Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine (Part 2): The Five-School Structure, the MBBS Programme and the 2005–2006 Naming

A donation pledge made in May 2005 gave this faculty, already more than a century old, the name it carries today. This article focuses on the faculty's current five-school structure, its flagship undergraduate MBBS programme, postgraduate education and specialist training, and the contested naming episode of 2005–2006 itself. For the founding of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1887 and Sun Yat-sen's student days, see the previous article li-ka-shing-faculty-of-medicine-1.md; the College's institutional anatomy (licensing system, enrolment scale, its alumni beyond Sun Yat-sen) has its own dedicated article ./hong-kong-college-of-medicine-1887.md.

For the teaching hospitals (Queen Mary Hospital and others), see ./teaching-hospitals.md in the same directory; for the research and clinical strengths of individual clinical departments, see ./departments-and-strengths.md; for the Faculty of Dentistry, see ./faculty-of-dentistry.md; for the School of Public Health, the School of Chinese Medicine and the School of Nursing, see ./school-of-public-health-and-chinese-medicine.md. This module belongs to the 00–12 reference zone (factual, verified history); no credibility badges are attached. Neutral facts are recorded with named attributions. Data are current as of July 2026; every figure, date and name carries its source in place.

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# 1. Overview

The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine is the older of Hong Kong's two medical schools (the other being the Faculty of Medicine at CUHK, founded in 1981). Its predecessor, the 1887 Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, was the first Western-style medical school in Hong Kong and one of the oldest in the Asia-Pacific region — it predates the University of Hong Kong itself (1911) and was one of the foundations upon which the University was built (for its founding and Sun Yat-sen's student years, see the previous article).

# 1.1 Size at a glance (2025–2026)

The Faculty of Medicine is the largest within HKU. According to HKUMed's official "About HKUMed" page^※:

The Faculty officially describes itself as "the largest faculty at HKU"^※ — a scale that reflects both its establishment of five schools and one department, and a new cross-faculty school recently added to its teaching portfolio (see next section).

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# 2. The current structure: five schools, plus a new cross-faculty school

After more than a century of expansion, the Faculty today remains organised primarily around five schools plus a number of departments. According to the English Wikipedia article on the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine^※ and the official pages of the individual schools, the five are:

The Faculty also houses departments including the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy^※. For the research strengths of the clinical departments under the School of Clinical Medicine (e.g. medicine, surgery, microbiology), see ./departments-and-strengths.md; for details of the School of Public Health, the School of Chinese Medicine and the School of Nursing, see ./school-of-public-health-and-chinese-medicine.md.

The creation of the School of Clinical Medicine (2022) was the largest structural change in recent years: it brought 14 previously disparate clinical disciplines under one school, forming a "clinical–basic–population" triad with the basic-research School of Biomedical Sciences and the population-health School of Public Health.

# 2.1 The current dean

The Faculty's current Dean is Professor Chak Sing Lau (刘泽星) — the 41st dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, appointed on 28 November 2023^※. Lau is a rheumatology specialist who also holds roles related to health among HKU's vice-presidents. Following the practice of this reference zone (00–12), we record his deanship and appointment date as factual matters; references to wider university governance follow the rules of the wild-history zone and are not pursued here.

# 2.2 School of Biomedical Engineering (2025): a new school co-established by four faculties

The Faculty's official teaching pages have recently been updated: according to HKUMed's teaching-structure page on "Schools and Departments"^※, its teaching portfolio has expanded from "five schools" to "six schools and one department", with the new sixth being the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME).

This new school differs in nature from the five above — it is not established by the Faculty of Medicine alone but jointly by several faculties. According to the School's official website^※ and a report in The Standard^※:

According to The Standard, HKU's then vice-chancellor Xiang Zhang said at the inauguration ceremony that the move pools multidisciplinary strengths to support research, talent development and national strategy, helping build Hong Kong into an international education hub^※; Tsia described the School's positioning as "a global hub where engineering frontiers and clinical insights converge"^※.

This new arrangement raises a point worth clarifying: the Faculty of Medicine's own establishment remains five schools (clinical medicine, public health, biomedical sciences, nursing, Chinese medicine). SBME is not a sixth "sub-school" owned by the Faculty of Medicine; it is a new university-level entity spanning the four faculties of medicine, engineering, dentistry and science, counted within HKUMed's teaching-staff statistics simply because it appears in the Faculty's "six schools and one department" teaching portfolio. This article therefore keeps the Faculty's own five-school structure as its main narrative thread; SBME's detailed curriculum and research directions lie beyond its scope.

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# 3. The flagship undergraduate programme: the MBBS

The Faculty's flagship undergraduate degree is the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)^※.

The curriculum is built around a student-centred, system-based and problem-based learning approach^※, covering four broad domains: (1) human biology in health and disease across all stages of life; (2) professional skills (diagnosis, problem-solving, communication, clinical management); (3) population health, health services, economics and policy; (4) medical ethics, professional attitudes and behaviour^※.

