HKUST is a seaside campus located beside Clear Water Bay on the eastern side of the Kowloon Peninsula. It is a 10-minute commute to the nearest subway station offering access to the downtown area. Sai Kung Country Park, one of Hong Kong’s top weekend getaways, is just a short distance away.

The university is situated at the northern part of Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong, occupying a site overlooking Port Shelter in Tai Po Tsai. The campus occupies a 58-hectare site which is divided into a several sections: the Academic Building, S.H. Ho Sports Hall, student halls, outdoor sports facilities, the University Centre, apartments, staff quarters and the President's Lodge. Constructed along the slope of the surrounding hills, Port Shelter is visible from virtually every building on campus. Arranged in cascades, the buildings are connected by walkways and balconies that offer a spectacular view of the South China Sea. The Academic Building The Academic Building contains 10 lecture theatres (A-H, J-K) as well as a multitude of classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices. The lecture theatres can accommodate classes of up to 450 students and offer audiovisual equipment. Lee Shau Kee Business Building (LSK), completed in 2013 and named after entrepreneur Lee Shau Kee, houses offices and classrooms of the School of Business and Management (SBM). Before LSK went into operation, offices and classrooms used by all of the 4 schools were grouped under the same roof in the Academic Building. The University Library The HKUST Library, part of the Hong Kong Academic Library Link (HKALL), occupies a central location of the campus. Connected to the Academic Building, it is accessible directly from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Atrium. It spans five floors with over 12,350 sq m of floor space, providing 3,100 seats as well as computing facilities. It offers a wide array of information resources, both local and remote. In addition to over 700,000 print volumes and a large collection of media resources, it provides access to more than 34,000 periodical titles, a large number of e-books, databases, and other digital information resources. The library owns a collection of old maps of China and the rest of Asia, produced by Chinese and Western cartographers over the last 500 years. A selection of these maps, providing an insight into the history of international geographic knowledge, was published by the library in a limited-edition (1000 copies) volume in 2003. Unlike other university libraries in Hong Kong where access is limited to persons affiliated to the institutions, HKUST Library is open to the public except during examinations. Health services Located on LG1, next to the Sports Hall entrance, the Health Center consists of a medical clinic, a student dental clinic as well as a staff dental clinic. The medical clinic provides free outpatient service to all full-time students and staff. Specialist services in Allergy, Dermatology, ENT, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Pulmonology, Surgery and Physiotherapy are available subject to a charge. Safety and Environment It is important that a research university be in compliance with relevant safety and environmentally friendly manner to conduct all its teaching, research and other operations. Heads of all campus units have the responsibility to implement the University safety policy and to ensure a safe and environmentally healthy workplace. All members of the campus community must follow safety and environmental procedures and watch out for the safety and health of one another. The Health, Safety and Environment Office (HSEO) was established to develop and help implement safety and environmental policies and procedures, and to provide necessary services to facilitate the realisation of this commitment. HKUST had been previously ranked Asia's number one by the regional QS Asian University Rankings, a spin-off of the major world rankings, for three consecutive years from 2011 to 2013, and topped theQS world's under-50 universities in 2013. The University came fourth in the Times 100 under 50 universities (2013). Its strength in particular subjects can be viewed via the list of subject rankings of Hong Kong tertiary institutions. The Times World Reputation Rankings considered it 51st–60th in 2014, being the second in the territory, while it was third in the HKU Public Opinion Programme survey (2012). Specific rankings on business studies include the Financial Times EMBA rankings which have been topped by its Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA (EMBA) program for fifth consecutive years (2009—2013), and theGlobal MBA Rankings where HKUST Business School (MBA) program ranked 8th worldwide and the best in Asia in 2013. The MBA program was also ranked 58th which was the third in Asia and second in Hong Kong by the Economist's 2013 ranking.

The state universities have a variety of residential halls and colleges and there are private alternatives, but both may be in short supply so early application is advised.