A paid PhD in Hong Kong, from Nigeria

This guide is for a Nigerian graduate with strong grades who wants a PhD abroad and has never applied for one, and who has always heard that a PhD abroad needs money she does not have. Hong Kong's Research Grants Council, the body that gives out the Hong Kong government's research money (the RGC), runs the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). For the year that starts in September 2027 it will give 400 fellowships. A fellowship here means they pay you to study: a stipend (the money the fellowship pays you to live on while you study) of HK$344,400 a year, about ₦59.2 million, which is HK$28,700 a month, for three years, plus HK$14,400 a year, about ₦2,477,000, for conferences and research travel. The council takes anyone "seeking admission as new full time PhD students" "irrespective of their country of origin". Each of the eight universities then sets its own rule on the degree you need, and that stricter rule decides where you can apply: most ask a master's or a first-class bachelor's (Part 1, "Which degree each university takes"). You apply twice: a free form to the council, then the university's own PhD application. This guide takes you from the degree you hold today to your first stipend in Hong Kong, one stage at a time: what you do, where, what you need, what it costs, how long it takes, and what comes next.

Every fee, date and rule here comes from the official page that sets it, and the guide speaks to you as at 3 November 2026. Hong Kong dollars are shown in naira at ₦172 to the Hong Kong dollar (2 November 2026), rounded. Updated on 3 November 2026. Nobody can promise you the fellowship, a PhD place or a visa, including us. The universities choose who to put forward, and the council decides.

Next: the council's form, the eight universities and both closing times in Nigerian time.

Where the window stands today

On 3 November 2026 the round is open. The council's form opened on 1 September 2026 at 12:00 noon Hong Kong time. It closes on Tuesday 1 December 2026 at 12:00 noon Hong Kong time, which is 5:00 am that Tuesday in Nigeria. Every one of the eight universities closes its own application the same day at 11:59 pm Hong Kong time, which is 4:59 pm that Tuesday in Nigeria. Hong Kong is seven hours ahead of Nigeria all year: the universities print their hour as "GMT + 8 hours", and Nigeria is one hour ahead of GMT.

Your real last day is Monday 30 November 2026. The council's form closes while you are asleep, and the council writes: "Late submissions will not be considered." Count your days to 30 November, not to 1 December. On 3 November 2026 that is 27 days.

Do the two forms in this order, and early. The council's own words on its How to Apply page: "As the deadlines for applications to some of the universities may immediately follow that of the Initial Application, candidates should submit initial applications as early as possible to ensure that they have sufficient time to submit applications to universities." The university's form asks for the reference number the council's form gives you, so the council's form comes first. Two universities add their own clock to the account you open: The University of Hong Kong (HKU) deletes an account not sent within 4 weeks, and Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) within 30 days (Stage 6).

What happens after the close. The universities read the applications and interview the people they shortlist. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) puts its interviews at "Sep - Dec 2026". Each university then puts forward its chosen candidates to the council (a nomination). The council's panels judge them, and the results come out in May 2027 (the council's guidance note; the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, PolyU, says "Apr-May 2027"; CUHK tells its own applicants to await notification in March to April 2027). Fellows register with their university between July and September 2027, and the year starts in September 2027.

What has not changed since last year. The stipend of HK$344,400 a year and the HK$14,400 travel allowance are the same figures the council's own page gives for 2026/27. If any page shows another number of fellowships, the council's call for 2027/28 is the one that counts: 400.

The council's form, the eight universities and both closing times in Nigerian time

1. The council's form (the first of your two forms)

Before you open it, choose your two PhD programmes (a programme is the PhD in your subject at a named university, as the university names it): Stage 1 shows how.

• Where. The council's How to Apply page: https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/apply.html. Press "HKPFS Electronic System - Initial Application". The form itself is https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/InitApplication.jsp. Read the council's guidance note first: https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/GuidanceNote.pdf.
• What it costs. Nothing. "The RGC does not charge any application fee for HKPFS."
• What it asks. Four parts: your personal details; your choice of university and programme; your authorisation and declaration; where you heard about it. It is filled in English (only a Chinese name, if you have one, is in Chinese). It asks no referees: the council says "It is not necessary for applicants to provide information on academic referees in HKPFS electronic system at the initial application stage."
• What you choose. Up to two PhD programmes, at one or two of the eight universities, with one marked as your priority. You can change your choices until the close; "only two choices saved in the HKPFSES as at the deadline will be processed."
• The 30 minutes. The form "will time out automatically after idling for 30 minutes. All unsubmitted entries will be lost upon system time-out." Have your passport, your degree details and your two programme names open beside you before you start.
• What you get. When you submit, the system gives you your HKPFS Reference Number, in the form PF26-xxxxx, and sends it with your log-in password to your email. Save that email and print it. You quote the number in your application to each university and in every email to the council.
• Once only. "In the event that an applicant is found to have submitted more than one initial application, all applications submitted by the same applicant for the HKPFS will be disqualified even if the applicant is nominated by an university". If you sent two by mistake, write to HKPF@ugc.edu.hk before the close.
• It is not an application on its own. "An initial application that is not followed up with a full application to university will be considered void and it will not be processed further by the RGC."

