Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Applicants who do not hold a Bachelor’s degree in English, Linguistics, English Language Education or English Language and Literature may still apply for the programme but may be given a lower priority for admissions.

Applicants who are in their final year of undergraduate studies should provide us with a certified photocopy of their available results after submission of the online application. Successful candidates will be given a conditional offer and required to submit an official transcript soon after the result of the final degree examination is known, and in any case no later than 31 July.

Please refer to the “Instructions for Submitting Supporting Documents” for details. Supporting documents should be uploaded to the online application system by the application deadline or within four weeks from the date of creation of your application account, whichever is earlier.

Posting of documents is NOT required at the application stage. Should an applicant be considered for admissions, he/she will receive an e-mail notification from the Programme Office to submit the original/officially certified copy of documents. Please note that our request to submit documents does not necessarily mean that you will receive an offer of admissions.

A photocopy of the original document that has been duly declared as a true copy of the original document by the applicant before a notary public (e.g. the District Offices in Hong Kong) (Please click here for details on making declarations of your documents at the District Offices. Please see a declaration sample here.) or certified by the appropriate official of your home institution (e.g. the Registry).

Yes, it is possible for you to apply to multiple programmes at HKU. You should submit one online application with the corresponding supporting documents and pay the application fee for each programme that you wish to apply to.

Candidates wishing 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 are required to obtain the following scores in IELTS or TOFEL and submit the official score report to support their application:

-   IELTS: a minimum overall band of 7.0 with no sub-test score lower than 6.5.

-   TOEFL: a score of 580 or above in the paper-based 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.

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

Applicants are advised to take the IELTS/TOEFL test at their earliest convenience to ensure their eligibility to meet the English language requirements of the programme.

Applicants should submit their IELTS/TOEFL score reports recorded within two years before the date of application and the reports should normally be uploaded to the application system before the application deadline. Applications will be reviewed based on the information and documents submitted. Incomplete applications or missing documentation will lead to a delay in processing your application.

Upon successful payment of the application fee and submission of an application, you will receive an application number and an e-mail notification within 48 hours.

Successful applicants will be notified of their admissions results by e-mail. Applicants who do not receive an offer by July may regard their applications as being unsuccessful.

Candidates may be invited to attend an interview.  However, being invited to an interview is not an indicator of the chance of admissions.

Classes are normally held during daytime. 

Please visit the HKU Academic Advising and Scholarships Office website for scholarship opportunities and contact the Academic Advising and Scholarships Office for further information.

The MA(TESOL) programme equips students with a thorough grounding in current research, teaching theory, principles and practices in English language education, applicable in schools, universities and other educational institutions in Asia and elsewhere. However, it is not equivalent to a teacher training qualification that guarantees you a teaching position on the approved teaching establishment in aided primary or secondary schools in Hong Kong. Despite this, graduates from the programme may succeed in securing a teaching position if they possess relevant teaching qualifications. Please refer to the Education Bureau website for more information about teacher training qualifications in Hong Kong.  Please refer to the Programme Overview and Aims section for the ‘Programme Recognitions’.

Please contact the Admissions Office of the Registry and the Immigration Department of the HKSAR Government for further information.