(1) HISTORY AND UNI CHARACTERISTICS

The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine in HKU was founded in 1887 as a western medical college, and subsequently opened as a medical faculty in 1911. Within the faculty is fourteen departments, offering a range of courses including Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing. The corresponding teaching hospital of the faculty is Queen Mary Hospital located in Pok Fu Lam. From 2010 to 2011, the faculty was ranked number one in Asia for ‘Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health Universities’ in the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings.  

The Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) was established in 1981 and consists of five schools which offer an array of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the field of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health. The Prince of Wales Hospital is used as the faculty’s teaching facility and research base.

Both faculties of HKU and CUHK use English as the medium of instruction for all programs with the exception of the Chinese Medicine course which is taught in Cantonese.

(2) HALLS AND ULIFE

CUHK is the only university in Hong Kong that goes by the collegiate system. Its nine colleges are spread over the 1.373km2 campus and are connected to their main lecture halls and teaching buildings by school buses. While each college has their own individual history and style, most of them have great facilities and with spacious living quarters. There are bathrooms and kitchens on each floor along with common areas where you will often find boarders spending time together. Colleges also offer many scholarships and overseas exchange opportunities available for students to apply to. 

 Located on Hong Kong Island, HKU provides their students with comfortable halls near the main campus as well as the medical campus. HKU halls put a strong emphasis on commitment to the hall. This may include playing house sports and participating in cultural events. For sports, on top of the more common sports such as football and badminton, students can also participate in some less-familiar sports such as lacrosse and hockey. 

 Both universities run a variety of clubs and societies that are available for freshers each year. From rugby and badminton to astronomy and choir, you will certainly find a club that suits your interests.

Different colleges (in CUHK) and halls (in HKU) have  different application requirements, some are based on needs (how far away do you live, etc) and some are instead based on academic merits. So definitely do some research before you apply!

(3) COURSE STRUCTURE

Given the content heavy nature of medicine, the course structure and delivery method are definitely factors important to consider.

HKU’s MBBS programme has incorporated the PBL approach into its curriculum, meaning that teaching will be taught via lectures and small-group discussions on problems or cases that relate to what you have been learning during lectures. These discussions are usually supervised by one or more tutors/instructors. Moreover, the MBBS programme is often said to be less ‘spoon-fed’, requiring students to be more proactive on self-directed learning. In HKU, year 3 of the course is a compulsory intercalation where students can choose to do anything that interests them. Most students go overseas to do a 1-year exchange in prestigious universities, while others may spend their time volunteering or getting a second degree. However, as a result, the university’s teaching schedule is more power-packed requiring students to adopt a  more fast-paced learning style. Therefore, while exploring your other aspirations is a good opportunity given by HKU’s medicine programme, it may not be suitable to everyone. 

For CUHK’s medicine programme, there are two main streams that you can choose to take : the MBChB programme, and the GPS programme. An aspect that they boast for both programmes is of their personalised and SMART curriculum. SMART refers to Student centered, Mentorship-based, Assured knowledge acquisition, Robust clinical teaching and Teaching ethics & professionalism. In CUHK, intercalation is optional, medics may choose to take a year out to do something they are interested in, such as doing a second degree or clinical attachment. You are able to choose to embark on it whenever you’d like to, but it is recommended that you do so before your clinical years commence (year 4). Students may ask for opinions from professors at any point in time in which they are considering taking an intercalated year. The GPS programme follows the main framework of the MBChB curriculum, but in addition to that, GPS students will be each allocated a personal mentor and will have to complete a GPS project. The scheme is targeted at students with high academic ability and of whom have interests in undergoing additional training in medical leadership in research, clinical service, healthcare administration and medical education. Their aim is to empower students with additional capacity to become next generation leaders. 

Source: CUHK Faculty of medicine website

(4) INTERVIEW AND ADMISSIONS

Non-Jupas (applicants who are not applying using DSE results) applications are made through an online portal for both universities. The similarities of the application process for the two universities stops here.

To apply to CUHK’s MBChB programme, you have to write a 250-word personal statement. If you are also applying to a second course, you may need to hand in another 2-page long personal statement. UCAT/BMAT is not required but is highly encouraged by the faculty and is crucial to securing an early interview. Candidates with exceptional UCAT/BMAT scores will be invited to an interview in April while other shortlisted applicants will be interviewed in July or after A-level results day (mid-august). Interviews are conducted in a panel-style manner, with a panel of two professors.

HKU on the other hand requires a 2-page personal statement upon application. UCAT/BMAT are not required. Interviews start during Christmas and last all the way till August. Interviews are conducted in an MMI-style manner (MMI = multiple mini interviews) with 6 fixed stations on the following: critical thinking, ethics, general knowledge, communication skills, personal insight and abstract thinking. To learn more about HKU’s MMI interviews, feel free to DM us and we are able to write another post on it!