2. The eight universities (where you apply next, with your number)

Each university has its own PhD application, its own entry rules and its own fee. The council's list of the eight, with each one's fellowship page and contact, is at https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/institutions.html. On top of the stipend, most of them pay a fellow a cash award of their own and waive their tuition. On each university's own page on 3 November 2026:

Where you apply at each one:

• HKU: the fellowship page https://gradsch.hku.hk/hkpfs ; apply on the "Online Application System for PhD and MPhil Admission", https://rola.hku.hk/ , "indicating that you are applying for HKPFS" and quoting your number.
• CUHK: the fellowship page https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk/hkpfs ; apply on its online application system, https://www.gradsch.cuhk.edu.hk/OnlineApp/login_email.aspx , one application for each CUHK programme.
• HKUST: the fellowship page https://fytgs.hkust.edu.hk/hkpfs ; apply on its "Online Admission System", http://www.ab.ust.hk/applyPG , quoting your number.
• PolyU: the fellowship page https://www.polyu.edu.hk/gs/hkpfs/ ; apply on the "PolyU RPgAdmission System", https://rpgadmission.polyu.edu.hk/ , choosing "2027/28 Semester 1 (Sept 2027 Entry)".
• HKBU: the fellowship page https://gs.hkbu.edu.hk/admission/hong-kong-phd-fellowship-scheme ; apply on its "online application system", https://iss.hkbu.edu.hk/amsappl_pg/welcome.jsf , quoting your number.
• Lingnan: the fellowship page https://www.ln.edu.hk/rpg/hong-kong-phd-fellowship-scheme-hkpfs ; apply on "Lingnan's electronic system", https://apply.ln.edu.hk/ , choosing "HK PhD Fellowship Scheme (2027-28)" as the application type.
• CityUHK: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/sgs/hkphd ; email sgfellow@cityu.edu.hk.
• EdUHK: https://gs.eduhk.hk/scholarships/hong-kong-phd-fellowship-scheme ; email rpg@eduhk.hk.

Three of them, HKU, CUHK and PolyU, tell you on their own pages to put them as your first choice on the council's form if you want to study there, because the council follows your priority when two universities put you forward.

3. Both closing times in Nigerian time

From today: what you can still finish

The work that takes longest is the work other people do: your Nigerian university's transcript and its letter that your degree was taught in English, and the lecturers who agree to write for you (two at most universities, three at CUHK). Your research plan is the piece in your own hands, and it takes about a week of evenings to write well. The council's form takes one sitting once you have chosen your programmes.

First find your column: what degree do you hold? The council takes any new full-time PhD student; each university's own degree rule is stricter, and it decides where you can apply at all (Part 1, "Which degree each university takes").

If you hold a second class lower or a third class bachelor's, or an HND. HKBU and Lingnan do not take a second class lower or a third class bachelor's alone for a PhD, and HKU and PolyU not normally. Whether HKUST's "a proven record of outstanding performance" reaches one: we cannot tell yet. CUHK's MPhil-PhD programmes take a bachelor's "normally with honours not lower than Second Class"; whether that takes a second class lower: we cannot tell yet. CUHK also takes, on the same programmes, an applicant who "completed a course of study in a tertiary educational institution and obtained professional or similar qualifications equivalent to an honours degree". Whether an HND, or an HND with a postgraduate diploma, meets a university's PhD rule: we cannot tell yet. HKU's own admission page: "Applicants with qualifications other than an honours degree may be considered on their individual merits." Your move: a master's from a recognised university reaches all six (Part 8, Stage C1). Before you pay any application fee, write to the graduate school of the university you want (the emails and enquiry forms are in the council's list) with your degree, your class and your transcript, and ask whether it meets their PhD rule.

The three-day answer. With three days left you cannot start anything that waits on someone else. You can finish only if your transcript, your degree certificate and your passport are scanned tonight, your referees have already agreed, and your research plan is at least drafted. Then send the council's form tonight, and the university's application within two days.

Part 1. Before you start

What this is

A PhD in Hong Kong is a research degree: you join one university, work on one research project under a supervisor, take a few courses, and write a thesis. The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship is the money for it. The council's call: "The Fellowship provides an annual stipend of HK$344,400 (approximately US$44,150) and a conference and research related travel allowance of HK$14,400 (approximately US$1,840) per year for the awardees for a period of three years." In naira that is about ₦59.2 million a year, or about ₦4.9 million a month (HKU, HKBU and Lingnan each print a monthly figure of HK$28,700), and about ₦177.7 million over three years, plus about ₦2,477,000 a year for travel to conferences. Where a PhD takes four years, five of the universities pay the fourth year at the same level on their own pages (HKU, HKUST, PolyU, HKBU, Lingnan).

On top of the stipend, HKU, HKUST and PolyU pay a cash award of HK$40,000 (about ₦6.9 million) in year one and HK$20,000 (about ₦3.4 million) a year after; HKBU HK$40,000 a year for the first three years; Lingnan HK$40,000 a year for up to four years; CUHK a lodging award, HK$40,000 in year one and HK$20,000 a year after.

What the fellowship does not pay. The council's money is the stipend and the travel allowance. Tuition is the university's: HK$49,500 a year at HKU, CUHK and Lingnan for 2027/28, which is about ₦8.5 million. HKU, CUHK, HKUST, PolyU, HKBU and Lingnan each waive it for fellows on their own pages. The council's own tuition waiver is for local students only, not for you. Whether CityUHK and EdUHK waive it: we cannot tell yet.

What you pay. The council's form is free. Each university's application has its own fee (the table above, HK$180 to HK$780). After an offer some universities ask a deposit or small fees: HKU's caution money, HK$350 (about ₦60,000), and its student activity fee, HK$100 a year (about ₦17,000); PolyU a registration fee, "refunded after commencement of study" for a student who pays no tuition. The student visa costs HK$330 at the Immigration Department, and the university adds its own fee to file it for you (Stage 11). Your flight and your first month's living money are yours (Stages 12 and 13).

If you are not picked. The council: "Candidates not selected for the HKPFS award may be accepted by universities concerned for regular PhD admission and offered postgraduate studentship by universities." A studentship is the university's own monthly payment, smaller than the fellowship: CUHK's is HK$229,200 a year for 2026-27 (about ₦39.4 million), HKUST's HK$229,620 a year (about ₦39.5 million), HKU's HK$19,135 a month (about ₦3.3 million), Lingnan's HK$19,280 a month for a PhD student in 2026/27 (about ₦3.3 million). CUHK goes further: "all PhD candidates nominated by CUHK for the RGC but not selected for HKPFS will receive a regular PhD place with the prestigious CUHK Vice-Chancellor's PhD Scholarship." PolyU: candidates it puts forward "will automatically be offered a PhD place" with its own Presidential PhD Fellowship package (a stipend of HK$340,800 a year, about ₦58.6 million, tuition waived). HKBU considers every fellowship applicant for its studentships at the same time ("concurrently"). Lingnan considers those it does not put forward, and those the council does not pick, for a PhD place with a studentship. So one application can end in the fellowship, a studentship, or neither.

