English-Taught Degrees in Hong Kong: What's in English and Where Chinese Still Counts

English is the main medium of instruction — at most universities, not all

Hong Kong is one of the more straightforward destinations in the region for a student who wants to study in English. English is the main medium of instruction at most of the publicly funded universities, and the University of Hong Kong states plainly on its admissions pages that the medium of instruction at the University is English.

Where that holds, it is not an English-taught track running alongside a local-language mainstream, as it is in some neighbouring systems. It is the default delivery language of the degree, which is why applicants from India and elsewhere can complete an undergraduate or postgraduate programme without prior Chinese.

But the word "most" is doing real work in that first sentence, and it is the reason this guide exists. Language policy is set by each university rather than centrally, and at least one publicly funded university is bilingual by design rather than English-medium by default. The useful question is therefore never "does Hong Kong teach in English" — it largely does — but what your specific programme, at your specific university, actually does.

The bilingual university, and where Chinese counts inside the degree

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is the clearest illustration that the university you choose changes the question. It is bilingual by design, and rather than making a single blanket claim, its Registry records the language of instruction course by course in the teaching timetable — with separate markers for Cantonese, English and Putonghua, and combinations where more than one language is used. A course there can be English-taught, Cantonese-taught, or mixed, and the timetable is what tells you which.

Separately, and at any university, a small set of fields have Chinese language at their academic core, so delivery in Chinese is a subject requirement rather than an exception to a policy. Chinese medicine, Chinese language and literature, translation, some Chinese law offerings, and parts of education and certain humanities programmes are the usual examples. The logic is simple: when the primary texts, the professional practice, or the classroom a graduate will eventually teach in are in Chinese, the programme is built around that.

These programmes are not hiding anything — their own pages generally say so — but a student browsing a university by reputation rather than by programme page can miss it. Read the programme page rather than generalising from the university, and generalise from neither.

• CUHK is bilingual by design — its Registry records language of instruction course by course, including Cantonese-taught and mixed-language courses
• Chinese medicine — practice and primary texts are Chinese-centred
• Chinese language, literature and translation — the language is the subject
• Some Chinese law offerings — source material is in Chinese
• Parts of education — trainee teachers may need the language they will teach in
• Certain humanities programmes — check the individual programme page

Language requirements are separate from the medium of instruction

These two questions get confused constantly, and they are genuinely different. The medium of instruction is what language the teaching happens in. A language requirement is what the university asks you to demonstrate or complete in order to enrol or graduate.

The two do not always move together, and the detail matters more than the headline. HKU's admissions pages state that the medium of instruction at the University is English, and that it is not compulsory for Non-JUPAS applicants — the route international applicants generally apply through — to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Where the University does describe a second-language requirement, its pages state that Chinese is not compulsory, precisely because the medium of instruction is English.

The lesson is not that such requirements never exist; it is that they are set institution by institution and can differ by programme and by the route you apply through. Do not assume one applies to you, and do not assume one does not. Take the position from the admissions pages of the university you are applying to, and verify on the official website before you rely on it.

How to check the medium of instruction for your exact programme

Work from the university's own official course pages, which is where the delivery language is stated and where admissions staff themselves look. The official Study in Hong Kong portal, run by the Education Bureau, is a good entry point for finding institutions and programmes, and the University Grants Committee site is the reference for which universities are publicly funded.

Some universities publish this at a level of detail that rewards a careful reader, and CUHK is the useful example again. Its Registry not only codes each course's language in the timetable but also notes that the language of instruction may be changed from the one shown, subject to unanimous consent of the students enrolled in the course, decided by a secret ballot conducted after the add/drop period. That is the actual granularity of the question — and no general statement about the city, or even about the university, can capture it.

When a page is ambiguous, ask admissions a specific question in writing. General questions get general answers; a question that names lectures, readings, assessments, any final project and any compulsory language modules gets you something you can act on. Do this before you accept an offer, not after, and keep the reply. An assurance from a third party — an agent, a forum post, a listing site — is not a substitute for the university's own written answer.

• Start at the university's official programme or curriculum page
• Use the Study in Hong Kong portal (Education Bureau) to find institutions and programmes
• Check whether the university publishes language of instruction per course — CUHK's Registry codes it in the teaching timetable
• Ask admissions in writing about lectures, readings, assessments, projects and language requirements
• Confirm before accepting an offer, and keep the written reply

Cantonese and Mandarin in daily life

The language of your degree and the language of your daily life are separate questions, and it is worth planning for both. Cantonese is the everyday spoken language for much of the city, Mandarin is widely present, and English is broadly used in universities and in many professional and service settings.

In practice, most international students find they can study, live and get by without Chinese, particularly on campus. Some Cantonese or Mandarin tends to make everyday life, part-time work and local social life easier — in rough proportion to how long you plan to stay and how far your life extends beyond campus.

This is a personal calculation rather than an admission requirement, and it is worth making deliberately rather than by default. If you are weighing language study as part of a longer plan in the region, our dedicated Mandarin guide covers that side in more depth.

The English test you'll need

Because programmes are generally delivered in English, universities ask international applicants for evidence of English proficiency. IELTS and TOEFL are widely recognised, and some institutions accept other tests — but the accepted list and the required score are set by each university and each programme.

We do not publish score thresholds here. They differ between universities, between programmes at the same university, and between cycles, and a stale number is worse than no number. Take the requirement from the official entry-requirements page of the programme you are applying to.

Exemptions and waivers sometimes exist based on your prior medium of instruction or qualifications, but these are decided by the university, not by general rule. If you think you qualify for one, get it confirmed in writing before you skip a test booking, and verify everything on the official website.