The MSc in International Hospitality Management offered by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is one of the core postgraduate programmes for hospitality professionals in the Asia-Pacific. According to official PolyU data, the tuition fee for non‑local students in the 2024/25 academic year stands at HK$215,000 (approximately US$27,500), a 3.4% increase on the previous year. Student visa statistics from the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD) show that the number of mainland Chinese freshmen enrolling in hospitality‑related programmes rose 18% year‑on‑year in 2023. The combination of industry recovery and a persistent talent gap has drawn attention to the programme’s financial model. What follows is a data‑driven reconciliation across three dimensions—tuition, living costs and internship income—and an estimate of the median total outlay over a two‑year stay in Hong Kong.
Tuition structure and payment schedule
This taught postgraduate programme is self‑financed and does not receive public funding from the University Grants Committee (UGC). Tuition fees for non‑local students are therefore set by the university on a market basis. The HK$215,000 fee for 2024/25 covers all core and elective credits but excludes field trips, professional association memberships and other incidental items. Payment is normally made in two equal instalments of HK$107,500 each: the first before the start of the programme and the second at the beginning of the following year.
When compared with similar programmes at other local institutions—the relevant hospitality master’s at HKU Business School costs about HK$360,000, while the MSc in International Hospitality Management at City University of Hong Kong is around HK$203,000—PolyU’s pricing sits in the middle. Yet the programme commands a premium because SHTM consistently ranks among the world’s best in the QS subject rankings. Factoring in inflation and accommodation, the tuition for this programme has risen by roughly 15% over the past three years (an average of 4.8% per annum), tracking closely with Hong Kong’s Consumer Price Index.
Admitted mainland students are required to provide proof of sufficient