Already in a PhD, or hold one? The council takes you only as a new full-time PhD student, and its panel decides "whether the previous PhD study experience should be discounted".

A Nigerian has done it. CUHK's own fellowship page quotes "Chiamaka Linda MGBECHIDINMA from Nigeria PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology (HKPFS Awardee)": "My PhD experience has been metamorphic."

The bodies you will deal with

• The council (the Research Grants Council, RGC): it runs the fellowship, takes your free first form, judges the people the universities put forward, and announces the results. Its email for questions is HKPF@ugc.edu.hk; write from the email you used on the form and quote your reference number.
• The university (one or two of the eight): it takes your PhD application and fee, reads your papers, interviews you, decides whether to admit you and whether to put you forward to the council (a nomination), and, once you have an offer, files your student visa as your sponsor.
• The Immigration Department of the Hong Kong government (ImmD): it decides the student visa (its own name is the visa or entry permit for study) and issues your Hong Kong identity card after you arrive.
• Your Nigerian university: its registry gives your transcript and your letter that your degree was taught in English.

Which degree each university takes

The council takes anyone "seeking admission as new full time PhD students", but each university sets its own entry rule, and the stricter rule is the one you live under. From each university's own page:

An MPhil-PhD programme is CUHK's own: CUHK offers these in some fields so that "bachelor's degree holders with at least Second Class honours may apply for the PhD stream". You start as an MPhil or "pre-candidacy" PhD student, and move on after you "Complete all required coursework; Pass a comprehensive candidacy examination; Successfully defend their thesis proposal within the designated candidacy period." HKU's FAQ says "All candidates with an honours Bachelor's degree" may apply, but its PhD regulation, the stricter of the two, asks "normally first class honours" for a bachelor's alone. If your bachelor's alone does not reach the university you want, a master's from a recognised university reaches all six (Part 8, Stage C1). Some programmes add their own rules, so read your programme's page before you pay.

English

Most Nigerian degrees are taught in English, and the rule follows that. The council: "For applicants from non-English speaking universities, unless they provide proof that English is the language of instruction for all courses, they are required to attach score results of TOEFL or IELTS". HKUST says you need no TOEFL or IELTS score if "Their bachelor's degree (or equivalent qualification) was awarded by an institution" "where the medium of instruction was English." CUHK takes "A certifying letter issued by the Registry of the university confirming the medium of instruction of your degree programme was English". So the paper you need is a letter from your university's registry saying your degree was taught in English (the University of Lagos calls it "English as a Medium" and charges ₦5,000). Get it with your transcript (Stage 2).

If your degree was not taught in English, you sit an English test. A TOEFL test taken from 21 January 2026 is scored out of 6, and one taken before out of 120. The scores each university asks: HKU IELTS 6.5 with no part under 6, or TOEFL 4.5 (85 for an older test; the Faculty of Arts asks IELTS 7, and a TOEFL writing floor); CUHK IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 4.5 (79 for an older test); HKUST IELTS 6.5 with every part at 5.5, or TOEFL 4.5 (80 for an older test); PolyU IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 80; HKBU IELTS 6.5 with every part at 5.5, or TOEFL 4.5 (79 for an older test); Lingnan IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 4 (79 for an older test). A test taken online at home is refused at HKU, HKUST, PolyU, HKBU and Lingnan: sit it at a test centre. In Nigeria the IELTS Academic on computer at a test centre is ₦299,000 (IDP Nigeria's price) and the TOEFL iBT is US$170, about ₦227,000 at ₦1,333 to the dollar.

The one trap

People fill the council's free form, see the reference number in their email, and think they have applied. They have not. The number only proves you filled the first form. If you do not also apply to the university with that number, the council treats your form as void. And if you forget to type the number into the university's form, the council says "the university will process the relevant application as a regular one without giving any consideration under the HKPFS."

Nobody sells this

The council's form is free and you fill it yourself. HKBU: "The University does not entrust any third-party intermediary or agency to handle admissions applications and related matters." PolyU: "other than the specified application fee, you are not required to pay any additional fees to any persons in connection with your online application", and "You must complete and submit your own application". Anyone who asks you for money to "place" you for this fellowship is selling you something the council gives away.

Part 2. The whole journey on one page

1. Choose your two programmes at one or two of the eight universities, by your degree and your field (Stage 1). This week.
2. Get your papers out: transcript, degree certificate, the English letter, your passport (Stage 2). Request them this week.
3. Ask your referees: two lecturers, three for CUHK (Stage 3). This week.
4. Write your research plan and your CV (Stage 4). About a week of evenings.
5. Fill the council's free form once and get your reference number (Stage 5). One sitting; by 30 November.
6. Apply to the university, quoting the number, and pay its fee (Stage 6). By 30 November.
7. Your referees send their reports to the university by email link (Stage 7). Within 14 days at HKU and Lingnan; by 1 December at PolyU.
8. The interview, if the university shortlists you (Stage 8). September to December 2026.
9. The nomination and the wait (Stage 9). Results in May 2027.
10. The offer: accept it, pay any deposit, register, apply for a hall (Stage 10). From the offer to July 2027.
11. The student visa, filed by the university as your sponsor (Stage 11). As soon as you accept the university's offer, which can come before the council's result (HKUST: files sent in March to early May were usually issued in June). Six to twelve weeks.
12. Travel and arrival with your e-Visa (Stage 12). July to September 2027.
13. Your Hong Kong identity card, your bank account and your first stipend (Stage 13). Your first month.
14. The three or four years, and what follows (Stage 14).

