香港大学

Programme Aims and Features

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme involves a four-year curriculum. The first year is a "year of exploration", in which students are encouraged to pursue their own special interests but also to introduce themselves to subjects that are new to them. They have a wide range of choices, but are required to take at least 18 credits of introductory Arts courses, normally including the pre-requisite(s) of the programme(s) in which they plan to major or minor.

At the end of Year 1, students decide on at least one Arts major. From Year 2-4, the BA programme offers a liberal and flexible curriculum, enabling students to develop their individual study programmes within a guided and academically coherent framework. Students can elect to pursue one Arts major plus a variety of other (Arts or non-Arts) courses, which may achieve an additional major or up to two minors.

Some programmes require students to have certain academic abilities, e.g. a certain level of language qualifications, before they are allowed to enroll in the programme. Students are advised to carefully study the requirements in the BA syllabuses for individual programmes.

In addition, the Faculty offers two four-year dual BA degree programmes in collaboration with two highly respected international universities. For the one jointly offered with the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), students will spend the first two years in France and the third and fourth years in Hong Kong. For the one jointly offered with the University of California, Berkeley, students will spend the first two years in Hong Kong and the third and fourth years in the USA.

Career Prospects

The BA programme equips graduates with a basic breadth of knowledge, plus analytical, linguistic and interpersonal skills required in the workplace. Arts graduates have many career options in both the private and public sectors. The largest percentage joins the business sector, including many who assume management and administrative posts. The next largest group becomes teachers. Some graduates have joined the government as administrative or executive officers, while others have found work in media and advertising. In recent years, more and more Arts students have continued their studies at postgraduate level.