The Ascent of PolyU and CityU: A Data-Driven Review of Their 2020–2025 Ranking Trajectories
Hong Kong’s higher education landscape has undergone a notable internal reshuffle over the past five years. While the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology maintained high-band oscillations in the QS World University Rankings, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong executed a steeper climb. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) data chart the shift: in 2020, PolyU sat at 91st globally and CityU at 126th. By 2025, PolyU had risen to 57th and CityU to 62nd — gains of 34 and 64 places respectively within five years. Over the same cycle, the combined output of internationally co-authored research papers from the two institutions roughly quadrupled, and the number of non-local student visas approved by the Immigration Department (ImmD) doubled. This ascent was not accidental; it reflects a convergence of institutional strategic pivots, government resource allocation, and a reconfiguration of the global academic labour market. The timeline below breaks the climb into quantifiable nodes, supported by publicly available official data.
2020: Baseline Positions and Structural Pressure
In the 2020 QS World University Rankings, both PolyU and CityU occupied comparatively low positions by recent standards. PolyU ranked 91st, its first drop outside the top 90 since 2017; CityU ranked 126th, a visible slide from 118th in 2019. At the time, Hong Kong’s higher education sector faced dual pressures: fluctuating international perceptions triggered by social events, and disrupted cross-border mobility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to ImmD data, approximately 35,000 visas/entry permits were issued to mainland Chinese students for study in Hong Kong in 2020, a year-on-year decline of roughly 12%. A contraction in the non-local student body posed a direct threat to league-table metrics that depend on international indicators, given that QS assigns a 5% weight to “International Student Ratio” and another 5% to “International Faculty Ratio.”
In the same year, the University Grants Committee (UGC) released the results of the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 (RAE 2020), which offered a counter-narrative. PolyU recorded four academic units with the highest proportion of “world-leading” ratings, including Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering; CityU achieved comparable standing in three units, covering Materials Science and Computer Science. These research-quality assessments would later fuel ranking breakthroughs. For that year, PolyU’s research income reached HK$1.53 billion (per UGC statistics) and CityU’s stood at HK$0.98 billion, placing both institutions among the top recipients of total research funding across the eight UGC-funded universities.
2021–2022: Strategic Reorientation and Indicator Breakout
When the 2021 QS rankings were published, CityU recorded a dramatic leap, surging from 126th to 48th — 78 places in a single year. The core driver of this jump was the “Citations per Faculty” indicator. QS significantly raised CityU’s score on this metric that year, reflecting sharply rising citation counts in fields such as Veterinary Science, Materials Science, and Neuroscience. PolyU rose 16 places to 75th over the same period, with more balanced improvements.
In 2021, CityU formally launched its “One Health” strategic framework, connecting Veterinary Science, Public Health, and Data Science. The same year, CityU renewed a veterinary collaboration agreement with Cornell University in the United States, securing international endorsement for the discipline. PolyU, meanwhile, accelerated the construction of translational research platforms, establishing the “Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute” and the “Photonics Research Institute,” while co-founding a joint laboratory in aeronautical engineering with the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Toulouse in France. According to UGC-related data, in the 2021/22 academic year, PolyU’s competitive research grants from the Research Grants Council exceeded HK$600 million for the first time, and CityU’s surpassed HK$450 million; both institutions led the eight UGC-funded universities in the number of approved projects within engineering and technology disciplines.
Internationally co-authored research output recorded its first spike. PolyU’s annual report showed that Web of Science-indexed papers co-authored with overseas institutions reached 1,480 in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 38%. CityU’s equivalent figure was 1,120 papers, up 29%. This growth curve was almost synchronous with the ranking ascent, suggesting that the “International Research Network” was becoming an active strategy for both universities. ImmD data from the same period reflected a recovery: approved mainland study visas rebounded to roughly 39,000 in 2021, a 10% increase from 2020.
In 2022, PolyU advanced a further 9 places in the QS rankings to 66th, while CityU edged down to 53rd. CityU’s retreat was partly due to a normalisation correction in the citations indicator, though 53rd remained its second-highest historical position at the time. That year, both institutions saw modest upward movement in “Academic Reputation” survey scores: PolyU moved from 56.3 (2021) to 58.1 (out of 100), and CityU from 45.7 to 47.4. In the same year, the Education Bureau (EDB) announced the awardee list for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme; the number of awarded non-local students attracted by PolyU and CityU grew by 22% and 17% respectively, building a reserve of high-quality international enrolments for both universities.