Part 3. Stage by stage

Stage 1. Choose your two programmes

Back to the short stages

Why. The council's form asks you to name up to two PhD programmes, at one or two universities, and the choices cannot change after 1 December. The universities, not the council, decide whether you fit, so your two choices decide everything that follows.

What you do.

1. Find your column in "Which degree each university takes" (Part 1). Strike off every university your degree does not reach.

2. Open the list of PhD programmes at each university that is left, and find the programme in your own field:

   • HKU: https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/programmes and its research areas, https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/research_areas (HKU: "The PhD degree ... is available in all faculties and schools/departments").
   • CUHK: "Programme Listing", https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk/programmes.
   • HKUST: "Find the Program" on its fellowship page, https://fytgs.hkust.edu.hk/hkpfs.
   • PolyU: "Find a Programme", https://www.polyu.edu.hk/gs/prospective-students/how-to-apply/find-a-programme/.
   • HKBU: its fields of study on its fellowship page, and its list of possible supervisors, https://gs-services.hkbu.edu.hk/potential_supervisors/.
   • Lingnan: "List of Programmes", https://www.ln.edu.hk/rpg/admission/list-of-programmes.
3. For each programme, write down five things: the programme's name exactly as the university prints it; its entry rule; its English rule; its application fee; and whether it asks a research proposal on its own form (PolyU has a standard form, GSB/1A; HKU asks a proposal or a statement of research interest).
4. Pick two. Put the one you want most as your priority. If you want HKU, CUHK or PolyU, their pages tell you to put them first: HKU says "applicants who would like to pursue PhD studies at HKU should state HKU as the first choice", and "declining the offer from the institution placed in the 1st choice will not lead to the transfer of offer to the institution placed in the 2nd choice."

Should you write to a supervisor first? You may, and it helps, but no university makes it a condition. HKU's own steps say "Contact potential supervisor (optional)", HKBU's "While not compulsory, you are welcome to search for potential supervisors", and PolyU's guide tells you to "Identify and contact potential supervisor(s) of your research interest(s)". If you write, send one short email to one academic whose recent work matches yours: who you are, your degree and grade, the question you want to research, and one line on why their work. Do not name that person as a referee: HKBU and PolyU say a proposed supervisor is not an acceptable academic referee.

Two programmes at one university, or one at each? At CUHK and PolyU two programmes in two departments means two applications and two fees ("submit separate applications for each"; "Two separate full applications for two programmes from two different PolyU departments"). PolyU takes one application for two research areas in the same department.

What you need. Your degree certificate and transcript to check your grade, and a phone or computer.

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. One or two evenings.

How you know it is done. You have two programme names, each at a university your degree reaches, one marked first.

What goes wrong. You pick a university whose PhD rule your degree does not meet, and pay its fee for nothing: read the entry rule before you pay. You pick two programmes and name a third later on the council's form: only two count.

What opens next. Stages 2, 3 and 4, all this week, at the same time.

Stage 2. Get your papers out

Back to the short stages

Why. Every university reads your full transcript and your degree certificate when you apply. The English letter saves you a test.

What you do.

1. Your transcript. Request it from your university's transcript portal today. What each university takes when you apply:

   • HKUST takes a scan of the transcript you hold now: "No need to send the official documents to us at the application stage."
   • HKU wants the official one: "upload official certificates and complete official transcripts with your final GPA/average score (or latest transcript for current studies)". The words in brackets are for a degree you are still doing.
   • CUHK wants the official one too: "Transcripts must bear official seal; unofficial or improper letterhead documents will not be accepted." CUHK also says: "E-transcripts must be sent directly by the issuing university, paper transcripts must be in a sealed envelope issued by the university."
   • PolyU sets it by department on its supporting documents page (https://www.polyu.edu.hk/study/pg/research-postgraduate/supporting-documents-application-rpg); some departments ask now for "Official transcript(s) for all undergraduate and/or postgraduate studies" that "Show all the courses and grades taken during the whole study period with official stamps", so read your department's line before you rely on a scan.

   At the University of Lagos a transcript is ₦10,000 and an upload of a soft copy to a portal ₦15,000; each Nigerian university sets its own fee and time.

2. Your degree certificate. Scan it. If you are still in your master's, HKUST takes your "Latest transcript if the degree program is not yet completed", and the council says "Universities may give conditional offer to candidates who demonstrate outstanding ability and potential in their areas of studies."
3. The English letter. Ask your registry for a letter that your degree was taught in English (Part 1, English). Request it together with the transcript.
4. Your grade on one page. HKU asks your CGPA in the form; "If such information is not available in the transcript(s), please use the template provided in the Online Application System". Make sure your transcript shows the grading scale; HKBU asks "transcript(s) , including the institution's grading system".
5. Your passport. Scan its data page. You need it for the council's form and the university's form, and later for the visa. If yours has expired or is close to it, start a fresh passport now: apply on the e-Passport form at passport.immigration.gov.ng (the Nigeria Immigration Service's Passports page, https://immigration.gov.ng/passports/: "First-time Nigerian passport applicants must fill out and pay for the e-Passport form at passport.immigration.gov.ng."). A standard passport takes "42 days after Successful Enrolment" for a fresh application and "21 days" for a re-issue, at ₦100,000 for 32 pages and five years or ₦200,000 for 64 pages and ten years.

What it costs. Your university's transcript and letter fees (at the University of Lagos ₦10,000 and ₦5,000). The passport if you need one.

How long. Your university's own time; most Nigerian portals state none. Request today.

How you know it is done. You hold clear PDF scans of your transcript, degree certificate, English letter and passport page. HKU caps each file at 1.5 MB and the whole application at 50 MB, so scan at a size that reads clearly but stays small.

