The Ten Faculties of the University of Hong Kong: An Overview

Module: 01 Academics · Sub-file: Faculty Overview Last updated: 2026-06-15 The University of Hong Kong (HKU / 港大), founded in 1911 and welcoming its first students in 1912, is the territory's oldest university. Its academic departments are organised into 10 faculties, alongside an interdisciplinary Graduate School. According to HKU Annual Report 2024, "University Profile"^※ (2023–24 academic year), the University has 10 faculties, offering around 145 undergraduate programmes, 215 taught postgraduate programmes and 89 research postgraduate programmes, with approximately 1,677 full-time academic staff.

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# 1. The ten faculties at a glance

The order in which HKU's ten faculties were established mirrors the expansion of higher education in Hong Kong. According to HKU's institutional history, "The Early Years"^※, when teaching began in 1912 the University comprised just three faculties — Arts, Engineering and Medicine — with the Faculty of Science added before the Second World War. The social sciences, law, dentistry, architecture, education and business & economics followed in the post-war decades. As of mid-2026, the ten faculties are as follows.

Note: Deans are typically appointed for five-year terms. The table reflects incumbents as of mid-2026, or the most recently announced appointments. The current Dean of Medicine also holds a University-level position; in line with faculty governance convention, this chapter refers to the role as "the current Dean of Medicine". For in-depth coverage of the Faculty of Medicine, see Module 11.

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# 2. The three founding faculties (established with the 1912 opening)

HKU was founded in 1911 under the University of Hong Kong Ordinance and began teaching in March 1912. According to HKU's institutional history^※, the University opened with three faculties built on existing foundations: Arts, Engineering and Medicine.

# 2.1 Faculty of Arts (1912)

• Founded: 1912, one of the three founding faculties. According to the Wikipedia article on HKU's Faculty of Arts^※, it was, alongside Engineering and Medicine, among the University's earliest faculties.
• Current Dean: Professor David Pomfret^※ (Professor of History).
• Constituent units: per the Faculty's official pages, four schools — the School of Chinese, School of English, School of Humanities, and School of Modern Languages and Cultures — together with the Centre for Applied English Studies, the Centre for the Humanities and Medicine, and the Centre of Buddhist Studies, among others.
• Subject areas: Chinese, English, history, philosophy, comparative literature, art history, linguistics, translation, Buddhist studies, Japanese studies, gender studies, and more. See deepdive-arts-socsci.md.

# 2.2 Faculty of Engineering (1912)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Engineering's own history^※, the Faculty's roots reach back to the University's 1911 founding and the establishment of the first Chair of Engineering in 1912. The first academic appointed to the University was the Faculty's first Dean, Professor C. A. Middleton Smith (1912; trained in mechanical engineering, he held the Swire Chair until his retirement in 1939).
• Current Dean: Professor David Srolovitz^※ (Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Chair Professor of Materials Theory; member of the US National Academy of Engineering).
• Constituent departments (after the Department of Computer Science moved to the new School of Computing and Data Science in 2024): Civil Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering; Mechanical Engineering.
• Size: according to the Faculty's history, it admits around 500 undergraduates a year and has over 1,000 postgraduate students. See deepdive-engineering.md.

# 2.3 Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (1912; roots in 1887)

• Origins: according to HKU's institutional history^※, the Faculty traces back to the Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887, which trained Sun Yat-sen (often regarded as the founder of modern China).
• Current Dean: the current Dean of Medicine (who also holds a University-level post in health affairs; this chapter refers to the role by its title).
• Teaching hospitals: Queen Mary Hospital, among others.
• Scope: one of Hong Kong's two medical faculties; named in honour of a major donation by Li Ka-shing. Clinical departments, hospital network and in-depth coverage appear in Module 11 and are not repeated here.

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# 3. Faculty of Science (1939)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Science^※, it was formally established in 1939, the University's fourth faculty and the last before the Second World War.
• Current Dean: Professor Qiang Zhou (周强)^※.
• Constituent units: according to the Faculty's department pages^※, these include the School of Biological Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Department of Mathematics, and Department of Physics, alongside linked newer units such as the School of Computing and Data Science, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Innovation Academy.
• Subject profile: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences and data science receive equal emphasis; the Faculty was reorganised with the founding of the School of Computing and Data Science in 2024. See deepdive-science-architecture.md.

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# 4. Faculty of Social Sciences (1967)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Social Sciences^※, it was established in 1967.
• Current Dean: Professor Ming Wen (温鸣)^※ (appointed 2023).
• Constituent units: per the Faculty's official pages — the Department of Geography, Department of Politics and Public Administration, Department of Psychology, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, and Department of Sociology, together with the School of Governance and Policy and the School of Future Media, plus a number of research centres (such as the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention).
• Subject profile: politics, social work and media are particular strengths; the former Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC) now sits within the School of Future Media. See deepdive-arts-socsci.md.

