In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants for the MPhil programme should have majored in Economics or related disciplines with a Bachelor's degree and a good background in Mathematics or Statistics. Applicants for the PhD programme should possess a Master's degree in Economics or related discipline, and a good background in Mathematics or Statistics. Those applicants with a Bachelor's degree can also apply for the PhD programme, but have to demonstrate excellent research potential. All applicants for the PhD programme and non-local applicants for the MPhil programme are required to take the GRE General Test; those without the GRE score may still be considered, but they will be at a disadvantage. 

Applicants should upload the scanned copies of the following required supporting documents before the application deadline. 

1. Official Transcripts (with a complete record of courses attended and examination results) and grading scheme of all tertiary level studies
   • Unofficial transcript directly downloaded from the e-platform of the University would NOT be accepted.
   • Official transcript(s) during the exchange study are also required.
   • Transcripts, which are not in English or Chinese, should be accompanied by an official certified translation in English.
2. A scanned copy of Degree Certificates (for applicants who have already completed a tertiary level programme only)
   • Certificates, which are not in English or Chinese, should be accompanied by an official certified translation in English.
   • Applicants who obtained degrees from universities in Mainland China are required to provide a valid Online Verification Report of Higher Education Qualification Certificate (教育部學歷證書電子註冊備案表) and a valid Online Verification Report of Higher Education Degree Certificate (中國高等教育學位線上驗證報告) issued by the CHESICC (學信網) together with their degree certificate(s) and graduation certificate.
3. Original score report showing the applicant has fulfilled the Graduate School’s English Language Proficiency Requirement (if applicable)
   • For details, please kindly refer to the relevant section in the Graduate School Office website.
   • For TOEFL, the institution code of the Chinese University of Hong Kong is 0812 while the department code for Economics is 84.
4. Original GRE score report [Institution code: 3153; departmental code: 1801];
   • Except for MPhil applicants who possess a degree issued by a University in Hong Kong
5. Confidential recommendations from three referees (for PhD applicants)/ two referees (for MPhil applicants)
   • Applicants are responsible to remind their referees that the submission deadline of confidential recommendation letter of our programme is 4 December 2025 (Thursday), or the earlier date stated in the application system.
   • The referees can submit the Confidential Recommendations via the submission link included in the invitation email sent by our application system. Applicants can request our application system to send out invitation emails to your referees in the application system after the completion of the application fee payment.
6. A scanned copy of passport or permanent identity card of home country/region
   • For applicants without Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, please upload the scanned copy of passport, or the permanent identity card of home country/region.
7. A research proposal of about five pages and/or completed working paper(s) (for PhD applicants only)
   • Please clearly state the type of your supporting document (research proposal or working paper) in the submitted file to avoid confusion.
8. Resume
   • Applicants are expected to list out all publication(s), professional qualification(s), prize(s) and award(s), training(s)/internship(s), working experience(s), extracurricular activities record(s) and volunteer work/community service(s) in the resume.
   • Applicants are then required to upload the scanned copy of the publication(s), professional qualification(s), prize(s) and award(s), training(s)/internship(s), working experience(s), extracurricular activities record(s) and volunteer work/community service(s) listed in the resume to support their application.
9. A scanned copy of certificates for obtained professional qualification(s), prize(s) and award(s), training(s)/internship(s), working experience(s), extracurricular activities record(s) and volunteer work/community service(s)
   • Each type of certificates should be uploaded in the ONE PDF file. The scanned copy of certificates should also in the same order listed in the application form. Applicants can access the submitted application form again in our application system.
   • Certificates, which are not in English or Chinese, should be accompanied by an official certified translation in English. 

Applicants are also advised to refer to our Department admission website for more details.

Main Round: 1 December 2025

*Applicants are highly recommended to submit the application early.

(No clearing round)

1. To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2025 (Hong Kong time); and
2. To submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2025 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.