What goes wrong. The transcript does not come in time. HKUST takes a scan of the transcript you hold now. HKU and CUHK want the official transcript at the application stage: for them, wait for it, or choose HKUST. Your name differs between papers (a married name, a missing middle name): the council cross-checks what you type against the university's form, and "Any incompleteness, inaccuracy or inconsistency may lead to an application not being considered under the HKPFS." Use one spelling on both forms, the one on your passport.

What runs at the same time. Stages 1, 3 and 4.

Stage 3. Ask your referees

Back to the short stages

Why. Every university asks reports from academics who know your work. HKU, HKBU, PolyU and Lingnan ask two; CUHK asks three for a doctorate ("Research doctoral: Three referee reports are required."); HKUST takes two to five.

What you do.

1. Choose lecturers who taught or supervised you, ideally your project or thesis supervisor. HKU: "Persons from non-academic background are not considered as appropriate academic referees." Not your pastor, not your employer (unless an academic), and not the supervisor you hope to have in Hong Kong.
2. Ask them this week, by phone or in person and then by email. Tell them the university, the programme and that the university will email them a link.
3. Get each referee's work email address (PolyU asks "email addresses under a university or an organisation").
4. Tell them what the panels look for, from PolyU's own guide: "Academic excellence", "Research ability and potential", "Communication and interpersonal skills" and "Leadership abilities and sense of societal responsibilities".

How it works. You type each referee's name and email into the university's form. When you submit, the system emails them: HKU's "will send an email to the nominated referees inviting them to complete an online referee's report within 14 days once your application is submitted"; Lingnan the same, "within 14 days". PolyU: "you should advise your referees to submit their online academic referee reports by the HKPFS application deadline, i.e. no later than 1 December." HKUST's fellowship page puts a step "By 8 Dec 2026": "Nicely inform your referees that it is most helpful if they can provide the reference reports earliest possible." The council's own form asks no referees.

What it costs. Nothing.

How you know it is done. Each referee has said yes and you hold their correct email.

What goes wrong. A referee does not answer the link. HKU lets you "nominate up to two new referees to replace the nominated referee(s) who does not submit a referee's report by the submission deadline". Remind your referee the day you submit, and again a week later.

Stage 4. Write your research plan and your CV

Back to the short stages

Why. Academic excellence comes first for the panels, and "research ability and potential" is one of the other things they weigh; the plan is where they see it. HKU checks "the research proposal (for all applicants), proposed research plan and past research experience and vision statement (for HKPF applicants)" for plagiarism.

What you write.

1. The research plan. HKU's own description: a research proposal "should include the background, the objectives and the methodology or approach you propose to take in studying the subject matter." PolyU's proposal form (Form GSB/1A, from its supporting documents page, https://www.polyu.edu.hk/study/pg/research-postgraduate/supporting-documents-application-rpg) asks for: "Project Title"; "Project Objectives: (Purpose of proposed investigation)"; "Scope and Background of Research: (Please identify key issues/problems to be addressed)"; "Research Methodology"; "Project Significance and Value"; and any external collaboration. PolyU's application system also has a compulsory part, "Part C Research Plan and Vision Statement" (some PolyU departments ask "A vision statement up to 1,500 words"), and its tips ask a plan that is "Original with proper citations", "Clear and logical" and "Free of spelling and grammatical errors". Write one plan for each programme, fitted to that department.
2. Your past research. PolyU's tip: "In Past Research Experience, provide detailed information, e.g. the number and quality of publications, the project(s) you have participated in". Your final-year project or master's thesis is research: say what you asked, what you did and what you found.
3. Your CV. Your degrees with grades, your research, any publications or conference talks, prizes, teaching, work, and leadership (a student body, a church or community group you led, NYSC projects).

Publications. What the pages ask is a publication list where you have one (HKU: "list of publications"; HKBU: "publication(s), record of research experience and/or publication list"). If you have none, show research ability through your project.

AI. If you use AI to help write anything, say so. The council: "All applicants are required to disclose details of AI usage". HKU asks the same.

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. About a week of evenings for the plan.

How you know it is done. A plan for each programme, a CV, and a list of your research, each saved as a PDF (PolyU's form as it asks).

Stage 5. Fill the council's form, once

Back to the short stages

Why. It gives you the reference number every university asks for.

What you do.

1. Open https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/apply.html and press "HKPFS Electronic System - Initial Application".
2. Have beside you: your passport, your degree details, your two programmes with their universities and which is first, and your email.
3. Fill the four parts in English in one sitting (the form times out after 30 minutes idle). Use the email you will keep: the council writes to you there, "including award of fellowship".
4. Submit. Save and print the email with your HKPFS Reference Number and password.

What you must not do. Fill it twice. If you need to change a programme, log in with your number and password and change it before the close; do not start a new form.

What it costs. Nothing.

How long. One sitting, under an hour once Stage 1 is done.

How you know it is done. The email with your PF26 number is in your inbox. If it does not come, look in spam, then write to HKPF@ugc.edu.hk. If you lose the password, the log-in page has a "Forgot Password" button.

What goes wrong. The council's password does not open the university's form: "The assigned HKPFS Reference and the password can only be used to login the HKPFSES. It is not applicable to the other application system of respective university." Each university has its own account.

Stage 6. Apply to the university, quoting your number

Back to the short stages

Why. This is the application the university reads. Without it, the council's form is void.

What you do.