A historical note: the Faculty of Law began life in 1969 as the Department of Law within the Faculty of Social Sciences (see Section 5).

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# 5. Faculty of Law (department 1969 / faculty 1984)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Law's history^※, a Department of Law was established within the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1969, starting with 3 teachers and 40 students. It became the School of Law in 1978, and was raised to an independent Faculty of Law in 1984 — making it the oldest law faculty in Hong Kong.
• Current Dean: Professor Fu Hualing (傅华伶)^※ (Chan Professor of Human Rights and Responsibility; publicly announced reappointment to serve a second term from 2025-11).
• Constituent units: Department of Law; Department of Professional Legal Education.
• Programmes: LLB, JD, LLM, PCLL and others run in parallel. According to the Faculty's history, its LLB and PCLL were among the first local university qualifications recognised for direct professional practice. See deepdive-law.md.

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# 6. Faculty of Dentistry (1982)

• Founded: according to the Wikipedia article on HKU's Faculty of Dentistry^※, it was established in 1982 and is the only faculty in Hong Kong offering undergraduate and postgraduate dental degrees. It is housed in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital in Sai Ying Pun.
• Current Dean: Professor Lijian Jin (金力坚) (per public announcement, appointed Dean with effect from 2025-07-16, on a five-year term).
• Programmes: the six-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), among others.
• Rankings: according to HKU press release^※, the Faculty has at times ranked first globally in dentistry in the QS subject rankings. In-depth clinical and hospital content appears in Module 11.

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# 7. Faculty of Architecture (department 1950 / faculty 1984)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Architecture's history^※, a Department of Architecture was established in 1950 (with Professor R. Gordon Brown as its first Head), awarding its first five-year Bachelor of Architecture in 1955. It was absorbed into the "Faculty of Engineering and Architecture" in 1958, later becoming an independent School of Architecture, and was raised to an independent Faculty of Architecture in 1984, with Professor Eric Lye as its first Dean. The same year saw the creation of the Department of Building (later the Department of Real Estate and Construction).
• Current Dean: Professor Yung Ho Chang (张永和) (per public announcement, appointed Dean with effect from 2025-01-20, on a five-year term).
• Constituent units: Department of Architecture; Department of Real Estate and Construction; Department of Urban Planning and Design; Division of Landscape Architecture. See deepdive-science-architecture.md.

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# 8. Faculty of Education (department 1917 / faculty 1984)

• Founded: according to the Faculty of Education's history^※, a Department for the Training of Teachers was set up within the Faculty of Arts in 1917. It became an independent School of Education in 1976, and was raised to the Faculty of Education on 1 July 1984.
• Current Dean: Professor Yang Rui^※.
• Constituent units (after the 2024 reorganisation): academic units including Language and Literacy Education; Human Communication, Learning and Development; Mathematics, Science and Technology; and Social Contexts and Policies of Education.
• Subject profile: teacher training, educational psychology, speech and hearing sciences, information management, and more. See deepdive-science-architecture.md.

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# 9. Faculty of Business and Economics (2001)

• Founded: according to HKU Business School's milestones^※, the Faculty was created on 1 January 2001 by the merger of the School of Business and the School of Economics and Finance, making it HKU's tenth and youngest faculty. Its founding Dean later held senior University positions for many years (following current leadership convention, this chapter refers to the role by title rather than name). Externally it brands itself as the HKU Business School.
• Current Dean: Professor Hongbin Cai (蔡洪滨)^※ (Chair Professor of Economics).
• Constituent units: according to the Business School's academic areas page^※, six academic areas: Accounting and Law; Economics; Finance; Innovation and Information Management; Management and Strategy; Marketing.
• Accreditation and rankings: per the milestones page, EQUIS accreditation was granted in 2004; the School also holds AACSB and AMBA. See deepdive-business-economics.md.

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# 10. Graduate School and cross-faculty structure

Beyond the ten faculties, HKU maintains a Graduate School that coordinates research postgraduate (MPhil / PhD) matters, and the HKU SPACE school of professional and continuing education (which sits outside the faculty structure). According to HKU Annual Report 2024^※, there were approximately 4,134 research postgraduate students in the 2023–24 academic year. For a full list of programmes, see programs.md.

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# 11. Gaps and pending updates

• Precise start and end dates of some Deans' terms: a few faculties list only the current incumbent without specifying term dates. This chapter records known dates from public announcements and omits the rest.
• Recent internal restructuring: HKU has reorganised faculties and their units frequently of late (e.g. the School of Computing and Data Science in 2024, and two new schools within Social Sciences). This chapter reflects official pages as of mid-2026; future changes will follow official announcements.

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