BA Chinese and History
Tat Chee Avenue, Hong Kong
BA
DURATION
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
HKD 170,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for non-HK citizens | additional 10,000 HKD acceptance fee + 450 HKD application fee
Key Summary
Founded in 2014 with a view to establishing excellent tertiary education, world-class research, and an international reputation in Hong Kong, the Department of Chinese and History offers the major in Chinese and History with two streams – a) Chinese & b) History and Cultural Heritage. It aims to equip students with advanced and professional knowledge and a wide range of analytical and writing skills.
The Chinese Stream strives to provide students with a solid and comprehensive training in the Chinese language, Chinese literature, history, and philosophy. The knowledge is both ancient and modern, and can be widely used in daily life. The training equips students with both in-depth knowledge and research skills for further academic work as well as for career development in the education, public affairs, administration, literature studies, media, editing, and creative industries involving the use of Chinese. The Chinese Stream consists of four specialized areas of study, which are (1) Chinese language and literature, (2) Classical and modern Chinese literature, (3) Chinese classics and philosophy, and (4) Language use and writing.
The History and Cultural Heritage Stream equips the students with comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of history, particularly Chinese history. It also aims to provide the students with the necessary training as cultural professionals with a historical background. History seeks to provide the student with knowledge of past events, memories, collections, and interpretations of the past. It also trains the students to examine the cause-and-effect relationships in human affairs and addresses the complexity of the past in shaping contemporary society. Although Chinese history is the primary focus of the stream, it also offers the students courses related to world history and public history to acquire historical knowledge to understand other nations’ different histories and cultures.
History as a discipline is in their very process of synthesizing other fields of social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, and economics, not to mention cultural history, to which Cultural Heritage belongs. Without a relatively systematic knowledge of History, it is difficult for a student to master the knowledge of Cultural Heritage well. On the other hand, locating Cultural Heritage within and with History, Cultural Heritage can provide a cultural perspective for students of History in return. This stream is designed based on these two inseparable and interactive parts of “History” and “Cultural Heritage”.
The History and Cultural Heritage Stream provides the professional training necessary to nurture high-caliber history-related professionals with a cultural perspective and cultural professionals with historical knowledge. It meets the growing workforce needs resulting from the rapidly expanding capacity in history-related industries including education, libraries, publishing, mass media, etc., and culture-and-heritage-related industries, including cultural tourism, museum management, exhibition industries, commercial galleries and archives, community heritage programs, entertainment and arts-related professions, cultural and creative industries, in the Greater Bay Area, particularly Hong Kong. It educates students to become historical and cultural professionals who are culturally literate and competent in managing and marketing culture and heritage, with extensive knowledge of Chinese history and Chinese cultural heritage, including knowledge of Hong Kong’s history and cultural heritage. It also educates the students to understand Hong Kong’s unique position in integrating the East and West cultures. For this goal, this stream also strives to educate the students to become cultural professionals with highly proficient English-language ability to promote their culture and heritage and understand and respect the historical and cultural differences of other nations. Last but not least, History and Cultural Heritage Stream promotes professionalism in History and Culture and Heritage in support of maintaining Hong Kong’s leading role in culture- and heritage-related professions and provides expert advice on the promotion of culture and the protection and preservation of heritage in the context of Hong Kong both as part of China and as an international city.
Students who choose to major in Chinese and History will enjoy the significant advantages of integrating the two streams and our interdisciplinary emphasis, and may go on to pursue a wide range of careers after graduation.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Major (MILOs)
Chinese Stream
- Function as proficient, effective, versatile, and creative communicators capable of performing a wide range of Chinese language-related tasks in a competitive and multilingual workplace;
- Discover and appreciate the aesthetic, moral, and ethical dimensions of Chinese literature, having become more culturally aware;
- Think analytically, critically, and creatively through their exposure to various schools of thought in Chinese literature, and through their comparative study of traditional and modern Chinese linguistics;
- Apply research methods such as (i) the use of electronic texts & databases, useful websites, and library resources; and (ii) textual criticism & comparison;
- Enhance students’ ability in critical thinking and reflect on issues of literary interpretation and debates;
- Enrich their lives through lifelong learning.
History and Cultural Heritage Stream
- Demonstrate cultural literacy and competency with professional understanding of the multifarious relations between history and cultural heritage, particularly of Chinese cultural heritage and Hong Kong’s unique role in bridging the cultures of the East and the West;
- Discourse and comment intelligently and expertly on primary sources, history, and cultural heritage issues, heritage sites, artworks, and artifacts, with specific emphasis on creativity, originality, and critical awareness;
- Disseminate knowledge, concepts, theories, and methods of history and cultural heritage, and promote them to a non-specialist audience using creative and innovative approaches and strategies such as exhibition, online display, and print and interactive media;
- Demonstrate knowledge of academic writings and design research projects on the history and cultural heritage of an interdisciplinary nature;
- Plan, organize, promote, and manage cultural and heritage programs and activities to accommodate contemporary sensibility and the interests and expectations of different groups of local and international audiences;
- Apply historical research methods such as (i) the use of electronic texts & databases, useful websites, and library resources; and (ii) textual criticism & comparison;
- Enhance students’ ability in critical thinking and reflect on issues of historical interpretation and debates.
Entrance Scholarship Scheme
CityUHK has an Entrance Scholarship Scheme for international students with excellent academic performance who are admitted to full-time government-funded bachelor's degree programmes.
The Scheme offers three kinds of scholarships:
- Top Scholarships of HKD210,000 (approximately USD27,000), covering annual tuition fees, university-managed accommodation and partial living expenses
- Full Tuition Scholarships, covering annual tuition fees (approximately USD21,800)
- Half Tuition Scholarships, covering half of the annual tuition fees (approximately USD10,900)
Applicants do not have to apply for these scholarships. The appropriate level of scholarship is awarded based on merit. Students who receive the scholarship are required to attain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.2 or above each year throughout their period of study in order to renew the scholarship.
Diversity Grant
Non-local students admitted from underrepresented nationalities except Top Scholarship recipients will be eligible for the new grant of HKD 30,000 per annum.
Awardees will be required to engage in a volunteer activity to enhance internationalisation of CityUHK annually. The grant will be paid in installments and automatically renewed each year.
HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund
The Fund supports outstanding non-local students to pursue undergraduate studies in Hong Kong, with targeted scholarships made available to first-year full-time students from countries/regions along the Belt and Road, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Mongolia.
Outstanding Athletes Entrance Scholarship for Non-Local Students
This scheme is to provide opportunities for outstanding student athletes to study in CityUHK. Through the provisions of scholarships, it is hoped to attract high performing international athletes to CityUHK and further enhance the performance of university sports teams. Selected students will be able to receive Outstanding Athletes Entrance Scholarship of up to HK$200,000 (approximately USD25,600) per annum for International / Continental Level.