Program Overview

Introduction to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in the Department of English and Communication at the Faculty of Humanities is a research-focused degree that offers students the opportunity to explore a wide range of research areas, including applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, professional communication, and AI and data analytics.

Research Areas

The department has several research areas, including:

• Area Studies and Intercultural Communication: This profile encompasses research on the linguistic and socio-cultural aspects of particular areas, such as Hong Kong and Europe.
• English Language and (Applied) Linguistics: This research profile includes all areas of linguistics and English language, including grammar, lexicology, lexicography, pragmatics, semantics, phonetics, phonology, discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, AI and text analysis, typology, and description and theory of languages and other semiotic systems.
• Language and Professional Communication: This research profile focuses on all areas relating to Language and Professional Communication, including lexico-grammatical, discourse, genre and pragmatic studies in professional contexts, organisational communication, intercultural and professional communicative competencies, cultural identities in the multilingual and multicultural workplaces, and English for specific purposes.
• Language Teaching and Learning: This research area covers all aspects of language teaching and learning, including the teaching and learning of English and other languages, AI and language education, second language acquisition, programme evaluation, language policy, language in education, teacher learning and professional development, multimodal features involved in teaching and learning, pronunciation, corpus-driven studies of pedagogical grammar, classroom discourse, language across the curriculum, academic literacy, genre-based pedagogy, pedagogy and curriculum development, and English for academic purposes (EAP).
• Media and Communication: This research area focuses on all aspects of media communication in various contexts, including but not limited to, creative cultural industries, public communication, corporate communication, and AI and communication.

Research Facilities

The Department currently has two research Centres:

• The Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE)
• The International Research Centre for the Advancement of Health Communication (IRCAHC) The Department also has comprehensive research facilities and labs for the use of the RPG students, including:
• Leximancer
• Wmatrix
• SPSS
• ConGram
• Endnote
• British National Corpus via Xaira
• Praat
• Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Audition, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, etc.

Admission Requirements

Prior to official application, all applicants are expected to submit a preliminary proposal of their research project to their potential supervisor with a cover letter clearly indicating their proposed field of study and their motivation for applying to study with this particular supervisor.

Supporting Documents

The following documents are required:

• Academic Referee's Report: Two Academic Referee's Reports are required.
• Research Proposal: A standard form must be used for the submission of research proposal.
• Transcript / Certificate: Both Transcript(s) with grading system(s) and Certificate(s) are required.
• Others: Cover Letter to Supervisor is required.

Program Details

• Study Mode: Full-time
• Application Deadline: 31-May-2026
• Entry: Sept 2026 Entry

Other Programs

Other PhD programs are available in the following departments:

• Department of Language Science and Technology: Research areas include applied linguistics, Chinese and East Asian linguistics, computational and corpus linguistics, neuro-cognitive studies of language and clinical linguistics, and translation and interpreting studies.
• Department of Chinese History and Culture: Research areas include art history, visual culture, and media studies in Greater China and Asia, Chinas interactions with other parts of Asia, Chinese government and society in imperial China, Chinese literature and cultural history, ethnic relations in China, history of science, technology, and medicine, modern Chinese intellectual and political history, and traditional Chinese intellectual and religious history.