Students should choose one undergraduate elective (2000-4000 level) usually in Semester 2. For a full list of undergraduate level courses, please click here. Not all of the undergraduate courses listed there will be available to MA students, and the quota for individual courses may vary. The finalized list of options will be announced in due course.

Some undergraduate courses are available to audit. Please contact the course instructor for permission.

Each student is required to complete a dissertation of 10,000 words on a topic of their choice. Assigned supervisors are usually part of our teaching faculty at HKU. Museum professionals or art historians outside the university may be appointed as supervisors if they have appropriate expertise in the student’s chosen topic.

All MA dissertations are examined by the supervisor and by a second examiner.

All courses, including the dissertation, are assessed with letter grades that correspond to point values, as in HKU’s undergraduate curriculum (A=4.0, B=3.0, etc.). Passing grades range from a high of A+ (4.3 points) to a low of D (1.0). Students earning very high grades receive the MA degree “with distinction”.