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 Admissions 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 or English Language and Literature of this University 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 is not English and/or examinations are not conducted in English, shall fulfill the English Language Proficiency Requirements in the Section below;

4. satisfy the examiners in a qualifying examination, 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 is not English and/or examinations are 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 lower than 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)^#.

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

Notes for non-local students:

All students without the right of aboade/right to land in Hong Kong must apply for a student visa for the purpose of education from the Hong Kong Immigration Department (ImmD). Student visa applicants are required to have a local sponsor. While admitting to HKU, you are required to nominate Admissions Office of the Registry to be your local sponsor. It is the responsibility of individual students to make appropriate visa arrangement before they come to Hong Kong.

For more information about student visas, please visit the Admissions Office website at https://www.studentvisa.hku.hk/.

Admissions Schedule

Round 1

Online application opens at 12:00 noon (GMT+8) on December 1, 2023 (Friday).
Closing date: 12:00 noon (GMT+8) on December 28, 2023 (Thursday)

Round 2*

Online application opens in late January 2024.
Closing date: 12:00 noon (GMT+8) on February 20, 2024 (Tuesday)

* If all places are filled in Round 1, there may not be a 2^nd round of applications. Interested parties are thus strongly encouraged to submit applications in Round 1 for a greater chance of securing a place. 

Application and the application fee, which is non-refundable and non-transferable, should be submitted online at https://admissions.hku.hk/tpg/. After submission of an online application, applicants are required to upload the supporting documents, such as transcripts, degree certificates, and TOEFL/IELTS results, by logging on to http://www.hku.hk/tpg/login.html by the application deadline or within four weeks from the date of creating the application 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 the 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 e-mail 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.

Admission 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 admission results are to be released on a rolling basis. 

Admission Decisions

Successful applicants for MA(TESOL) will be informed of their admission results by e-mail, 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.