The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is the oldest tertiary education institution in Hong Kong. Its main estate covers over sixteen hectares on the north-western slopes of Hong Kong Island between 50 and 150 metres above sea level, and provides at present a total floor area of about 143,200 square metres for academic-related activities of the University.

On March 16, 1910, Sir Frederick Lugard, the then Governor of Hong Kong, laid the foundation stone for the University, signifying the birth of Hong Kong's first tertiary institution. Two years later, the University celebrated its official opening together with its two founding Faculties of Engineering and Medicine (the latter was the successor of Hong Kong College of Medicine). In December 1916, the University held its first Congregation with 28 graduates.

It was ten years after the HKU's founding that women students were admitted for the first time. During the 20s and 30s, the University grew in size and reputation, and achieved international recognition in its academic performance. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, which temporarily arrested the otherwise steady progress of the University, there were four Faculties - Arts, Engineering, Medicine, and Science.

When the War was over, the University underwent structural developments as post-war reconstruction efforts began in earnest. In order to cope with the exponential rise of Hong Kong's population, the University multiplied its intake and doubled the number of its teaching staff.

In 1961, when the University celebrated its golden jubilee, the number of students was more than 2,000, four times what it was in 1941. It was the oldest university of the then dependent territories of the Commonwealth except for the University of Malta, and remained the only university in Hong Kong. It was however no longer regarded as a university for the rich.

The 1970s witnessed the University's extraordinary growth, concurrent with Hong Kong acquiring phenomenally an international stature. The University today (1998-99) has a student population of over 14,500, including 9,200 undergraduate students and 5,300 postgraduate students (of which 1,800 are M.Phil. and Ph.D. students). From the modest beginnings of only two faculties, the University has grown to embrace almost all the major areas of teaching and research and it can confidently claim to be one of the best and most well-established universities in the region. There are now nine Faculties - Architecture, Arts, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, Social Sciences and a School of Business, offering more than 50 first degree programmes and 20 Master's degree curricula. In addition, all Faculties and their departments provide teaching and supervision for research (M.Phil. and Ph.D.) students.

In research, more than 2,100 projects with an overall budget of nearly $720 million were conducted in the University during the year 1998-99. These projects were financed by grants from different sources. Academic staff were also involved in a further 234 identifiable research projects which did not receive any dedicated funding support.

The bulk of the University's finances is borne by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The total recurrent grants allocated to the University for the triennium 1998-2001 amount to some HK$7,649 million. The remaining major sources of recurrent income are investment income and income from tuition fees.