Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme opens for applications

     The Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (June 22) that the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme (MUSSS) 2018/19 will, from today until September 21, be open for applications from eligible Hong Kong students pursuing undergraduate studies in 176 designated Mainland institutions.
      
     The MUSSS was launched by the Government in July 2014 to provide subsidy to Hong Kong students, having passed a means test, to pursue undergraduate studies in designated Mainland institutions. Eligible students will receive either a full-rate subsidy or a half-rate subsidy per academic year, depending on their needs. Starting from the 2017/18 academic year, a non-means-tested subsidy is introduced under the MUSSS. Eligible students will receive a flat-rate subsidy for an academic year. The subsidy under MUSSS is granted on a yearly basis. The subsidised period will be the normal duration of the undergraduate programmes pursued by the student concerned in the designated Mainland institution. Eligible applicants can only receive either means-tested subsidy or non-means-tested subsidy in an academic year.
      
     For the 2018/19 academic year, the amounts of adjusted full-rate subsidy and half-rate subsidy under means-tested subsidy are HK$16,800 and HK$8,400 respectively. The amount of non-means-tested subsidy is HK$5,600. There are 176 designated Mainland institutions, comprising 102 institutions participating in the 2018/19 Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions and 74 others.
      
     "It is envisaged that the MUSSS will benefit the bulk of Hong Kong students pursuing undergraduate studies in the Mainland with different financial needs. Hong Kong students who receive and have completed senior secondary education in Hong Kong, including those studying local and non-local curricula as well as non-Chinese speaking students, and meeting other criteria, will be eligible for the MUSSS," a spokesman for the EDB said.
      
     Details of the MUSSS and the application form are available at the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/musss18). Eligible students should submit the completed application forms to the EDB by post, on or before August 21 (for students who entered the designated Mainland institutions before the 2018/19 academic year) or September 21 (for students who will first enter the designated Mainland institutions in the 2018/19 academic year). The EDB will notify individual applicants of the application result by the first quarter of 2019.