Historically, the first MBBS degree was awarded as early as 1914, to George Harold Thomas^※ (see the chronology in the previous article); the UK General Medical Council (GMC) recognised HKU's medical degree in 1913^※ — an international recognition that long underpinned the ability of HKU medical graduates to practise across the Commonwealth.

# 3.1 How to get into the MBBS: the JUPAS and non-JUPAS routes

According to HKUMed's official undergraduate admissions page^※, local HKDSE candidates apply through JUPAS and must meet the basic thresholds: Level 4 in English, Level 3 in Chinese, Level 2 in mathematics, Level 2 in liberal studies / citizenship and social development, plus Level 3 in two elective subjects (one of which must be biology or chemistry)^※; the officially published expected minimum scores are 40.5 for MBBS (JS6456) and 48 for MBBS with the Distinguished MedScholar track (JS6626)^※. All applicants must also have the ability to communicate in Cantonese^※.

Shortlisted JUPAS applicants are invited to an interview, held as a personal interview (in Chinese or English) plus a group interview (in English)^※. The Faculty states explicitly that DSE results are not the only consideration — interview performance, the student learning profile (SLP) and co-curricular achievements also count toward selection^※.

Applicants with international qualifications may take the non-JUPAS route, with academic thresholds such as: 43 points in the IB, four A* grades at GCE A-Level, or an SAT/AP combination (SAT total 1480 plus six AP subjects at grade 5)^※, along with secondary-level knowledge of biology or chemistry and basic Cantonese communication skills.

# 3.2 The Distinguished MedScholar track

The Faculty offers a Distinguished MedScholar track for students who excel in both academics and interview^※. According to the official admissions pages, entry thresholds are markedly higher than for the regular MBBS — 48 points in the best six HKDSE subjects in a single sitting, or 45 points in the IB^※. Selected students are offered pairing with elite mentors within the Faculty and University, guaranteed hostel places for the entire duration of study, the option to pursue an MRes(Med) during the Enrichment Year, and funding to pursue a doctorate at a leading overseas institution after internship — laying the groundwork for a future clinical-academic career^※; the Faculty also keeps things flexible — students may opt out of the track and pursue other Enrichment Year options as they wish^※.

# 3.3 How the six years are organised

According to the course-structure description on HKUMed's official undergraduate admissions page^※, the six-year programme falls broadly into three phases:

The Enrichment Year is a long-standing feature: students spend a year studying locally or abroad, including research projects, overseas exchange, humanitarian work, community service and electives^※, of which the three paths above are the official, elaborated version.

The Faculty also runs two special tracks: the MBBS/PhD double-degree programme, lasting more than nine years, with collaborative arrangements with King's College London and the University of Toronto^※; and the Graduate Entry MBBS (MBBS(GET)) track for applicants who already hold a degree^※.

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# 4. After graduation: postgraduate education and specialist training

An MBBS is only the middle of the HKU medical-education chain. The Faculty's postgraduate system and Hong Kong's territory-wide specialist training regime together determine the career path of a medical graduate for the next decade or more.

# 4.1 Research postgraduates: MPhil and PhD

According to HKUMed's overview of research postgraduate programmes^※, all departments of the Faculty participate in training Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidates: MPhil is 24 months full-time or 36 months part-time, with a 12-month probationary period; the PhD has a three-year track (36 months full-time) and a four-year track (48 months full-time), with probationary periods of 12 and 24 months respectively^※. Research is conducted in laboratories and in clinical settings alike — basic-science departments focus on laboratory research and supervision, while clinical departments span both laboratory and clinical settings^※; the Faculty also states openly that applicants from the physical sciences, engineering, computer science and the social sciences are equally welcome^※, reflecting that postgraduate intake is by no means restricted to medical backgrounds.

# 4.2 From intern to specialist: the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine

An MBBS alone does not entitle a graduate to practise independently as a specialist. According to the official "About the Academy" page of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM)^※, the HKAM is an independent statutory body established in 1993 to oversee specialist training and accreditation in medicine and dentistry across Hong Kong^※, comprising 15 constituent colleges, each running structured specialist training programmes recognised by the Academy's committees^※. The typical path for an MBBS graduate is: complete a one-year pre-registration internship, then undergo four to six years of supervised specialist training, and pass the exit examination or assessment of the relevant HKAM college, before attaining Fellowship and formally becoming a specialist. This system does not belong to HKU; the clinical professors of the Faculty of Medicine commonly serve concurrently as trainers or examiners for the HKAM's constituent colleges — an extension, at the specialist-training level, of the way teaching, research and clinical service are woven together (for the research strengths of the clinical departments, see ./departments-and-strengths.md).

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# 5. The 2005–2006 naming: the factual record

The Faculty's full name today, "Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine", originates from a naming episode in 2005–2006. As a reference-zone entry (00–12), this article states only the factual record; the controversy it generated and the positions of the various parties belong to the university-governance narrative, and the full thread is routed to the wild-history zone (13/15) of this site. What follows is a straightforward factual account.

