About SSSDP

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 – 2016 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 – 2019 academic year with an increase in the number of subsidised places to about 3,000 per cohort. The scope of the SSSDP has been expanded with effect from the 2019– 2020 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 – 2024 academic year to, among others, cover top-up degree programmes, as announced in the 2022 Policy Address.

The Scheme aims to achieve the following objectives:

to increase the supply of subsidised undergraduate places by leveraging the supply of the self-financing post-secondary education sector;
to nurture talent in support of specific industries with keen demand for human resources;
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
to support the healthy and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector to complement the UGC-funded sector in broadening and diversifying study opportunities.

For further information, please refer to SSSDP website.