1. Open the university's application system (the links under the table in the promised part) and create an account. Two of them delete an account left unsent. HKU: "The account is valid for 4 weeks. If you do not submit your application within 4 weeks after account creation, your account and all information entered will be deleted from the system." HKBU: send within 30 days of activating the account, "Otherwise, all application data would be removed automatically from the system." So open the account only when your papers are nearly ready.
2. Say you are applying for the fellowship and type your reference number where the form asks. At HKU, indicate "that you are applying for HKPFS"; at Lingnan choose "HK PhD Fellowship Scheme (2027-28)"; at PolyU choose "2027/28 Semester 1 (Sept 2027 Entry)".
3. Choose the same programme you named on the council's form. HKBU: "The HKBU programme(s) applied for should be consistent with those indicated in the initial application submitted to RGC."
4. Upload your papers (Stage 2), your plan and CV (Stage 4), and type your referees (Stage 3).
5. Pay the fee by card. HKU, PolyU and Lingnan take Visa or Mastercard (Lingnan also UnionPay); CUHK "by credit card when submitting the application". PolyU: "You must settle the application fee upon submission of your online application. Otherwise, your application will not be further processed."
6. Submit, and save the acknowledgement email.

Paying from Nigeria. The fees are in Hong Kong dollars, charged to your card. Use a naira card your bank has enabled for foreign payments, or a dollar card; try a small online payment first. If your card is refused, the universities print no other route for an applicant abroad; try a second bank's card before the last day.

What it costs. From HK$180 (HKUST, about ₦31,000) to HK$780 (HKU, about ₦134,000) per application; none is refunded.

How long. An evening, once your papers are scanned.

How you know it is done. The university's acknowledgement email, and your referees' invitations sent.

Stage 7. Your referees send their reports

Back to the short stages

The university's system emails each referee when you submit. Check the status in your account: HKU says "The submission status of the referees' reports can be checked from the Online Application System". Remind any referee who has not sent it after a week. A report that never comes leaves your application weaker; replace the referee where the system lets you (HKU).

Stage 8. The interview

Back to the short stages

Why. "Individual universities will conduct interviews with applicants as part of the assessment for selection."

When. CUHK: "Step 03 (Sep - Dec 2026) Participate in an interview". HKUST: "Attend the admission interviews, where appropriate." PolyU says you can see a "notification of interview/test" when you log in to RPgAdmission. HKBU: "Shortlisted candidates for interview will be informed by phone or by email in due course." HKU: you "may be required to attend an interview and/or sit for a test arranged by the proposed department of study". Watch your email, your phone and your spam folder every day from the day you apply. How each university holds the interview for an applicant abroad: we cannot tell yet.

What it is about. The panels' four yardsticks: your academic record, your research ability and potential, how you communicate, and leadership. Be ready to explain your research plan in plain words, what you did in your own project, why this programme and this university, and what you will do after.

What goes wrong. The invitation lands in spam and you miss it. Add the university's address to your contacts the day you apply. Your connection or your power fails during the interview: use a place with steady power and data, and keep a second device charged.

Stage 9. The nomination and the wait

Back to the short stages

Each university picks the people it will put forward and sends their names to the council. If two universities put you forward, "the RGC will only process the nomination tendered by the university for which the applicant has indicated priority". The council's two panels (one for science, medicine, engineering and technology, one for humanities, social sciences and business) judge the nominees. "The RGC will only notify successful applicants the offer of fellowship awards by email and letter. The results will be announced in May 2027". "The decision of the RGC is final and the RGC will not provide feedback to individual applicant." So no email from the council in May 2027 means you were not picked this round; watch for the university's own offer (Part 1, If you are not picked). The university's own admission offer can come separately: CUHK makes offers "between November to June of the following year", and HKU tells applicants their result "in about three to four months after the closing date of application".

What runs at the same time. If your English letter or any paper was missing, get it now. If a passport renewal is due, do it now: the visa gives you a stay no longer than your passport's life.

Stage 10. The offer, the deposit, registration and a hall

Back to the short stages

What you do when the university's admission offer comes (it may come before or after the council's fellowship letter).

1. Accept the offer in the university's system by its deadline. CUHK: "Applicants will receive email notifications for application status updates. No physical offers will be sent." "If you receive several offers, you can only accept one." PolyU: "indicate your acceptance and pay a registration fee ... before the payment deadline specified in the online Notice of Offer". HKBU: "you will need to pay the confirmation fee before the deadline stated in the offer letter."
2. Pay any deposit the offer names. HKU asks "the admission deposit (non-refundable), if applicable", its caution money, HK$350 (about ₦60,000), and its student activity fee, HK$100 a year (about ₦17,000); fellows' composition fee is waived. CUHK: "Accept offer and pay admission deposit according to the instruction specified in the Payment Advice."
3. Meet any condition in a conditional offer: usually the final transcript sent by your university. CUHK: "If you cannot fulfil the admission condition(s) by the stipulated deadline, your admission offer will become null and void." CUHK also needs your degree verified "no later than one month before commencement of studies".
4. Register online when the university's link comes (CUHK: for non-local students, "14 working days after the payment settlement date").
5. Apply for a hall. HKU gives every fellow a hall place to the end of the residential year in year one; CUHK gives a first-year room and waives the fee "for HKPFS awardees who submit hall applications and complete registration procedures in a timely manner"; PolyU a place for two years; HKBU a shared room for two years; Lingnan a hostel place for three years; HKUST a room in year one. Apply the day the hall form opens.
6. The studentship payment form. CUHK asks a "Postgraduate Studentship Payment Instruction Form" at registration: it tells the university where to pay you.

The fellowship's own conditions. "Fellowship awardee must be the registered full-time PhD student of the university specified by the RGC in the offer letter during the fellowship. The fellowship shall be discontinued/ terminated in case fellowship awardee leaves the university." You register "in July to September 2027"; the council can allow a later start, to 31 January 2028 at the latest, "if there are well justified reasons".

Stage 11. The student visa, filed by the university

Back to the short stages

Why. Without a Hong Kong student visa you cannot register. CUHK: "Non-local students who are unable to present a valid visa at the time of registration will not be allowed to register."

Who files it. The university, as your sponsor. The Immigration Department: "A local sponsor can either be the educational institution granting the acceptance or an individual." HKBU: "Newly admitted non-local students should apply for student visas through the University." Lingnan: "The University will act as a sponsor for non-local students and assist them in applying for entry permits/visas." HKUST: it "can act as your visa sponsor and submit the application on your behalf." PolyU: "PolyU will sponsor your student visa application". You do not visit any office in Nigeria.

