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The Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies (CBS) has a comprehensive research profile in language sciences and linguistics, with special foci on Chinese, bilingualism and Asian languages. We aim for research results that merit a world-leading profile and the potential to generate knowledge and applications that will benefit mankind in general.
Research Objectives
To understand how language is used in context, in vivo, with special reference to meaning-making by bilingual speakers and writers in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Greater China.
To apply our knowledge to language issues in Hong Kong, especially in relation to Chinese language and bilingual education.
To train professionals and scholars who, upon successful completion of the postgraduate programme at CBS, can go on to play a crucial role in an increasingly competitive world characterised by multilingualism and multiculturalism.
To build a solid scholarly foundation for the effective application of language use in the domains of business and education, such as in the fields of corporate communication, language technology, language education and language testing.
Research Direction
CBS strives to gain a world-leading reputation in empirical, interÂ-disciplinary research in language sciences by (i) enhancing our research capacity in computational and corpus linguistics, neurolinguistics and cognitive sciences; (ii) expanding international collaboration; and (iii) nurturing young scholars by targeting competitive external grants and producing top-quality publications in high-impact journals.
Major Research Programme
Neurocognitive Studies of Language and Clinical Linguistics
Research areas range from ageing; amusia; communication disorders; developmental dyslexia; L2 pedagogical grammar; language acquisition; language variations; the creation and evaluation of learner tools; intercultural mediation; neurolinguistics (ERP, fMRI); psycholinguistics; reading (of characters and text); speech production and perception; the bilingual brain; the conversational brain; tonal production and perception; and clinical applications in speech therapy.
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please
September 2025
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
ST305, 3/F, Ng Wing Hong Building,
Hung Hom,
Kowloon City, Hong Kong, Kowloon
3-year full-time PhD programme
Normally hold an MPhil or equivalent (a research postgraduate degree with a dissertation as an award requirement) conferred by a recognised university.
4-year full-time PhD programme
Normally hold:
A Master’s degree; OR
A Bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours (or equivalent qualification), conferred by a recognised university.
PolyU may accept other equivalent qualifications. The decision is made on an individual basis.
English Language Requirements
The requirements for those who do not have a degree for which English was the language of instruction at a recognized university are:
An overall score of at least 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS); OR
A Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 80 or above for the Internet-based test or 550 or above for the paper-based test.
All English language test scores are considered valid for two years after the date of the test.
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
PolyU ranks 65th in the QS World University Rankings and 79th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings internationally.