The donation and the resolution (2005): According to HKU's official press release of 18 May 2005^※, "two weeks after reports that HKU had received a pledge of HK$1 billion from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, the University announced today (18 May) that its Council had formally accepted the donation at its morning meeting", and unanimously resolved to propose to the donor that the Faculty of Medicine be named the "Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine"^※. The press release stated that the decision had the support of the Faculty of Medicine and the Senate^※.

Formal effect (2006): According to the English Wikipedia article on the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine^※, the Faculty formally adopted the new name on 1 January 2006. According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report^※, the Faculty introduced the new name in "quiet" fashion over the new year, including new letterheads, staff name cards and a new sign outside the Faculty building on Sassoon Road.

# 5.1 What kind of money: the largest in Asia, and a first for Hong Kong

The weight of this donation at the time can be gauged from two objective reference points. According to an SCMP report^※, the HK$1 billion was believed to be the largest single donation received by any Asian university at the time^※; the same report noted that this was the first time a local university had proposed naming an existing faculty (rather than a newly built building or college) after a donor^※ — previously, donor naming in Hong Kong had mostly attached to new buildings, and "naming an existing faculty" had no local precedent. The report also drew comparisons with similar arrangements at overseas universities: the average donation to name a building or faculty at institutions such as Northwestern University, Cornell University and the National University of Singapore was around US$100 million^※ — against that yardstick, the HK$1 billion (roughly US$128 million) given to HKU was broadly in line with the magnitude of comparable naming donations internationally.

The donation did not arrive in a single payment. According to a follow-up SCMP report from 2013^※, in the eight years after the pledge the Li Ka Shing Foundation paid the sum in instalments^※; when asked, HKU's then vice-chancellor Tsui Lap-chee declined, citing a confidentiality agreement with the donor, to reveal the amount paid to date, but confirmed that "Mr Li has not broken his promise to us and continues to donate"^※. The instalment arrangement and the confidentiality themselves indicate that "HK$1 billion" was a pledged total rather than a sum received at once.

The Foundation's subsequent similar gifts to overseas universities offer a reference for understanding its giving pattern: according to the Li Ka Shing Foundation's website^※, the Foundation donated US$40 million to the University of California, Berkeley in 2005, leading to the establishment of the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences^※; and according to the Foundation's page on the University of Cambridge^※, it has long supported cancer research at Cambridge, leading to the naming of the Li Ka Shing Centre (2007) and the Li Ka Shing Early Cancer Institute. In this series of global university gifts, the HKU naming donation stands out as the largest, and the only one to name an entire existing medical faculty (rather than a single centre or building).

On the controversy: According to the SCMP report^※ and multiple accounts, the naming decision drew opposition among the Faculty's alumni and some staff members; at one point legislators and a group of medical graduates launched a campaign against it, arguing that the naming touched the Faculty's historical identity. As a reference-zone entry, this site does not adjudicate the rights and wrongs of that controversy; its full timeline, the positions of the parties and its aftermath are covered in the relevant entries in the wild-history zone (university governance 13 / campus anecdotes 15). Here we record only, from reliable sources, the fact itself — that the naming did provoke controversy.

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# 6. Unverified / to be confirmed

• Complete list of departments under the five schools: the full roster of departments not counted within the five-school establishment, such as the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, should be taken from the Faculty's official organisational chart.
• Full timeline and named participants of the naming controversy: this article records only the fact that it "provoked controversy"; the full thread is routed to the wild-history zone (13/15).
• Complete list of deans: this article records only the current dean (the 41st); the full list should be taken from the HKU Calendar.
• Instalment details of the HK$1 billion donation: per the 2013 SCMP report, HKU declined, citing a confidentiality agreement, to disclose the amounts paid to date or the payment schedule; here we record only the structural facts of "instalment payments" and "confidentiality agreement".
• Full curriculum and research layout of the School of Biomedical Engineering: the School was established only in 2025; this article records its founding and institutional affiliation, with detailed curriculum beyond scope.

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# 7. Cross-references

• The 1887 origins of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese and Sun Yat-sen's student years: li-ka-shing-faculty-of-medicine-1.md (previous article)
• The institutional anatomy of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese (licensing system, enrolment scale, alumni profile): ./hong-kong-college-of-medicine-1887.md
• Teaching hospitals (Queen Mary Hospital and others), the HKU–Hospital Authority clinical relationship, HKU-Shenzhen Hospital: ./teaching-hospitals.md
• Research and clinical strengths of the clinical departments (liver transplantation, infectious diseases, oncology, etc.): ./departments-and-strengths.md
• The Faculty of Dentistry (the only one in Hong Kong) and the Prince Philip Dental Hospital: ./faculty-of-dentistry.md
• School of Public Health, School of Chinese Medicine, nursing, biomedical sciences: ./school-of-public-health-and-chinese-medicine.md
• Subject rankings (medicine/life sciences): ../03-rankings/

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