Lingnan University
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Lingnan University is a public university located in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong.
Lingnan University has 3 faculties, 3 Schools, 16 departments, 2 language centres, and 2 units (science and music), offering 29 degree honours programmes spanning various disciplines in humanities, business, and social sciences. Lingnan's small class size facilitates interaction. Lingnan also provides a diverse array of taught masters, research master's and PhD programmes. Total students comprise more than 6,200 students.
Lingnan University has over 270 partners across more than 50 countries/regions facilitating international exchanges or participation in short-term summer or winter programmes for over 80% of undergraduates. Currently, Lingnan University has dual-degree programmes with the Hong Kong Metropolitan University, National Chengchi University, Shenzhen University, Wuhan University and Beijing Normal University in some of the master's and doctoral research areas.
Lingnan achieved historic recognition in 2025 by ranking World No. 1 for SDG 4: Quality Education in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. This is the first time a Hong Kong higher education institution has secured the top global position in any SDG category and reflects Lingnan's deep commitment to advancing high quality education and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Beyond SDG 4, the University actively advances many other SDGs through interdisciplinary research, community partnerships, and innovation that address global and regional development challenges.
Lingnan has also entered the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, placing among the top 301–350 universities worldwide out of 2,191 institutions across 115 countries or territories. The University performed strongly across multiple indicators, including an impressive 47th place globally in International Outlook, demonstrating Lingnan's success in fostering international diversity and global research collaboration.
History
The university was originally founded in 1888 by Andrew Happer at the request of the American Presbyterian Mission in Canton with the goal of providing a non-denominational Christian education. The university split, relocated, and was separately incorporated several times during its existence. It moved to Macau, then a Portuguese colony, in 1900 to escape the repressive measures implemented by the ruling Qing dynasty of China. In 1903, the Chinese name was changed to Lingnan Academy (嶺南學堂; ling5 naam4 hok6 tong4) in Macau. It moved back to Canton in 1904.
In 1953, Lingnan University was incorporated into Chung Shan University (now Sun Yat-sen University).
In 1967, some members of the university who fled from China's Communist rule to Hong Kong founded the Lingnan College in Hong Kong to continue the spirit of the university.
In 1999, the college acquired university status and renamed as Lingnan University.
Research
Lingnan's research in humanities, social sciences and business were classified as "World Leading" (4-star) and "Internationally Excellent" (3-star) in the Research Assessment Exercise 2020, conducted by the University Grants Committee using international benchmarks to identity the areas of relative strengths of the city's public universities. Lingnan came first or second among all public universities in terms of the percentage of "World Leading" research work in Accountancy, Sociology & Anthropology, Social Work & Social Policy, and Philosophy.
Faculties and departments
Faculty of Arts
- Department of Chinese
- Department of Cultural Studies
- Department of Digital Arts and Creative Industries
- Department of English
- Department of History
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Translation
- Centre for English and Additional Languages
- Chinese Language Education and Assessment Centre
Faculty of Business
- Undergraduate Programmes Office
- Taught Postgraduate Programmes Office
- Hong Kong Institute of Business Studies
- Department of Accountancy
- Department of Finance
- Department of Management
- Department of Marketing and International Business
Faculty of Social Sciences
- Office of the Faculty of Social Sciences
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Economics
- Department of Government and International Affairs
- Department of Sociology and Social Policy
School of Graduate Studies
School of Interdisciplinary Studies
- Office of the Core Curriculum
- Science Unit
- Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit
School of Data Science
- Division of Artificial Intelligence
- Division of Industrial Data Science
- LEO Dr David P. Chan Institute of Data Science
Institute of Policy Studies
Controversies
Student and alumni petition for dismissing Junius Ho from the University Council
In July 2019, a widely circulated video showed Junius Ho shaking hands, giving thumbs-up to, and taking photos with the white-clad mob that attacked protestors and bystanders in the 2019 Yuen Long attack. Ho claimed that he was only passing by after dinner and was not involved in the attack, and that the mob supported his pro-police stances and asked for photos with him. As Ho was a member of the Council of Lingnan University, a number of student bodies and alumni associations made a joint declaration accusing him of hate speech over the years and condemning his support for the attackers, saying that it seriously affected the image of the university. They also requested Chief Executive Carrie Lam, then-Chancellor of the university, to dismiss Ho from the Council. Afterwards, the university issued a statement emphasising its respect for freedom of speech and that Ho's views did not represent the university.
Removal of Tiananmen relief sculpture
On the night of 24 December 2021, the university removed from campus a relief sculpture created by artist Chen Weiming and commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The university said that it had "reviewed and assessed items on campus that may pose legal and safety risks to the University community" and had the relief "removed and stored appropriately... in the best interest of the University". Around the same time, the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong also removed similar Tiananmen memorial monuments from their campuses. Chen said that "it is a major regret", and that the university authorities "acted like a thief in the night" and "were very scared that the removal of the monuments would spark public outcry".
Notable alumni
| Name | Faculty | Graduation Year | Notable Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew To | Social Sciences | 1990 | Former Chairman of League of Social Democrats President of the Executive Council (1988–89) |
| Joseph Lee | PhD | 2002 | Legislative Councillor |
| Herman Yau | Master of Cultural Studies | 2008 | Film Director |
| Benny Chan | Social Sciences | Actor | |
| Vanessa Yeung | Business Administration | 1994 | Model |
| Xian Yuqing | Education | 1924 | Historian, poet, painter, and longtime academic at Lingnan University |
Office of Service-Learning
In 2006, Lingnan University became the first local university to establish an Office of Service-Learning.
From 2007 to 2013, the Office of Service-Learning and Lingnan University jointly organised the biennial 1st to 4th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning.
See also
- Liberal Arts
- Lingnan University Library
- Education in Hong Kong
- List of universities in Hong Kong
- List of mainland Chinese schools reopened in Hong Kong
- List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
External links
22°24′36″N 113°58′59″E/22.41°N 113.983°E/ 22.41; 113.983