Hong Kong Adventist College is located on a hilltop overlooking a beautiful small bay connected to the South China Sea. Away from the ebb and flow of the city, Hong Kong Adventist College offers a quiet place where study comes more easily. The campus is within easy reach by public transportation. Four bus routes serve the campus and the mass transit system is only a ten minute ride away.
Originally occupied in 1939, the campus includes several historic buildings and showcases pre-World War II architecture. Hong Kong Adventist College is currently affiliated with Andrews University, continuing its tradition of close ties with the United States education system.
History of Hong Kong Adventist College
The educational work conducted by Seventh-day Adventists in China has its origin in the Southern part of Mainland China. In 1903, the church operating in Guangzhou founded its first school to form the nucleus for the Hong Kong Adventist College. This exclusively female school was called "The Bethel Girls' School, "followed in 1905, by the establishment of the Yick Chi Boys' School. In 1911, the Yick Chi Boy's School was closed and re-opened as a middle school five years later as "Sam Yuk School."
The Sam Yuk School prospered and showed signs of bright future. As a result, lands were purchased in the eastern part of the Guangdong city (Canton) to meet the rapid development of the school. In 1922, a school plant was erected. As soon as the new buildings were ready for occupancy the Bethel Girls' School was incorporated as a part of the Sam Yuk School system. The new school served the Guangzhou (Kwangchow), Hakka (Hakkah), and Guangxi (Kwangsi) Missions in the South China region. In 1935, the South China Union Mission took charge of the Sam Yuk School and renamed it the "Canton Training Institute."
In 1937 the Sino-Japanese War broke out, plunging China into turmoil. To survive, the school was moved to Hong Kong and temporarily operated in Shatin. At that time the school was renamed as the "South China Training Institute". Later, the "China Training Institute" (Junior College), another Adventist education institution from central China, was also moved to the same quarters. The two schools were merged together to form the "China and South China Training Institute." Soon after, a piece of land consisting of 40 acres was purchased at Clear Water Bay in the New Territories. A development project destined to build a permanent campus began and after two years, the campus buildings were completed, with the school in Shatin soon arriving.
In 1942, World War II erupted, bringing the people of Hong Kong under Japanese occupation. As a result, the school reverted to its prior name of "South China Training Institute" and moved back to Mainland China near the town of Laolung in Guangdong province.
With the war was ending, the campus in Clear Water Bay was confiscated by the colonial British army. To continue the long suspended education work, the school was relocated back to its former site in the district of Tungshan in Guangdong for a year. It was not until 1947 that the school could move back to the Clear Water Bay campus.
In 1958, a strong need was felt for further training opportunities for the Seventh-day Adventist youth in China. The Far Eastern Division of Seventh-day Adventists authorized the South China Island Union Mission to open a college for providing tertiary education. It was planned to incorporate the middle school at the Clear Water Bay campus. The college curriculum was launched in 1962. Two years later, the name of this school, which had combined the secondary and tertiary education, was officially changed to �焻outh China Union College."
In 1981, the constituency of the South China Island Union Mission officially adopted the name "Hong Kong Adventist College" to identify the school as an independent entity separated from the secondary program of Sam Yuk Middle School. This was followed by the registration and approval of Hong Kong Adventist College by the Hong Kong Department of Education.
The College made rapid progress with enrollment growing steadily. The campus facilities, degrading as time passed, soon were in urgent need of renovation. As a result, the Board of Directors decided in 1989 to press ahead a major redevelopment plan for the College. It was decided that lands located in the hillside would be sold to the Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited for pooling a source of income for the redevelopment project. The hilltop was maintained to be the landmark of the campus site. New campus facilities were launched in 1997.
Today, the Hong Kong Adventist College is considered a member of the sisterhood of almost 4,000 Seventh-day Adventist schools and colleges operated all over the world. We join hands with these Adventist training institutes to provide quality education within the church community and for the wider society.
Programs of HKAC
Three types of degree programs are offered at HKAC. First, there are two degrees offered in affiliation with Andrews University; a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Religion. The second is a B.A. (Honors) in Accounting and Finance in affiliation with the University of Greenwich. Finally, degrees in Health and Religion are offered directly by Hong Kong Adventist College. All three types are open to students worldwide. All three are offered at a fraction of the cost in other countries.
Hong Kong Adventist College offers two programs for students in Hong Kong. Local programs include a Chinese senior secondary section that prepares students for the Hong Kong A-Level exams and a College Foundation (English) program that serves as a bridge between the Hong Kong educational system and the American based programs offered on the campus.
All programs are taught by local and international teachers.
