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Course Offerings and Timetables in 2025-26

First Upload Date: June 5, 2025
Last Updated Date: July 14
, 2025 

HKU Calendar for the Academic Year 2025-26 (For Undergraduate and Taught Postgraduate Students)

Timetables (AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE)

semester 1
  • Timetable
  • Class commencement details
semester 2
  • Timetable
  • Class commencement details 

 

First Semester Course Offerings

Introductory Courses

Prerequisite:
A minimum Level 5 in English Language HKDSE exam, or an equivalent score in another recognized English proficiency test. For details please refer to our English Proficiency Pre-requisite for ENGL Courses webpage.

For students who did not sit the HKDSE examination, please submit a copy of your equivalent qualification(s), such as the IB Diploma, GCE-A Levels, SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, etc., to the School Office (via this form: https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aYpc9YyvM2uqBaC) for consideration at least two weeks before the course selection period.

List A: Historical and theoretical foundations
Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL1022   Introduction to poetry
(Professor Tara Lee)
Lit.
ENGL1031  

English grammar(s)
(Dr. May Wong)

(For students admitted in 2021-22 or before, this course will be counted as an introductory course from List B after completion. Please refer to your syllabus at https://english.hku.hk/Undergraduate/Curriculum/English_Studies.)

L&C
ENGL1059   Introduction to pragmatics
(Professor Brian King)
L&C
List B: Critical reading, analysis and writing
Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL1024   Introduction to world literature
(Professor Anjuli Gunaratne)
Lit.
ENGL1035   Language crimes
(Professor Janny Leung)
L&C
ENGL1036   Meaning and metaphor Lit.
ENGL1041   Introduction to modernity and literary modernism
(Professor Nan Zhang)
Lit.
ENGL1043   Introduction to 20th-century poetry
(Dr. Peter Kennedy)
Lit.
ENGL1049   Early modern sonnets
(Professor Nicholas Luke)
Lit.
ENGL1064   Language, communication and media
(Professor Brian King)

(Non-permissible combination with ENGL1064: ENGL2182/ LCOM2004. Language, communication and the media)
L&C
Advanced Courses

Prerequisite:
Passed 3 introductory courses (with at least one from both List A and List B).
*For students in BA&LLB, successful completion of LALS2001 Introduction to law and literary studies will also fulfill 6 credits of introductory ENGL course (List B) for admission to advanced ENGL courses for English non-majors.

Additional prerequisite for a capstone course:
Final-year students normally should have completed 30 credits of introductory courses and 24 credits of advanced courses in the major (including transferred credits).

Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL2002   Language in society
(Professor Daniel Weston)
L&C
ENGL2012   Advanced literary theory
(Professor Anjuli Gunaratne)
Lit.
ENGL2039   Gender, sexuality and discourse
(Dr. Vincent Pak)
L&C
ENGL2079   Shakespeare
(Professor Nicholas Luke)
Lit.
ENGL2085   Creative writing
(Ms. Maria Chaudhuri)
Lit.
ENGL2127/
LALS3003/
LLAW3190
  Language and the law
(Professor Janny Leung)
L&C
ENGL2141   Doing discourse analysis
(Professor Olga Zayts)
L&C
ENGL2142   Milton Lit.
ENGL2156   18th-century literature Lit.
ENGL2159   21st-century English poetry
(Dr. Peter Kennedy)
Lit.
ENGL2165   Legal fictions: United States citizenship and the right to write in America Lit.
ENGL2181   Languager and politeness
(Dr. Mandy Yu)
L&C
ENGL2185   Health communication, ‘healthy’ communication
(Professor Olga Zayts)
L&C
ENGL2194   Language and advertising
(Dr. May Wong)
L&C
ENGL3040   Internship in English studies (capstone experience)
(Ms. Stephanie Ng)
L&C or Lit., depending on internship nature
ENGL3041   Senior colloquium in English studies: People Who Aren't Really There (capstone experience)  L&C
Common Core Courses
Course Code   Course Name
CCHU9053   Contested words, disputed symbols
(Dr. Sinead Kwok)
CCHU9092   Disabling society
(Professor Don Kulick)

 

Second Semester Course Offerings

Introductory Courses

Prerequisite:
A minimum Level 5 in English Language HKDSE exam, or an equivalent score in another recognized English proficiency test.

List A: Historical and theoretical foundations
Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL1042  

World Englishes
(Professor Daniel Weston)

(For students admitted in 2021-22 or before, this course will be counted as an introductory course from List B after completion. Please refer to your syllabus at https://english.hku.hk/Undergraduate/Curriculum/English_Studies.)