2023: High-Water Marks and Multi-Dimensional Metrics
In the 2023 QS World University Rankings, both PolyU and CityU reached historical highs: PolyU placed 65th and CityU 54th. Both universities outperformed many similarly ranked competitors on QS’s newly introduced “Employment Outcomes” indicator. PolyU benefited from its long-running industry-integrated internship programmes, extending its employer partnership network to over 800 enterprises, around 30% of which were multinational corporations. CityU, leveraging its “HK Tech 300” entrepreneurial ecosystem, had incubated more than 200 start-ups, a number of which had entered the Greater Bay Area market.
The output of internationally co-authored papers accelerated again that year. According to publicly available annual reports from the two universities’ research offices, PolyU’s total co-authored papers with overseas institutions reached 2,380 in the 2022/23 academic year, a 2.1-fold increase compared to 2019/20; CityU’s equivalent figure was 1,930 papers, a 2.4-fold increase. The combined total for the two universities over roughly four years had expanded 3.6-fold, closely tracking the overall “five-year quadrupling” pace.
ImmD visa data for 2023 showed that the number of mainland study visas/entry permits approved exceeded 50,000, a five-year high. Among these, the non-local student intake at PolyU and CityU each recorded year-on-year growth exceeding 15%. According to the universities’ academic registry reports, the proportion of non-local students within total undergraduate enrolment at both institutions approached 20%, gradually nearing the ceiling set by the UGC. This enrolment growth directly supported the “International Student Ratio” score in the rankings.
Data from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) on HKDSE candidate applications also indicated rising local interest in the two universities. After the first round of programme re-selection under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) in 2023, the most sought-after programmes at PolyU averaged roughly 18 applicants per place, and those at CityU about 15 applicants per place — a marked increase in competition intensity compared to 2020. This enhanced local recognition provided a stable foundation for institutional reputation.
2024–2025: Methodology Revision and Establishment of a New Baseline
The 2024 QS World University Rankings methodology underwent a major revision, incorporating “Sustainability,” “Employment Outcomes,” and “International Research Network” as new indicators for the first time, while reducing the weight of Academic Reputation. This shift triggered a temporary dip in the rankings of several Hong Kong universities: PolyU fell to 87th and CityU to 99th. However, the adjustment in effect revealed areas where the two institutions had been undervalued under the old indicator framework. PolyU scored 70.8 on the standalone “International Research Network” indicator, and CityU 69.4, already boasting an advantage over globally comparable universities.
As the 2025 ranking cycle commenced, the resilience of the ascent became immediately apparent. In the 2025 QS rankings, PolyU climbed to 57th and CityU to 62nd. PolyU’s “International Research Network” score, accumulated through international co-authorships, rose further to 82.3, and CityU’s reached 79.8. In the same year, the combined total of internationally co-authored papers from the two universities formally hit four times the 2019/20 academic year level. In the first three quarters of the 2024/25 academic year, PolyU’s jointly affiliated publications numbered 2,740, and CityU’s 2,310 — a substantial year-on-year increase.
Beyond the data, two flagship projects merit recording. CityU (Dongguan) officially commenced enrolment in September 2024, launching six Master’s programmes in its first year, including Computer Science and Technology, Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. Operating in close alignment with the EDB on education and talent policies, the initiative represents a cross-border extension of Hong Kong’s local academic architecture. PolyU signed an agreement in 2024 to establish a translational research hub in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, initially deploying six laboratories covering Artificial Intelligence, Carbon Neutrality, and Advanced Manufacturing, directly benefiting from joint funding by the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong and the Shenzhen Municipal Government.
Common Drivers of the Climb
Stripping away random fluctuations from the five-year ranking trajectories of the two universities reveals three structural forces with particular clarity.
A five-year quadrupling of internationally co-authored research output. In the 2019/20 academic year, PolyU and CityU together co-authored roughly 1,500 papers with overseas institutions; by the end of 2024/25, this figure had exceeded 6,000 (estimated based on Web of Science indexation). The pressure of the UGC’s research assessment exercises, the incentive structure of QS indicators, and the facilitation of cross-border collaboration within the Greater Bay Area combined to form a mutually reinforcing force. This data point is directly converted into a rising “International Research Network” score and provides sustained fuel for the “Citations per Faculty” indicator.
A strategic expansion of the non-local student body. ImmD visa figures climbed from 35,000 (2020) to over 56,000 (2024), with PolyU and CityU capturing a disproportionately large share of the increment. The EDB announced relaxed internship restrictions for non-local students in 2022 and further loosened employment arrangements in 2023 — two policy moves that cleared obstacles for the universities’ targeted recruitment. HKEAA data similarly show that the number of students holding international qualifications applying directly to the two universities through the non-JUPAS route rose by more than 20% year-on-year, enhancing student body diversity.