What you give the university.

1. The visa application form (the Immigration Department's form ID 995A, from https://www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/study.html), filled and signed, with a recent photo on page 2 (CUHK: "same signature on all 4 pages").
2. A copy of your passport's data page.
3. A copy of your admission letter.
4. Proof of money. The Immigration Department lists "Copy of proof of the applicant's financial support" when the sponsor is the university. CUHK: a research student with a studentship sends "A copy of the Letter of Award" and is "not required to provide evidence of their financial standing". PolyU: a student "awarded a fellowship/scholarship by PolyU upon admission" writes "the monthly amount under Section 7, "Financial Situation of Applicant"" of the form and sends "a copy of the Notice of Offer as financial proof". HKBU asks "Financial documents under the name of the applicant", such as "a clear copy of the latest bank statement", and "Studentship recipients should state on the ID995A their monthly studentship amount." What a fellow sends as proof of money at HKU, HKUST and Lingnan: we cannot tell yet.
5. The university's own visa form or online steps: at CUHK, "Visa for Study" in its Online Application System; at HKUST, its Visa System, with the papers sent to HKUST by courier; at PolyU, the form and papers sent "to the Academic Registry of PolyU by express post".

When. As soon as you accept. HKU: "apply for the visa immediately after accepting an offer or conditional offer". CUHK: "at least 2 months before commencement of study". HKUST's record of past years: files sent in March to early May were usually issued in June, files sent in July by mid to late August.

How long. The pages differ, so plan to the longest: the Immigration Department, "normally ... six weeks ... upon receipt of all the required documents"; CUHK 6 to 8 weeks; HKU 8 to 10 weeks; HKBU "around 10-12 weeks". "Approval of applications is entirely discretionary".

What it costs. The Immigration Department's fee is HK$330 (about ₦57,000). Each university adds its own fee to file it: HKU HK$1,100 (about ₦189,000), its "visa sponsorship and processing fee", by credit card or mobile payment ("Debit Card may not always be accepted"); Lingnan HK$700 (about ₦120,000), "(visa fee of HK$330 inclusive)"; HKUST HK$1,000 (about ₦172,000), which "covers the fee charged by IMMD and cost for forwarding"; CUHK a handling fee paid "by credit card", with the visa fee paid when you download the e-Visa. CUHK's, PolyU's and HKBU's handling fee: we cannot tell yet. Payment to the Immigration Department is by card online: "credit card (VISA, Mastercard, UnionPay and JCB only)".

How you know it is done. You download the e-Visa: "After payment, applicants can instantly download or print the "e-Visa" by themselves." Check every detail on it against your passport (CUHK asks you to confirm in its system). CUHK: the e-Visa "is only valid for entering Hong Kong within 3 months upon collection", so do not collect it too early for your travel date. At HKU the visa "will ONLY be sent after you have submitted a proof of your Firm/Confirmed Offer of Admission".

Rekoja's desk. Nobody is charged for help with the fellowship application, and Rekoja's desk does not prepare it. If you want help with your papers for the visa and the move (your passport, the photograph and the Immigration Department's form ID 995A with its papers), Rekoja's desk can prepare them with you, paid in naira, with the official fees passed on at cost.

What goes wrong. A paper is missing, and the clock does not start: the Immigration Department "will not be able to start processing the application unless all the required documents and information have been received." Send everything at once. Your passport runs out during your studies: you are given "a length of stay in line with the normal duration of their study programmes, subject to a maximum period of six years upon entry and the validity of the travel document held", so a short passport gives you a short stay.

Stage 12. Travel and arrival

Back to the short stages

1. Book your flight for the date your university gives for registration. HKUST advises arriving two weeks before the programme begins. A single-trip fare from Lagos to Hong Kong: we cannot tell yet.
2. Carry your passport, your e-Visa (on your phone or printed on A4), your admission letter and your fellowship letter.
3. At the airport, give your passport and e-Visa at the immigration counter and "scan the encrypted QR code on the "e-Visa" with the optical reader". Keep the landing slip you are given: CUHK says it "is a proof of your condition of stay in Hong Kong."
4. Go to your hall and to your graduate school's registration.

Stage 13. Your identity card, your bank account and your first stipend

Back to the short stages

The identity card. You are staying more than 180 days, so you must register: "If a person is a new arrival aged 11 or over and has been permitted to stay in Hong Kong for more than 180 days, he/she must register for an identity card within 30 days of arrival." Book online at www.gov.hk/icbooking, go in person, and pay nothing: "No fee is payable for the registration of an identity card." HKBU asks a copy of the card "within one month from your commencement date."

The bank account and the first stipend. At HKBU: "You are required to open a bank account in Hong Kong if you are a studentship recipient." and "Studentship is paid monthly in arrears by auto pay to your bank account." In arrears means a month's money is paid after the month. HKBU lists what you need to open the account: proof of your permanent home address (HKBU's examples: a driver's licence or a utility bill), the photo page of your passport or identity card, and proof of your Hong Kong address (a utility bill, a lease, or an official letter sent to that address). The fellowship's monthly stipend is HK$28,700, about ₦4.9 million.

Bring money for your first month. Wherever you study, arrive with enough of your own money for food, transport and personal things in your first month. The Hong Kong government's study site (the Education Bureau's Study in Hong Kong, linked by HKBU as its cost-of-living page) says a room in a university hall or hostel costs "HK$5,000 (about US$650) to HK$15,000 (around US$2,000) per semester" (about ₦860,000 to ₦2.6 million), and to "allow for HK$30,000 to HK$50,000 (US$3,900 to US$6,500) per year for other living costs, including food, leisure, transportation, and personal items" (about ₦5.2 million to ₦8.6 million a year). The page names no year.

