PhD in Visual Studies

PhD in Visual Studies

Normal Duration: 3 or 4 years (Full-time)

Place: Hong Kong

Visual Studies at Lingnan is a stand-alone department, focusing on the following core sub-disciplines: art history, film studies, and philosophical aesthetics. The emphasis on philosophical aesthetics gives Visual Studies at Lingnan a unique profile, as does the emphasis on cognitive approaches to film, museum studies, art and well-being, and Chinese art in a global context. For more information about our department, please visit http://www.ln.edu.hk/visual/.

Application Methods

Applicants may seek admission to the PhD programme in two ways as follows:

1. Apply for PhD Programmes via the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS)

Outstanding and brilliant applicants may seek admission via the HKPFS by 2 December 2019 (Hong Kong Time 12:00 noon). Fellowship awardees will be provided with a Fellowship with a monthly stipend of HK$25,800*, and waived the full tuition fee for his/her first year of study. Students who apply for and do not get the fellowship can still be considered for the regular PhD places at Lingnan.

(US$1=HK$7.8).

(*rate for 2019-20, subject to annual review)

To apply for admission, please make an initial application on the Admission System of the RGC at www.rgc.edu.hk/hkphd during the period from 1 September to 2 December 2019 (Hong Kong Time 12:00 noon). Each applicant will be allocated a reference number. The applicant is then required to submit a full application directly to Lingnan’s electronic system at www.ln.edu.hk/admissions/applyonline on or before 2 December 2019 (Hong Kong Time 11:59 pm). Late applications will NOT be considered.

2. Apply for PhD Programmes Directly

Applicants may also seek admission to the PhD programmes by applying to the University directly. Full-time students will normally be provided with Postgraduate Studentships. The Postgraduate Studentship for a PhD student will be HK$17,390/month*.
* To be raised to HK$17,730/month after confirmation of candidature. (rate for 2019-20, subject to annual review)

The University invites applications from 1 November 2019 to 24 January 2020. Applicants may apply online via www.ln.edu.hk/admissions/applyonline. For details, please visit www.LN.edu.hk/reg/info/pgrad.

General Admission Requirements

1.An applicant for admission to candidature for the degree of PhD should normally:
a. hold a master's degree awarded by a tertiary education institution recognized for this purpose by the University; or
b. hold a relevant bachelor's degree with first or second class honours or at an equivalent standard, and have registered in a programme of study for a master's degree at a recognised tertiary education institution for at least one year and have evidence of research achievement; or
c. have obtained an equivalent qualification of a) or b) above; or
d. have provided satisfactory evidence of academic and professional attainment.
Note: First-degree graduates with proven research qualification or experience might be admitted directly to PhD studies ONLY UNDER EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. Normally a candidate without a master's degree would not be admitted to PhD studies and he/she should register as an MPhil student in the first instance.

2.In addition to the above, an applicant whose degree is not from a tertiary institution in Hong Kong or an English-speaking country should obtain a minimum score of 550 (paper-based test) or 79 (internet-based test) in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or a band score of 6.5 or above in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or an equivalent score in a recognised test, or an equivalent qualification to prove his/her language proficiency which will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants are required to fulfil additional requirements, if any, set by the programmes to which they apply for admission

[Note: For IELTS and TOEFL qualifications for admission to 2020-21 intake and onwards, the University only accepts results that are within the validity period, viz. 2 years, from the time of submission of an admission application for the specific intake cohort.]

3.For admission to Lingnan PhD programmes via the HKPFS, the RGC stipulated that for an applicant from a non-English speaking university, unless he/she provides proof that English is the language of instruction for all courses for the entrance qualification(s) of his/her proposed PhD programme(s), he/she is required to attach score results of TOEFL or IELTS in the PhD application. This requirement (mandatory submission of TOEFL/IELTS score results) can be exempted for applicants whose proposed PhD studies are specifically in non-English medium, e.g. Chinese. However, the applicants still have to meet the language requirements of the University as stipulated in paragraph 2 above.

Programme Specific Admission Requirements

In lieu of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)/ International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores, an applicant may obtain grade C or above in the Cambridge Test of Proficiency in English Language; or grade C or above in English Language in the Overseas General Certificate of Education (GCE).

An applicant may be required to demonstrate his/her ability in English and/or Chinese through means of an interview.