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HKU has consistently been ranked as the top university in Hong Kong and one of the leading universities in Asia, and King's is one of England's oldest and most prestigious universities.

First-of-its-kind Joint PhD Programme Framework

Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Vice-Chancellor and President of HKU, and Professor Richard Trainor, Principal of King's, signed an agreement that sets out the framework that will allow scientific research students to work jointly in the laboratories of the two institutions, supervised by faculty members from both universities, and examined to the standards of both.

Upon successful completion of the programme, a student will be conferred a PhD degree jointly awarded by HKU and King's, earning a certificate which bears the crests of both universities.

The programme will be monitored by a Joint Academic Committee which will be set up by the two universities and will reflect a coherent and integrated programme of postgraduate education.

"We are delighted to deepen our research collaborations with King's, one of the world's leading research institutions", said Professor Paul Tam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President of Research at HKU.

"Our areas of research excellence have much in common with those of King's, and we would expect huge competition for the places on this programme, given the significant benefits that can accrue from working with leading professors from our two institutions", he added.

Dual Degree Programme in Law

The HKU-King's Dual Degree Programme in Law is a 5-year programme leading to the award of two degrees - the HKU LLB and King's LLB in English Law and Hong Kong Law - and marks the beginning of a deep strategic collaboration between two of the most renowned law schools in the world.

For the first time, students can study for two concurrent qualifying law degrees in both key jurisdictions of the UK and Hong Kong. Students will spend 2 years at King's followed by 3 years at HKU. 

The programme is aimed at the best students from Hong Kong, the Asia Pacific region, the UK and beyond who wish to study in two of the world's most important global financial centres, London and Hong Kong.

International legal practice is increasingly requiring lawyers who are appropriately qualified in more than one jurisdiction, and individuals trained through this joint programme will be highly valued by international law firms and multinational companies.

Professor Johannes Chan, Dean of the Faculty of Law at HKU said, "We are excited as it allows us to match the enormous strengths of two complementary but distinct common law jurisdictions. We bring to each other the richness of western legal tradition and an emerging, Chinese jurisprudence."

Professor Timothy Macklem, Head of King's Law School, said, "This collaboration offers students a unique opportunity to study law at two of the best law schools in the world, and in fantastic locations in two major global business hubs - London and Hong Kong. We expect graduates of this programme to have a unique skill set that will set them apart in the world of law and jurisprudence, and open up a variety of professional opportunities."

About HKU

Founded in 1911, HKU is the territory's oldest university, with a long heritage of academic excellence and service to the community. Today, HKU is a world-class comprehensive research-led university, with close to a hundred of its faculty ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information as being among the world's top 1% of scientists.

With a strong international outlook and a tradition of English language instruction, HKU attracts the best academic staff and the brightest students from the territory and around the world. The University is committed to nurturing talent and leaders for both the local and global community and to cultivating internationalism on campus. We strongly support international academic collaboration, and staff and student exchanges at all levels, with over 400 higher education institutions.

For more about HKU, visit: https://www.law.hku.hk/ 

HKU Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong is the oldest law school in Hong Kong and one of the most prestigious law schools internationally. First established in 1972, the Faculty has more than 60 full time academic staff and about 1,100 students. The Faculty comprises the Department of Law and the Department of Professional Legal Education and four research centres which include: the Centre for Comparative and Public Law; the Asian Institute of International Financial Law; the Law and Technology Centre; and the Peking University-HKU Research Centre.

Building upon its unique position as the only common law jurisdiction in China, capitalising on the "one country, two systems" principle, the HKU Faculty of Law has an irreplaceable role to play in scholarship, research and education on common law and comparative law as well as the development of the Rule of Law in China.

For more about the HKU Faculty of Law, visit: https://www.law.hku.hk/ 

King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 21,000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5,700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

For more information about King's College London visit www.kcl.ac.uk.

King's Law School

Law at King's has enjoyed a tradition of excellence for over 175 years and is recognised globally as one of the UK's top five Law schools (The Times Good University Guide 2009). Internationally renowned and research-led, the School scored the highest student satisfaction rating for Law within the Russell group, a group consisting of the top 20 British universities, in the 2008 National Student Survey. As one of the UK's largest law schools it offers you the opportunity to study an incredibly varied range of degree programmes and modules, taught by internationally respected leading academics through to visiting lecturers from city law firms.

For more information about King's Law School visit http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/law.