Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2006

24 Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 2006 CUHK Announces Double-degree Initatives ( From left ) Mr. Dennis Hie, professional consultant, School of Law, Prof. Mike McConville, director, School of Law, Prof. Raymond So, associate dean, Faculty of Business Administration, and Prof. Chan Sin Wai, acting chairman, Department of Translation, anouncing the double-degree initiatives T he Chinese University of Hong Kong announced on 8 June several new double-degree options for students entering the University. The Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Translation will join the new School of Law to offer a total of four double-degree options. Law students will have the opportunity to earn a four-year undergraduate degree in law and, after one additional year, a second undergraduate degree in either business or translation (the ‘4+1’ model). Business and translation students will have the opportunity to complete a three- year undergraduate degree in business or translation, followed by a two-year graduate degree, the Juris Doctor (JD), in law (the ‘3+2’ model). In either case, the first degree will be covered by the usual funding from the University Grants Committee, with four years of funding in the case of the 4+1 model and three years in the case of the 3+2 model. The double- d e g r e e o p t i o n s have been designed to give students maximum flexibility. Both models prepare students to qualify as practising lawyers while still leaving the door open to other career choices along the way. Students who decide not to pursue the second degree will have the opportunity to gain a minor in the second subject, and students who need time to pursue other career options after completion of the first degree will be allowed to defer the second degree for up to three years. Students will be held to the same standards and requirements for each degree in combination that they would have had to meet for the same degree independently. The Faculty of Business Administration will reserve 50 places for Bachelor of Laws (LLB) students to earn Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degrees. The DepartmentofTranslationwillreserveanother 15 places for LLB students to earn Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees. The School of Law will set aside five places in its highly competitive JD programme for double-degree students from the Department of Translation and, starting one year later, 15 places for double- degree students from the Faculty of Business Administration. Students who meet specified objective standards during the completion of their first degree are guaranteed eligibility for the JD programme.