Admissions · Hong Kong

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Acceptance Rate: Admissions Statistics and TOEFL & IELTS Requirements

CUHK does not publish an acceptance rate or the number of applications it receives. Its official figures show 2,855 students admitted through JUPAS for 2026 entry and around 1,370 non-local students admitted in 2026.

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) TOEFL and IELTS requirements at a glance

Minimum TOEFL iBT and IELTS Academic scores for Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Applying for	TOEFL iBT	IELTS Academic
Undergraduate (overseas / other qualifications)	TOEFL iBTTests on or after 21 January 2026: 4.5 out of 6 overall (2026 1–6 scale). Tests before 21 January 2026: 80 out of 120 (pre-2026 scale). No section minimum stated.	IELTS Academic6.0 overall band (Academic); no sub-score minimum stated

Full requirements and official sources · Check your TOEFL band with a free mock test

CUHK reports how many students it admitted through JUPAS, the Hong Kong admissions system, and roughly how many non-local students joined, but not how many applied or received offers. This page shows the official CUHK, UGC and LegCo figures, explains what each one counts, and lists the IELTS and TOEFL scores international applicants need.

Figures read from official sources on 26 October 2026 · LingoLeap Admissions Research

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) acceptance rate by year

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) applicants, admits and acceptance rate by admission cycle
Cycle	Applicants	Admitted	Acceptance rate
2026 entry · admitted through JUPAS	Not published	2,855	Not published source
2026 entry · non-local students	Not published	Around 1,370	Not published source
2025/26 · first-year undergraduates (UGC-funded)	Not published	4,212 FTE (3,275 approved intake places)	Not published source

CUHK non-local students and intake profile

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) acceptance rate by admission round, college or applicant group
Group	Cycle	Rate	Detail
Non-local undergraduates, publicly-funded programmes	31 Dec 2025	2,949 of 18,816	15,867 local and 2,949 non-local undergraduates on publicly-funded programmes (all years of study). source
Non-local students, UGC-funded undergraduate programmes	2024/25	17.3%	2,564 full-time-equivalent non-local students, equivalent to 17.3% of CUHK's 14,825 local student places (provisional government figures; all years of study). source
Non-local research postgraduates, UGC-funded	2024/25	2,136 FTE	Non-local students on UGC-funded research postgraduate programmes (provisional). The non-local ceiling does not apply to research degrees. source
JUPAS admits who are Band A applicants	2026	>99%	CUHK also reports admitting 50% of Hong Kong students who scored 5** in five or more HKDSE subjects. source
Mainland Gaokao candidates	2026	472 admitted	Admitted through the national unified college entrance examination, from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. source

What the numbers mean

None of these figures is an acceptance rate. The JUPAS figure counts local students admitted through the joint system, the 1,370 figure is CUHK's rounded count of non-local students admitted in 2026, and the UGC figure is full-time-equivalent first-year admissions to government-funded degree places. CUHK publishes no applications or offers totals, so no acceptance rate can be calculated from official data; rates quoted by other websites are estimates.

UGC-funded intake places are local student places, and non-local students are admitted in addition to them, up to a government ceiling. That is why CUHK's 4,212 first-year admissions in 2025/26 exceed its 3,275 approved intake places. In 2024/25 non-local undergraduates were equivalent to 17.3% of CUHK's local places, below the eight-university average of 23.2%.

Local students mostly apply through JUPAS with HKDSE results. International students apply directly to CUHK under the Overseas / Other Qualifications route with qualifications such as IB, GCE A-Level, SAT or Taiwan GSAT, and Mainland students can also be admitted through the Gaokao.

Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) TOEFL and IELTS requirements

Minimums for international applicants from the university's own pages. Since 21 January 2026 TOEFL iBT reports a 1–6 band score; the notes give the older 0–120 equivalent where the university states one. Convert TOEFL and IELTS scores.

Undergraduate (overseas / other qualifications)

TOEFL iBT: Tests on or after 21 January 2026: 4.5 out of 6 overall (2026 1–6 scale). Tests before 21 January 2026: 80 out of 120 (pre-2026 scale). No section minimum stated.

IELTS Academic: 6.0 overall band (Academic); no sub-score minimum stated

Not accepted: IELTS One Skill Retake, IELTS Indicator, IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL Best Scores. Programme-specific requirements may be higher.

CUHK Undergraduate Admissions, Overseas / Other Qualifications: Requirements · checked 26 October 2026

Check your score against Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Take a free 2026-format TOEFL mock test for a 1–6 band estimate, then compare it with the minimum above and with other universities' requirements.

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FAQ

What is the CUHK acceptance rate?

CUHK does not publish one, and it does not publish how many applications it receives, so there is no official acceptance rate. It does publish admissions: 2,855 students admitted through JUPAS for 2026 entry, and UGC data show 4,212 full-time-equivalent first-year undergraduates admitted to funded places in 2025/26.

What is the CUHK acceptance rate for international students?

Not published. CUHK says it admitted around 1,370 non-local students in 2026, from the Chinese Mainland, Macao, Taiwan and 37 countries, including 472 through the Gaokao. That is a count of admitted students, not an acceptance rate.

What TOEFL score does CUHK require?

For TOEFL iBT taken on or after 21 January 2026: 4.5 out of 6 overall. For tests taken before that date: 80 out of 120. No section minimum is stated. TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL Best Scores are not accepted. Some programmes may set higher requirements.

What IELTS score does CUHK require?

IELTS Academic 6.0 overall band. No sub-score minimum is stated. IELTS One Skill Retake, IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online are not accepted. Some programmes may set higher requirements.

How many non-local students does CUHK have?

CUHK's Facts & Figures list 2,949 non-local undergraduates on publicly-funded programmes as of 31 December 2025, out of 18,816, and more than 8,000 non-local students in total across all levels.