CityU Basic Facts, Key Figures, and Distinctiveness

Tucked along a not particularly long stretch of Tat Chee Avenue in Kowloon Tong is a university that outsiders frequently misname. It is not the University of Hong Kong, nor is it the neighbouring Polytechnic University. It is City University of Hong Kong—a university that started from scratch as a polytechnic and, forty years later, was named the world’s most international university by Times Higher Education. This fact card lays out its name, identity, campus and governance as a quick‑reference sheet, with a snapshot of figures drawn from official CityUHK at a Glance publications and recent public statistics; leadership and rankings are current as of 2026. Every item is cited where possible, and fuller treatments appear in the other articles in this module (enrolment and figures, superlatives and milestones, why CityU is the way it is, historical timeline, governance, symbols).

# 1. Name

In recent years the university has officially updated its English abbreviation from CityU to CityUHK (to differentiate itself from other “City University” institutions, particularly those in mainland China), but the cityu.edu.hk domain, legacy logos, and public usage still widely favour CityU. Throughout this site we use “城大”, “CityUHK”, and “CityU” interchangeably — all refer to the same university.

# 2. Identity and positioning

# 3. Campus

# 4. Governance and leadership (as of June 2026)

The presidency has been in a transitional state since April 2026; the university has stated it will launch a global search “in the short term” to select a successor. For a full list of presidents (from the founding director to the present) and a detailed governance structure, see governance-structure-and-presidents.md.

# 5. College and school structure at a glance

CityU’s official website states that it comprises 11 colleges and schools^※:

Six Colleges:

1. College of Business
2. College of Engineering
3. College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
4. College of Science
5. College of Computing
6. College of Biomedicine

A specialised College operating as a self‑contained unit: 7. Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences (JCC)

Four Schools: 8. School of Creative Media (SCM) 9. School of Energy and Environment (SEE) 10. School of Law 11. Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies

The structure has been adjusted several times in recent years: the College of Computing was established in 2024^※ by merging the former School of Data Science with the Department of Computer Science; the College of Biomedicine is also a recent addition. The three‑tier breakdown (colleges, departments, programmes) can be found in 01-academics/.

# 6. Alliances and funding status

• University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institution
• Participating institution under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS)
• Long‑term partner of Cornell University (USA) in veterinary education (see the veterinary school monograph for details)

# 7. Distinctions

• Hong Kong’s only veterinary school: the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences offers the city’s first and only Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme (first cohort admitted in 2017^※).
• World’s most international university: Times Higher Education (THE) ranked CityU as the “Most International University in the World” first place^※, and it has held that title for three consecutive years – 2024, 2025 and 2026^※.
• International faculty: around 70%^※ of academic staff come from outside Hong Kong, drawn from more than 40 countries/regions; the student body represents over 90^※ nationalities.
• Patent output: Ranked first in Hong Kong and eighth in Asia^※ on the list of “Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents” (2025).
• Creative media pioneer: the School of Creative Media was founded in 1998^※ and was one of the earliest schools of its kind in the region.

# 8. World rankings snapshot (latest available)

Each ranking uses different methodologies and fluctuates year to year; for detailed historical trends and subject‑level highlights, see the 03-rankings/ module.