Stage 14. The three or four years, and what follows

Back to the short stages

Work. A student "shall not take up any employment", but students on a full-time degree of a year or more are "temporarily exempted from the above employment restrictions" within what a "No Objection Letter" (NOL) allows; the Immigration Department sends that letter to each student individually. PolyU adds its own rule for its funded students: "research students receiving scholarship/fellowship or financial assistance from the University are not allowed to take up any employment without prior approval." Lingnan asks every fellowship or studentship holder to do "teaching duties and/or research support duties of up to 12 hours per week on average" as part of training.

Your family. You may apply to bring a husband or wife and unmarried children under 18. The Immigration Department decides ("Approval of applications is entirely discretionary"), and asks that you "support the dependant's living at a standard well above the subsistence level and provide him/her with suitable accommodation". They apply to the Immigration Department themselves (CUHK and HKBU do not file family visas), with your marriage certificate or each child's birth certificate. They may study but "are prohibited from taking up employment in the HKSAR unless they have obtained prior permission from the Director of Immigration."

Your stay. Your visa runs with your programme. Apply to extend "within 4 weeks before their limit of stay expires" if you need more time. You do not need a re-entry visa to come back from a trip home while your stay is current.

Keep it going. HKBU's awards are "Subject to satisfactory academic progress"; HKU's scholarship is "renewable upon satisfactory progress". Your supervisor and your yearly progress report keep the money coming.

Part 4. What can stop you

Your deadlines

What stops people, and what you do

• They stop at the council's form. The number is not an application. Apply to the university the same week.
• They fill the council's form twice. Every application is thrown out. Change your choices by logging in, never by a second form.
• They forget the number on the university's form. The university then treats it as an ordinary PhD application. Type the PF26 number where asked, and check it before you submit.
• Their degree does not meet the university's PhD rule. Read the entry rule before paying (Part 1).
• They open the university's account too early. HKU deletes it after 4 weeks, HKBU after 30 days. Open it when your papers are nearly ready.
• The details differ between the two forms. The council cross-checks them. Copy the same name, date of birth and programme into both.
• They wait for 1 December. In Nigeria the council's form closes at 5:00 am that day.
• Their card is refused for the fee. Test your card early, and keep a second bank's card ready.
• A referee never sends the report. Remind them; replace them where the system allows.
• They miss the interview email or call. Check email, phone and spam daily.
• They pay someone to "place" them. The council's form is free and nobody can place you.

Part 5. If you already did some of this

• You have chosen your programmes. Go to Stages 2, 3 and 4.
• You have your papers and referees. Go to Stage 4, then Stage 5.
• You have filled the council's form. Find the email with your PF26 number, then go to Stage 6. Do not fill the form again.
• You have applied to the university. Check your referees' status (Stage 7), then watch for the interview (Stage 8).
• You have been interviewed. Go to Stage 9 and wait for May 2027.
• You were not picked. Read Part 1, If you are not picked, then Part 8.
• You have an offer. Go to Stage 10, then Stage 11 the same week.
• You have your e-Visa. Go to Stage 12.

Part 6. The time, stage by stage

• Stage 1, choose your programmes: one or two evenings.
• Stage 2, your papers: your Nigerian university's own time; request today.
• Stage 3, your referees: a week to ask; their reports within 14 days of your submitting (HKU, Lingnan), by 1 December (PolyU).
• Stage 4, your plan and CV: about a week of evenings.
• Stage 5, the council's form: one sitting.
• Stage 6, the university's application: one evening; HKU's 4-week and HKBU's 30-day account limits.
• Stage 8, the interview: September to December 2026.
• Stage 9, the results: May 2027.
• Stage 10, the offer to registration: July to September 2027.
• Stage 11, the visa: six weeks at the Immigration Department, up to 10 to 12 weeks through a university.
• Stage 13, the identity card: within 30 days of arriving; at HKBU the stipend is paid after your first month.

Part 7. The money, all of it

The naira figures use ₦172 to the Hong Kong dollar (2 November 2026) and, for the TOEFL, ₦1,333 to the US dollar (20 October 2026), rounded.

Part 8. If the window has closed: the closed plan

When the next round opens. HKU: "Application period for HKPFS normally starts on September 1 and ends in early December every year." The council prints each round's dates when it opens the round; the 2027/28 round opened on 1 September 2026.

A PhD place without the fellowship, after 1 December. Two universities keep taking ordinary PhD applications for September 2027, with their own studentships, but only where places are left. HKU's "1st Clearing Round" runs "2 December 2026 to 30 April 2027" and its "2nd Clearing Round" "1 May 2027 to 31 August 2027"; "Applications will be considered in the clearing rounds only if there are vacancies after the Main Round." Some CUHK research programmes print a "Clearing Round: 31 March 2027" that "will only be considered subject to availability of places." These are not the fellowship.

Stage C1. Check your fit for the next round

Back to the short stages

Find your column in "Which degree each university takes". If your bachelor's alone does not reach the universities you want, a master's will: each of the six universities in the table takes a master's.

Stage C2. Get your papers now

Back to the short stages

Request your transcript, your degree certificate and your English letter now, while there is no deadline (Stage 2). Renew your passport if it will expire within the next four years.

Stage C3. Build your research record

Back to the short stages

Turn your project or thesis into a short paper or a conference talk if you can. Keep a list of what you have done. The panels judge "Research ability and potential".

Stage C4. Find your programme and, if you choose, a supervisor

Back to the short stages

Read the universities' PhD programmes in your field (Stage 1). Write to one academic whose work matches yours, in good time before September.

Stage C5. Draft your research plan

Back to the short stages

Write it now (Stage 4), and keep improving it.

Stage C6. Line up your referees

Back to the short stages

Tell your lecturers now that you will ask them in September (two, or three for CUHK).

Stage C7. Apply when it opens

Back to the short stages

From 1 September, fill the council's form once, then the university's application with your number, both well before the close.