Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Admissions Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the programme, candidates shall satisfy both the University Admission Requirements and the Programme Specific Requirements:

1. shall comply with the General Regulations and the Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Curricula;

2. shall hold a Bachelor’s degree in English, Linguistics, English Language Education, English Language and Literature or a qualification of equivalent standard from this University or another comparable institution;

3. for a candidate who wishes to be admitted on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution outside Hong Kong, where the teaching medium and/or examination is not conducted in English, shall fulfill the English Language Proficiency Requirements in the Section below;

4. satisfy the examiners in qualifying examinations, if required.

An application for exemption from the above requirements shall be considered on a case by case basis.

English Language Proficiency Requirement:

A candidate who wishes to be admitted on the basis of a qualification from a university or comparable institution outside Hong Kong where the teaching medium and/or examination is not conducted in English is required to obtain the following:

• A score of 580 or above in the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)#, with a score of 4.0 or above in the Test of Written English, or a score of 94 or above in the internet-based TOEFL# with a score of 25 or above in the Writing section; or

• A minimum overall band of 7.0 with no sub-test score lower than 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)#.

# For admission, only TOEFL/IELTS score recorded within two years before the date of application will be considered.

Notes for non-local students:

All non-local students are required to obtain a student visa to study in the HKSAR. All applicants for a student visa are required to have a local sponsor. Students coming to HKU should nominate the Admissions and Academic Liaison Section (AAL) of the Registry to be your local sponsor, by submitting an online application with all the required documents and payment. Please note that at least 2 months should be allowed for visa processing. It is the responsibility of individual students to make appropriate visa arrangement before they come to Hong Kong.

For further information about student visas, please visit the AAL website at https://www.studentvisa.hku.hk/.

Admissions Schedule

Applications for 2023 intake are closed. 

Application and the application fee, which is non-refundable and non-transferable, should be submitted online at https://admissions.hku.hk/tpg/.  Applicants are required to submit academic supporting documents, such as transcripts, degree certificates, and TOEFL/IELTS results immediately after submitting your application. 

After submission of an online application, you are required to upload the supporting documents by logging on to http://www.hku.hk/tpg/login.html  by the application deadline or within four weeks from the date of creating your account, whichever is earlier.  Applicants are advised to prepare the required supporting documents in advance and to upload them onto the system as soon as possible. Late submission of supporting documents will result in a delay in the consideration of your application.

Posting of documents is NOT required at the application stage.  Please refer to the “Instructions for Submitting Supporting Documents” for details.  Should an applicant be considered for admission, he/she will receive an email notification from the Programme Office to submit the original/officially certified copies of documents.  Please note that the request to submit documents does not necessarily mean that you will receive an offer of admission.

Interview

Applicants who are shortlisted may be invited to attend an interview.

Admissions Results

Applications will be considered once the application period is open and this is expected to continue until the quota is full. Please note that admissions results are to be released on a rolling basis. 

Admissions Decisions

Successful applicants for MA(TESOL) will be informed of their admissions results by email, and will receive an Offer of Admission letter enclosing a Notice of Admission statement shortly after verification of academic qualifications.

Applicants are required to complete and return the Notice of Admission statement and pay the deposit to secure their place on the programme. The offer may be withdrawn if the Notice of Admission statement and the deposit are not received by the deadline as stipulated in the Offer of Admission letter.