P30
MA Language Studies
文學碩士(語言研究)

Year of Entry

2026

Application Deadline

20250916T020000Z
20260228T155959Z
9/16/2025 02:00:00 2/28/2026 15:59:59 2/28/2026 15:59:59

Mode of Study

Combined

Mode of Funding

Non-government-funded

Intermediate Award

Postgraduate Certificate / Postgraduate Diploma

Indicative Intake Target

400

Minimum No. of Credits Required

30 (MA), 24 (PGD), 12 (PGC)

Class Schedule

Weekday evenings, and/or Saturday afternoons. Evening classes normally start at 7:00 pm. Saturday afternoon classes, when available, normally start at 2:00 pm. This schedule, however, is subject to change. The final decision rests with the University.

Normal Study Period

Full-time: 1 year; Part-time: 2 years

Maximum Study Period

Full-time: 2.5 years; Part-time/Combined mode: 5 years

Mode of Processing

Applications are processed on a rolling basis. Review of applications will start before the deadline and continue until all places are filled. Early applications are therefore strongly encouraged.
Programme Leader
Suen Caesar LUN (Ph.D.)
General Enquiries
+852 3442 8705

Programme Outlines

  • Programme Aims and Objectives

  • Entrance Requirements

  • Course Description

  • Useful Links

Outline
Programme Aims and Objectives

The programme aims to

  1. provide students with an understanding of the nature of language with which to explore the various ways it impacts on society and culture in the context of Hong Kong;

  2. create a framework that allows students the option to focus on a particular aspect of language and its interaction with a particular societal / cultural process, be it the structure of language, language and translation and interpretation, and applications of language studies; and sharpen the students’ intellect to enable them to function more effectively as language professionals.

Entrance Requirements

To be eligible for admission, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirement and must:

  • hold a degree from one of the tertiary educational institutions of Hong Kong funded by the University Grants Committee; or
  • hold a degree of a level equivalent to the above from a local or non-local institution recognized for this purpose by the University; or
  • have satisfied the academic requirements for corporate membership of a professional institution recognized for this purpose by the University; or
  • have obtained an equivalent qualification, or provided evidence of academic and professional attainments, acceptable for this purpose to the University.

Applicants may be required to take an entry test and/or interview.

Applicants whose entrance qualification is obtained from an institution where the medium of instruction is NOT English should also fulfill the following minimum English proficiency requirement:

  • a score of 79 (Internet-based test) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)@#; or
  • an overall band score of 6.0 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS)@##; or
  • a score 450 in the new College English Test (CET-6) of Chinese mainland; or
  • other equivalent qualifications.

@ TOEFL and IELTS scores are considered valid for two years. Applicants are required to provide their English test results obtained within the two years preceding the start of the University's application period. 'TOEFL iBT Home Edition', 'TOEFL MyBest Score', 'IELTS Indicator', 'IELTS One Skill Retake' and 'IELTS Online' are not acceptable.

# Applicants are required to arrange with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send their TOEFL results directly to the University. The TOEFL institution code for CityUHK is 3401. 

## Applicants are required to arrange for sending their IELTS result(s) via the IELTS Results Service e-delivery to the University. Please note that applicants with an overall band score of 6.0 will be required to pass an interview for English proficiency conducted by the concerned academic unit. Interviews for other applicants may not be required.

 

Course Description

Upon successful completion of this Programme, students should be able to:

  1.  analyze the structure and use of language in different social / cultural contexts;
  2.  reflect critically on the nature of language, and the issues of language in its actual use;
  3.  apply effective communication skills in their work places in their role as language professionals;
  4.  formulate generalizations on the processes and strategies involved in making discoveries in their respective fields of specialization;
  5.  (for students in the stream of general linguistics) analyze the structure of language, generate innovative linguistic analyses; reflect critically on     the social, cultural and psychological aspects of language use, and apply such knowledge in their work;
  6.  (for students in the stream of corpus and empirical linguistics) apply a range of conceptual skills, with a focus on the corpus and latest   empirical  tools, to enhance students' ability and efficiency in generating creative solutions to language tasks and to reflect critically on the   multifaceted issues involved in the application of language studies;
  7.  (for students in the stream of pedagogical linguistics) apply a range of concepts and skills to language learning and its related pedagogical   applications, and to enhance students the ability to be exposed to language acquisition and teaching in global contexts; and
  8.  (for students in the stream of translation and interpretation) apply a range of conceptual tools and skills learned to enhance their ability in   generating creative solutions to translation and interpretation tasks, and reflect critically on the multifaceted issues involved in translation and   interpretation.

 

† Combined mode: Local students taking programmes in combined mode can attend full-time (12-18 credit units per semester) or part-time (no more than 11 credit units per semester) study in different semesters without seeking approval from the University.For non-local students, they will be admitted to these programmes for either full-time or part-time studies. Non-local students must maintain the required credit load for their full-time or part-time studies and any changes will require approval from the University.