In a place as linguistically and culturally rich as Hong Kong, the study of English language and literature takes on a complex and nuanced character. At the Department of English, City University of Hong Kong, we aim to explore its many facets in our teaching and research. We are an energetic team of teachers and scholars, who are passionately interested in questions like: How is the English language actually used in multilingual professional contexts? How do English literary and cultural representations reflect and shape key issues in society?

Our Department is internationally recognized for its contributions to Applied Linguistics, Professional Communication, and Language Education, and for its growing strength in Literary and Cultural Studies, an area in which we continue to invest. We consistently achieve impressive global rankings, contributing to the university’s top-100 QS ranking in language and literature and its QS top-50 ranking in linguistics.

One of the key features of the Department is our connection to industry and community in both teaching and research. Over the last 30 years, we have partnered with more than 60 different corporations, NGOs and community organizations. Our research engages with specific areas of communication like Law, Health, Marketing, and Education as well as examining social and cultural issues relevant to communities, cultural organizations, and the creative industries.

Across our BA, MA, and PhD programmes, we take an experiential approach to teaching and learning that develops students’ creativity and critical thinking by engaging them with real-world situations. At the BA level all of our students do an internship, working with our industry partners to creatively apply knowledge from English studies to solve communication problems at work.

I invite you to explore our web pages and find out how we're engaging with language, literature, and cultural life in this remarkable city, and beyond.

Christoph A. Hafner
Head of Department