The MA programme in Literary and Comparative Studies (MALCS) offers students the opportunity for focused study while at the same time devoting the entire heft of the curriculum to literary studies in a global and comparative context. This global focus offers a discernible and distinctive character to the programme, and it resonates with the ethos of HKBU — an ethos that places learning within an internationalized context while at the same time according the utmost importance to the needs of the individual learner.
The MALCS offers an academically rigorous programme balancing content and methodology-based core courses with research-driven elective seminars based on teaching colleagues’ own research. It aims to provide students who already hold a Bachelor’s degree in English literature, or equivalent qualification(s), with the opportunity to test out their intellectual potential in a well-supported, research-intensive environment, and seeks to equip them with high-level skills and qualifications necessary for pursuing further advanced research degrees.
The emphasis of the programme will be to produce quality graduates with demonstrable English language competencies and highly-regarded scholarly credentials. In particular, the programme examines literatures against their intellectual, historical, social, political, and transcultural contexts. Taught exclusively in English, the MALCS is a taught degree based on coursework. Available in full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) streams, the programme is designed for students interested in professions requiring a broad and subject-based knowledge about literary and comparative studies in both local and global contexts.
In order to complete the degree, students are required to take 5 core courses in addition to
- any 4 electives; or
- any 3 electives and, upon successful application to the Programme Management Committee, an optional three-unit Master’s Project (equivalent to a publishable, refereed journal article).
Students who have satisfactorily completed a total of 27 units and achieved a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above will be awarded a Master of Arts in Literary and Comparative Studies degree. An exit award (the Postgraduate Diploma in Literary and Comparative Studies) may be awarded to those who have completed at least 18 units and attained a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above.