Disciplinary focus and brand formation. PolyU’s sustained investment in Hospitality and Tourism Management (ranked among the global top 10 in the QS Subject Rankings for eight consecutive years), Civil Engineering, and Design has built strong identifiability. CityU’s positioning in Veterinary Medicine (with its six-year self-financed programme holding multiple international accreditations), Data Science, and Energy has carved out a clear specialist profile within the traditional comprehensive university milieu. These disciplines contribute significantly to Employer Reputation surveys and serve as high-citation sources for collaborative papers.
A Closing Note: Rankings Are Not the End Game
Ranking games have always tested the strategic composure of institutions. The five-year climb of PolyU and CityU resembles less a sprint and more a process of re-aligning research output, internationalisation, and brand narrative. The 2024 methodology change by QS was not a retreat but a change of measurement yardstick; the 2025 data confirm that both institutions have adapted to the new weights. The UGC’s RAE 2026 is approaching, and fresh research-quality data will likely re-calibrate ranking water levels once more. The only certainty at present is that the engine of international co-authorship at both universities continues to run at high speed, and non-local student application volumes show no sign of peaking. The next chapters of this ascent will be jointly written by the deepening integration of the Greater Bay Area, the evolution of scientific funding mechanisms, and the shifting patterns of global talent mobility.
FAQ
1. Why did PolyU and CityU experience a visible ranking decline in 2024 before rebounding in 2025? The 2024 QS World University Rankings introduced a significantly restructured indicator framework and weight distribution, adding “Sustainability,” “Employment Outcomes,” and “International Research Network” as new indicators, while reducing the weight of Academic Reputation from 40% to 30%. Because institutions’ historical data accumulation differed for the newly added components, an initial scoring misalignment occurred. By 2025, both universities’ accumulated strength in International Research Network and Employment Outcomes was fully reflected, lifting their rankings beyond previous highs.
2. How can the claim that internationally co-authored research output quadrupled be verified? The data is aggregated from the sections on research output in PolyU’s and CityU’s annual reports, as well as the co-authored publication counts the two institutions submit for UGC research statistics. Verification can typically be sought through the annual reports issued by PolyU’s “Research and Knowledge Transfer Office” and CityU’s “Research Grants and Development Office.” Third-party data platforms such as Web of Science and Scopus also provide retrievable corroboration for institutionally co-authored papers.
3. Does the growth in non-local student numbers affect local students’ admission opportunities? Under the current UGC policy, the cap on non-local student enrolment in publicly funded undergraduate programmes is set at 20% of total approved student intake, and this ceiling has not been relaxed. The increase in non-local students primarily occurs through optimising the mix within the existing cap or is concentrated at the postgraduate level in self-financed programmes; it does not squeeze local students’ access to publicly funded undergraduate education. The EDB and the UGC review quota implementation annually.
4. What impact does CityU’s Dongguan campus have on teaching resources and staffing allocation in Hong Kong? CityU (Dongguan) is an independent legal entity, with its funding and staffing in principle not overlapping with the Hong Kong main campus. Research grants and academic staff establishment for the Hong Kong campus are subject to UGC oversight, and CityU must maintain a clear separation of resources between the two locations. The establishment of the Dongguan campus is more conducive to enabling CityU to scale up in terms of physical space and research commercialisation, complementing rather than diluting Hong Kong’s resources.
5. Is the ranking rise of PolyU and CityU sustainable? The sustainability of the rankings depends on multiple variables: the capacity to sustain the growth inertia of internationally co-authored papers, the achievement of strong ratings in the UGC’s RAE 2026, and whether global competitors adopt similar strategies. Currently, both institutions have embedded research network building and disciplinary specialisation into their medium- to long-term plans, and non-local student demand remains robust; short-term downside risks for the indicators appear manageable. The long-term trajectory still requires observation of the evolution of the global higher education landscape.
6. What practical significance do the ranking changes of PolyU and CityU hold for employment in the Greater Bay Area? QS rankings retain reference value for employers screening CVs, particularly for large multinational corporations and higher education institutions. The ascent of the two universities implies that graduates have had increased access to research resources, academic networks, and employer contact opportunities during their studies. Talent attraction policies in certain Greater Bay Area cities also use QS rankings as an evaluation benchmark; a higher ranking can enhance a graduate’s competitiveness when applying for subsidies or household registration.