subjects in the top 10 globally - education at third place, linguistics at ninth and geography at 10th.

Chinese University of Hong Kong has two subjects in the world's top 10 - nursing at fifth and linguistics at 10th.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University saw seven subjects in the global top 30, and City University four subjects in the global top 50.

Out of the 50 HKU subjects ranked, 39 were among the global top 50.

HKU president Zhang Xiang attributed the achievement to a collective endeavor of faculty and students.

"The commendable global standing of our subjects is a reflection of HKU's commitment to academic rigor and the pursuit of innovation and knowledge," Zhang said.

PolyU president Teng Jin-guang and CityU president Freddy Boey Yin-chiang welcomed the results and pledged to contribute to higher education in Hong Kong and globally.

The 2025 edition of the QS subject ranking is the biggest yet of the rating firm, comparing over 21,000 academic offerings at more than 1,700 universities across 100 countries and territories in 55 subjects and five faculty areas.