Objectives

Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors (SSSDP) was launched as a new initiative under the 2014 Policy Address to subsidise about 1 000 students per cohort starting from the 2015/16 academic year to pursue designated full-time locally accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes in selected disciplines.

As announced in the 2017 Policy Address, SSSDP has been regularised from the 2018/19 academic year with an increased number of subsidised places in undergraduate programmes from about 1 000 per cohort to about 3 000 per cohort. The scope of the SSSDP has been expanded with effect from the 2019/20 academic year to subsidise about 2 000 students per cohort to pursue designated full-time locally accredited self-financing sub-degree programmes in selected disciplines.  

SSSDP has been enhanced from the 2023/24 academic year to, among others, cover top-up degree programmes, as announced in the 2022 Policy Address.

SSSDP aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To increase the supply of subsidised undergraduate places by leveraging the supply of the self-financing post-secondary education sector;
2. To nurture talent in support of specific industries with keen demand for human resources;
3. To encourage the self-financing post-secondary education sector to offer programmes in selected disciplines that meet Hong Kong’s social and economic needs by providing targeted financial support; and
4. To support the healthy and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector to complement the University Grants Committee-funded sector in broadening and diversifying study opportunities.

Eligible Programmes

Eligible programmes must meet the following requirements –

1. the programmes must be full-time locally accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes / sub-degree programmes; 
2. the programmes are included in a list of designated programmes nominated by relevant bureaux for the purpose of nurturing necessary talent in support of specific industries with urgent or keen demand for human resources; and
3. the actual annual tuition fees payable by students should include downward adjustment to reflect the subsidy under the Scheme.

Subsidy

SSSDP will continue to be administered by a two-tier arrangement.

Undergraduate Programmes (First-year-first-degree and Top-up Degree)

In the 2025/26 academic year, a subsidy of up to $81,450 per academic year will be provided to each student admitted to a laboratory-based undergraduate programme while a subsidy of up to $46,780 per academic year will be provided to each student admitted to an undergraduate programme that is not laboratory-based.

Moreover, starting from the 2024/25 academic year, an additional annual subsidy has been provided to full-time local students enrolling in designated applied degree programmes under the SSSDP.  Hence, the total annual subsidy amounts for applied degree programmes under the SSSDP in the 2025/26 academic year will be up to $89,620 (laboratory-based) and $51,880 (non-laboratory-based).

The Government announced on 09.09.2025 that the subsidy amounts of the SSSDP in the 2026/27 academic year will remain unchanged from those in the 2025/26 academic year.

Sub-degree Programmes

In the 2025/26 academic year, a subsidy of up to $40,730 per academic year will be provided to each student admitted to a laboratory-based sub-degree programme while a subsidy of up to $23,390 per academic year will be provided to each student admitted to a sub-degree programme that is not laboratory-based.

The Government announced on 20.11.2025 that the subsidy amounts of the SSSDP in the 2026/27 academic year will remain unchanged from those in the 2025/26 academic year.