Curriculum Structure of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) - HKUArts

BA Curriculum Structure (240 credits)

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme consists of a total of 240 credits over a normative period of four years of study. At the beginning of the second year of study, students will declare an Arts major and optional major(s)/ minor(s) on SIS.

The following displays the BA curriculum structure, which should be read together with BA regulations and syllabuses:

(A) Compulsory Courses Required by the University

Requirements	To be Taken	Credits
for cohorts 2024 or before: Core University English for cohort 2025 onwards: Academic Communication in English	in Year 1 in Year 1	6 0
English in the Discipline (ED course) Note: Students who undertake Double Majors are not required to take a second ED course, unless they are advised by the programme(s) to do so.	in Year 2	6
Practical Chinese for Arts Students	in Year 3	6
for cohort 2025 onwards: Two Artificial Intelligence Literacy courses	in Year 1 in Year 2	3 3
Common Core courses Notes: They are categorized under 5 Areas of Inquiry (AoI) but the new "CCAI" AoI is open to cohort 2025 onwards. Students are required to complete at least 1 and not more than 2 courses from each AoI during their BA studies, with not more than 24 credits of courses being selected within one academic year except where candidates are required to make up for failed credits. You are advised to take 2 – 4 Common Core courses in Year 1 and the rest in Years 2 – 3.	from Year 1 to Year 3	36
For Undergraduates who will graduate in 2022-23 and thereafter: Successful completion of any other non-credit bearing courses as required by the Regulation UG5 “Requirements for graduation” of the Regulations for First Degree Curricula	from Year 1 to Year 4	0
Total		54

(B) An Arts Major

Requirements	Credits
Courses required by an Arts Major (At least 18 credits in introductory courses from any Arts programme(s) to be taken in Year 1, including the pre-requisite(s) of the intending major(s))	72-78

(C) Remaining Credits

Requirements	Credits
Other Arts/ non-Arts courses as electives (which may enable students to declare optional major(s)/ minor(s))	108-114

Notes:

The normal study load is 30 credits in Semester 1 and Semester 2. Students may take 24 to 36 credits without seeking the Faculty’s approval in these semesters.
If students plan to only take 24 credits in Semester 1, they are advised to take 36 credits in Semester 2 or 1-2 courses in the Summer Semester in order to complete the degree requirements on time in 4 academic years. They can also consider taking suitable courses aboard in the Summer Semester and apply for credit transfer.
Students can enroll in up to 12 credits of courses in Summer Semester, provided that they have not enrolled in more than 60 credits in Semester 1 and Semester 2 of the same academic year.
The maximum number of credits to be enrolled in an academic year (including the summer semester) is 72 credits.
Students are required to submit a special application to the Faculty if they plan to adjust their study load of a semester or an academic year outside the said ranges.