L&C
ENGL1056   Introduction to language and communication
(Professor Hanwool Choe)
L&C
ENGL1062   Reading and writing about literature
(Professor Anjuli Gunaratne)
Lit.
List B: Critical reading, analysis and writing
Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL1013  

Introduction to 20th-century literature
(Professor Nan Zhang)

(For students admitted in 2023-24 or before, this course will be counted as an introductory course from List A after completion. Please refer to your syllabus at https://english.hku.hk/Undergraduate/Curriculum/English_Studies.)

Lit.
ENGL1018  

Language and gender
(Professor Brian King)

(For students admitted in 2021-22 or before, this course will be counted as an introductory course from List A after completion. Please refer to your syllabus at https://english.hku.hk/Undergraduate/Curriculum/English_Studies.)

L&C
ENGL1050   Research methods in sociolinguistics
(Professor Hanwool Choe)
L&C
ENGL1055   Language myths and realities
(Dr. Sinead Kwok)
L&C
ENGL1061   Psycholinguistics and language acquisition
(Professor Ricky Chan)
L&C
ENGL1064  

Language, communication and media
(Dr. May Wong)

(Non-permissible combination with ENGL1064: ENGL2182/ LCOM2004. Language, communication and the media)

L&C
ENGL1066   Introduction to modern drama
(Professor Moonyoung Hong)
Lit.
Advanced Courses

Prerequisite:
Passed 3 introductory courses (with at least one from both List A and List B).
*For students in BA&LLB, successful completion of LALS2001 Introduction to law and literary studies will also fulfill 6 credits of introductory ENGL course (List B) for admission to advanced ENGL courses for English non-majors.

Additional prerequisite for a capstone course:
Final-year students normally should have completed 30 credits of introductory courses and 24 credits of advanced courses in the major (including transferred credits).

Course Code   Course Name stream
ENGL2007   Literary linguistics
(Dr. Philip Chan)
L&C or Lit.
ENGL2030   New Englishes
(Dr. May Wong)
L&C
ENGL2048   Language and jargon
(Professor Christopher Hutton)
L&C
ENGL2055   The Gothic
(Professor Tara Lee)
Lit.
ENGL2097  

Writing Hong Kong
(Mr. Felix Wong)

Lit
ENGL2119   English in Hong Kong
(Dr. Sinead Kwok) 
L&C
ENGL2128   Modernism
(Professor Nan Zhang)
Lit.
ENGL2146 Cognitive semantics  Cognitive semantics   Cognitive semantics L&C
ENGL2164/
LALS3010/
LLAW3251
  The beginnings of English Law and Literature Lit.
ENGL2166   English phonetics
(Professor Ricky Chan)
L&C
ENGL2174/
LALS3014/
LLAW3274
  Shakespeare and the law
(Professor Nicholas Luke)
Lit.
ENGL2175   Bad identities
(Dr. Vincent Pak)
L&C
ENGL2179   Theories of language and communication L&C
ENGL2190   Special topics in 19th-century literature
(Dr. Charlotte Cai)
Lit.
ENGL2195   Staging Asia
(Professor Moonyoung Hong)
Lit.
ENGL3040  

Internship in English studies (capstone experience)
(Professor Brandon Chua)

L&C or Lit., depending on internship nature
ENGL3041   Senior colloquium in English studies: Saussure and the politics of linguistics (capstone experience)
(Professor Christopher Hutton and Dr. Jasper Wu)
L&C

*Note: Students admitted in 2020-21 or before may choose the LCOM course codes. Students admitted in 2021-22 and thereafter may only choose the ENGL course codes.

Common Core Courses
Course Code   Course Name
CCHU9032   Language, institution and power
(Dr. Vincent Pak)
CCHU9084   The law in everyday life
(Professor Anya Adair)

Specialization streams

Applicable to UG English Studies major students admitted in 2021-22 and thereafter:

Major students who have successfully passed at least seven courses (three introductory courses and four advanced courses) with a literature OR language and communication focus, respectively, will be given a School of English certification, upon request, which attests to this specialization in the “Literature Stream” or “Language and Communication Stream.” If applicable, a dual recognition in both the “Literature Stream” and “Language and Communication Stream” is possible.

Please note that the declaration and certification of specialization stream(s) is optional and students can graduate with a major in English Studies without declaring any specialization stream(s).

You can only apply for a specialization certificate after you have completed your studies, for which please fill out our online form via the link below:
https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bpYV6msP8P4X5fU

Notes:

  1. Courses affiliated to specialization streams are listed on the School’s website.
  2. Neither the transcript nor the graduation certificate will show the specialization stream(s). If applicable, students may approach the School for certification of their specialization stream(s).

Specialization streams:

  • Stream: Literature (Lit.); or
  • Stream: Language and Communication (L&C); or
  • Stream: L&C or Lit.