In keeping with a traditional, liberal arts mission of cultivating flexible, humanistic, value-oriented skills and knowledge, the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) programme in Visual Studies is designed to combine practical training in how to understand and appreciate visual images with historical and theoretical reflection on visual representations. Understanding key aspects of the history of the visual arts is a crucial part of such a training, as is the student’s engagement with the best theoretical reflection on the psychological, conventional, and formal conditions of visual representation. Courses training the student in the apprehension and appreciation of visual images and the visual environment are combined with courses in which the student learns how to articulate critical judgements based on a solid grounding in the relevant disciplines, including art history, film studies, the psychology of perception, the philosophy of depiction, and aesthetics.

The programme in visual studies is based on the premise that in an increasingly visual and media-oriented culture, the understanding and appreciation of visual forms constitute a valuable and distinct type of competence having applications in a wide range of contexts. In keeping with the aim of imparting a flexible, liberal-arts based competence in this domain, the Visual Studies curriculum is comprised of several inter-related areas of concentration, including:

1. Courses training the student in the understanding and appreciation of visual images and the visual environment;
2. courses dealing with the history and significance of visual imagery in a cross-cultural perspective;
3. courses offering training in the philosophical and psychological understanding of perception and visual representation; and
4. courses in which the primary focus is on the aesthetic and rhetorical dimensions of visual art and representation (including both the fine arts and popular representations).

The overall structure of the programme consist of a set of 9 Foundation Courses, 6 Programme Elective courses and a Directed Research Project, in addition to the University required courses. The Foundation Courses aim to give a grounding in the 5 disciplines of art history, film studies, the psychology of perception, the philosophy of dipiction and aesthetics. The programme Elective courses will be chosen from a pool of 24 courses which offer the student a choice in pursuing particular interests within any of programme's core areas. There is, finally, a Directed Research Project which will let students specialise in a field of their choice. It will consist of a short, supervised thesis on a subject chosen in consultation with an advisor.

Applicants must have obtained:

1. Either (i) Grade E or above in two subjects in the Hong Kong Advanced Level examination or (ii) Grade E or above in the one subject in the Hong Kong Advanced Level examination, and in two Advanced Supplementary (AS) subjects other than "Use of English" and "Chinese Language and Culture"; and
2. Grade E or above in AS "Use of English"; and
3. Grade E or above in AS "Chinese Language and Culture".

Preference will be given to applicants who have obtained a grade E or above in AS and AL "Visual Arts", or "Liberal Studies". In addition, applicants' HKCEE results may be taken into consideration.

Graduates of the programme are well equipped to engage in a wide range of careers in government, business, and culture-related and media industries.