September 30, 2026

HKU TOEFL Requirements 2026: Scores (1–6 and 0–120)

HKU undergraduates need 93, about 4.5 for planning; taught postgraduate admission uses 80 or official 4.5, with program differences.

Verified requirement

Undergraduate previous scale: 93 overall in the same attempt.
Undergraduate revised-scale planning band: about 4.5, approximate. The undergraduate page reviewed does not publish a direct 1–6 minimum.
Taught postgraduate central rule: 80 before January 21, 2026, or official 4.5 from January 21, 2026.
Faculty of Arts coursework: Writing 25 on the previous scale or official Writing 5.0 on the revised scale, with stated exceptions.
Test conditions: undergraduate scores must be within two years of the stated intake date, and the Home Edition is not accepted for the undergraduate route reviewed.

Last verified July 18, 2026. Always confirm on the official admissions page.

How the requirement works on the two score scales

Requirement	0–120 scale	1–6 scale
Undergraduate	93	About 4.5, approximate
Taught postgraduate central rule	80	Official 4.5
Arts coursework Writing floor	Writing 25	Official Writing 5.0

HKU’s undergraduate page publishes 93 on the 0–120 scale but does not state a direct revised-scale minimum. Under the permitted transition bands, 93 is about 4.5 for planning, and that estimate is not an HKU undergraduate policy.

HKU’s taught postgraduate portal separately publishes 80 or official 4.5. During dual reporting, older scores remain usable under the rule for the test date. The free TOEFL score converter can help compare practice results, but applicants must use the correct degree-level page.

How competitive is HKU really?

The published language requirement is an eligibility condition, not a description of the full admitted profile. Academic results, prerequisites, references, and program selection remain separate.

The 80 figure is the central taught postgraduate rule, not the undergraduate requirement. The current undergraduate requirement is 93, which is 13 points higher.

A move from 80 to 93 usually requires several weeks of focused sectional work. Applicants should avoid treating the difference as one general total-score problem and should instead measure where the 13-point gap is concentrated.

How to prepare for a 93, 80, or 4.5 at HKU

Use Target, Gap, Route. Target means choosing undergraduate or postgraduate admission first, then checking the exact faculty or program for added section requirements.

Gap means taking a timed diagnostic and recording all four sections. A taught postgraduate Arts applicant who reaches 84 overall but Writing 23 still has a two-point Writing gap.

Route most weekly practice to the weakest required section. Keep a complete mock in the cycle to confirm that section gains transfer to the total in one accepted attempt.

Start with the free Essentials Edition of the Aidoss Academy Target Score Diagnostic Workbook to measure the section gap. Then use the Complete Digital Edition or the 90-Day Self-Study Planner to turn that result into a weekly route.

Classify recurring errors as comprehension, timing, response development, or language control. This keeps the weekly route specific and prevents repeated full testing without a correction plan.

Use two full checkpoints before submission. The first shows whether targeted work is closing the largest gap. The second confirms repeatability and leaves time for official score delivery.

Check the score-validity date against the intended intake. A qualifying score can still be unusable if it falls outside HKU’s stated two-year window.

Save the official degree-level page with the verification date. Undergraduate, taught postgraduate, research, and individual faculty requirements should not be combined into one general HKU number.