Research Student Attachment Programme – Incoming

Guidelines

Leaflet

Online Application System

Forms and Notes for Successful Applicants

RSAP 2025/26 2nd Round

(for attachment commencing during 15 July 2026 - 14 April 2027)

Introduction

Application conditions and eligibility

• The duration of attachment is from a minimum of three months to a maximum of one year. 
• Current PhD students with good academic standing, whose applicant home institutions are overseas (except Mainland, Macau and Taiwan), are eligible for application.
• The applicants and host supervisor should have common research interests to ensure high-quality supervision. For host supervisors at the rank of Research Assistant Professor, joint supervision with academic staff with supervisory experience is required.
• Students who previously received financial support from RSAP cannot re-apply.

Period of attachment

• The actual duration may vary depending on the approval of student visa by the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government.
• Successful applicants will receive an offer letter GS detailing the application result, duration of attachment and the approved financial support.The offer is valid for nine months from the issue date of the letter.

Selection

• The Graduate School (GS) shall select and approve applications based on application quality and potential internationalisation impact.
• Application approval is subject to funding availability.

Financial support

• Successful applicants will be offered a subsistence allowance of HK$400 per day. The maximum allowance is capped at HK$72,000, i.e., the amount for a maximum of 180 days.
• Any visiting period before the issue date of the offer letter is not eligible for retroactive financial support.
• Successful applicants are not required to pay tuition fees to PolyU, but may be required to pay tuition fees to their home institution.

Application procedures and timeline

• Step 1: Applicants should seek consent from a potential host supervisor prior to application.  The research interests and contact information of PolyU faculty staff can be found on the PolyU Scholars Hub.
• Step 2: The research plan and expected outcome must be mutually agreed.
• Step 3: Application can be made via the online submission system. Required submission documents include:
  • An invitation letter on the host unit’s official letterhead, specifying the full name of the PhD student, the name of the host supervisor, and the attachment period.
  • A copy of the applicant’s academic transcript of PhD study, or an official certification of current PhD student status;
  • A brief resume of the applicant with a list of representative publications, and
  • A brief resume of the host supervisor (up to 5 pages) with a list of representative publications and PhD student supervision experience.
• Timeline:

  Date	Event
  16 March 2026	Call for applications
  4 May 2026 (23:59 HKT)	Application deadline
  8 May 2026	PolyU supervisor endorsement deadline
  15 May 2026	Departmental (DoRPgS) assessment deadline
  June 2026	GS application selection and approval
  15 July 2026	GS notification of results

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact the Graduate School by email at gs.attachment@polyu.edu.hk.