HKPFS and ordinary funding: check the applications and the money separately

This is a method guide, not a university rule

This is a method guide, not a university rule. Department, degree and year rules come from that programme's official page. Editorial advice and university rules are labelled apart in the text.

Who this is for

Undergraduates, taught master's students and students at Hong Kong universities who are exploring research.

Last checked

2026-10-25

The point

The RGC HKPFS initial application and the full application to the university you choose are two submissions. On the 2026-10-25 check of How to Apply, the 2027/28 initial application was stated as 2026-12-01 at 12:00 Hong Kong time. The university submission did not have that same date recorded, so the second cell stays empty instead of copying the first time.

Keep funding parts by year. When a page shows amounts from different years, do not add them into one package. This site does not copy those figures. The CUHK and HKU scholarship pages are university entrances. They do not replace the RGC text.

Use two deadline events on the programme comparison. Do not invent 23:59 for an unknown time, and do not convert a time that has no time zone.

What to do

1. Write one aim for this round. Do not change three paths at once.
2. Open the matching official page and copy only the year, eligibility and deadline that page states.
3. Leave unstated cells unknown. Unknown does not become open and it does not become a negative mark.
4. Put the draft in a template or in My research. Copying is not sending.

An example

The RGC HKPFS initial application and the full application to the university you choose are two submissions. On the 2026-10-25 check of How to Apply, the 2027/28 initial application was stated as 2026-12-01 at 12:00 Hong Kong time. The university submission did not have that same date recorded, so the second cell stays empty instead of copying the first time.

Keep funding parts by year. When a page shows amounts from different years, do not add them into one package. This site does not copy those figures. The CUHK and HKU scholarship pages are university entrances. They do not replace the RGC text.

Use two deadline events on the programme comparison. Do not invent 23:59 for an unknown time, and do not convert a time that has no time zone.

Easy mistakes

• Inferring that applications are open because the page still loads.
• Treating contact with a supervisor as formal admission.
• Merging different deadlines, or adding 23:59 to an unknown time.

Template

The template below this article can be filled in. Blanks stay marked unwritten.

How to use the sources

Source titles, links and the check date are listed under this page. Only sources checked for this round, and not marked search_only_403 or retired_redirect, are cited. The scope does not exceed what that source says.

Next step

Return to the research home and open the next list for the stage you saved.