Geoffrey Ma Birmingham Hong Kong Masters Scholarship

We are proud to be offering these scholarships funded by The University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation in honour of the Foundation’s first Honorary President.

University of Birmingham alumnus Geoffrey Ma, held the position of Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, stepping down from this in January 2021. He graduated from the University of Birmingham with a Bachelor of Laws in 1977. In 2011 the University presented him with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, followed by the inaugural University of Birmingham Hong Kong Medal in 2019. Geoffrey Ma Tao-li (LLB Law, 1977; LL.D, 2011) has been appointed as Honorary Chair and Professor in the Birmingham Law School.

These scholarships are focused to give financial support academically talented students from Hong Kong. We thank the Hong Kong Foundation for giving Hong Kong’s brightest the chance to make the most of their talents and be inspired by their legacy.

We are proud to be launching the Geoffrey Ma Birmingham Hong Kong Masters Scholarship to attract and support the most academically talented international students from across the world to our master’s degrees during the 2026/27 academic year.

The University of Birmingham is pleased to announce a limited number of scholarships of £10,000 for Hong Kong domiciled international students applying for entry to a postgraduate taught master’s programmes at the University starting September 2026.

These are joint awards with our local representatives AAS Education, Aston Education, IDP Education, LinkedU, SI-UK Hong Kong and the University’s Hong Kong Alumni Association (The University of Birmingham Hong Kong Foundation), and will be awarded to high-performing Hong Kong domiciled international students starting their University of Birmingham programme in September 2026.

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible, candidates must:

• You should have an excellent academic background. Candidates should have or be expecting a 2.1 in a bachelors degree or equivalent.
• Meet the academic conditions of their offer to the programme.
• Have received, and accepted, an offer of a place to study a full-time one-year masters taught programme at the University of Birmingham UK campus starting September 2026.
• Be classed as Hong Kong domiciled.
• Be classed by the University as an overseas fee payer for tuition fee payment. Should be able to fund the remaining costs of their studies at Birmingham from other sources.
• Have sufficient funds to cover the full cost of living for a year at the University of Birmingham, plus any visa/travel expenses associated with studying in the UK.
• Start their studies at the University in September/ October 2026 on a course delivered on-campus, the scholarship award may not be deferred.
• Have paid the standard £3,000 Admissions deposit by the deadline stated in the offer letter.
• Be registered with, and have their postgraduate study application attached to, one of our local representatives – Aston Education, IDP Education, LinkedU, SI-UK Hong Kong. A student may only apply through one local representative.
• Upon enrolment in September 2026, pay their net tuition fees for the first year by 1 November, immediately following enrolment.
• Submit your scholarship application through one of our local representatives by the deadline; 19 July 2026.

Eligible countries

Open to all nationalities but must be living in (domiciled) in Hong Kong

How to Apply

This is a competitive scholarship, please ensure you have fulfilled the eligibility requirements outlined above.

To apply for the scholarship you will need to formally accept the offer you receive from the University’s Admissions Office, by the deadline stated on your offer. You can do this via the postgraduate portal from the University of Birmingham and be in contact with one of our representatives by 19 July 2026 (this date may be subject to change).

Selection for the shortlisting interviews will be based on academic performance and a 150-200 word summary on ‘Why Birmingham’ to be submitted to your local representative.