P30
MA Language Studies
文學碩士(語言研究)
Apply Now

Year of Entry

2027

Application Deadline

20260915T020000Z
20270228T155900Z
9/15/2026 02:00:00 2/28/2027 15:59:00 2/28/2027 15:59:00

Mode of Study

Combined †

Mode of Funding

Non-government-funded

Intermediate Award

Postgraduate Certificate / Postgraduate Diploma

Indicative Intake Target

500

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 Website

Tuition Fee

Programme Leader
Prof Bin LI
Deputy Programme Leader
Prof Adel CHAOUCH OROZCO
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 (for tests taken prior to 21 January 2026) or 4 (for tests taken from 21 January 2026 onwards) (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 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. All TOEFL results must be sent directly by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) using CityUHK’s institution code 3401, while IELTS results must be sent via the IELTS Results Service e-delivery to 'City University of Hong Kong - Graduate School'.

# Applicants with an IELTS overall band score of 6.0 or a TOEFL overall score of 4 will be required to pass an interview for English proficiency conducted by the concerned academic unit. Applicants with a comparable overall score of 79 or above shown on the TOEFL report may be exempt from the interview requirement. Interviews for other applicants may not be required.

 

Course Description

1. Programme Core Courses (6-9 credit units)

6 credit units: students choose Capstone Project OR
9 credit units: students choose Master’s Project

Group A (choose either)

  • LT5903 Language and its Applications
  • LT5904 Language and Culture in Society

Group B *

Streams Capstone Project/Master's Project (Choose either)
Stream I: General Linguistics

  • LT6583 Capstone Project in General Linguistics
  • LT6587 Master’s Project in General Linguistics

 
Stream II: Experimental and Computational Linguistics

  • LT6584 Capstone Project in Experimental and Computational Linguistics
  • LT6588 Master’s Project in Experimental and Computational Linguistics

 
Stream III: Pedagogical Linguistics
  • LT6585 Capstone Project in Pedagogical Linguistics
  • LT6589 Master’s Project in Pedagogical Linguistics
Stream IV: Translation & Interpretation
  • LT6586 Capstone Project in Translation and Interpretation
  • LT6590 Master’s Project in Translation and Interpretation


2. Stream Core Courses (9 credit units)

Streams  Stream Core Courses
Stream I: General Linguistics
  • LT5401 Phonetics and Phonology
  • LT5402 Syntax and Morphology
  • LT5403 Semantics and Discourse
Stream II: Experimental and Computational Linguistics
  • LT5411 Computational Linguistics
  • LT5421 Corpus Linguistics
  • LT5428 Experimental Research in Linguistics*
Stream III: Pedagogical Linguistics
  • LT5407 Research Methodology for Applied Linguistics
  • LT5451 Pedagogical Grammar: Chinese and English
  • LT5458 Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Stream IV: Translation & Interpretation
  • LT5603 Translation Studies
  • LT5604 Translation Methodology
  • LT5605 Interpretation Methodology

3. Stream Electives Courses (9 credit units)

Please refer to the MALS programme website. https://lt.cityu.edu.hk/mals

4. Free Elective Courses: (3-6 credit units) *

  • 3 credit units: students choose Master’s Project which counts for 6 credit units

(Students are free to choose any one 3-credit unit course offered for the MA Language Studies programme. If a core course from another stream is chosen, it will be taken as a free elective.) OR

  • 6 credit units: students choose Capstone Project which counts for 3 credit units

(Students are free to choose any two 3-credit unit courses offered for the MA Language Studies programme, provided that only one core course from another stream may be chosen, the other one must be a non-core elective.)

*Subject to approval

 

† 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.