Calendar 2005–06

The University 71 colleges, in turn, are responsible for student-orientated teaching and the provision of residential accommodation. All teaching staff and full-time undergraduate students are assigned to different constituent colleges. Undergraduate Studies At its inception the University’s undergraduate curriculum was based on a combination of the credit unit system and the degree examination system. After a comprehensive review in the mid-80s, the University decided to adopt a pure credit-unit-based curriculum structure. From 1991–92 onwards, greater flexibility was introduced into students’ selection of courses and pace of study. Full-time Undergraduate Studies Throughout the years the University has endeavoured to provide a wide variety of major and minor programmes to meet the changing needs of society. In 2005–06, a minor programme in financial engineering is launched under the Faculty of Engineering. Part-time Undergraduate Studies The Part-time Degree Programmes were first launched in 1981–82 with classes conducted in the evening. A part-time degree programme in music is currently offered. Postgraduate Studies Master’s programmes were first offered in 1966–67, and the number of programmes in 2005–06 is 143. Doctoral programmes were first introduced in 1980–81 and the number of programmes is 43 in 2005–06. Ten MPhil–PhD programmes were first introduced in 2004–05, and the number of programmes increased to 22 in 2005–06. Research and Development CUHK fosters quality research over a broad front in all its faculties. It offers opportunities for significant advances in human knowledge, and provides scope for academic staff to undertake consultancy and collaborative projects with industry. The University has also established almost 20 major research institutes to provide faculty members with financial support and other facilities for research. While encouraging both basic and applied research in all academic areas, the University also realizes the importance of achieving excellence and world- wide impact. In the three University Grants Committee (UGC) ‘Areas of Excellence’ exercises, CUHK has been successful in securing major support from the UGC in the areas of information technology, plant and fungal biotechnology, and Chinese medicine. The multidisciplinary teams continue to strive for good progress in their respective research areas. In addition, the University has identified 19 Strategic ResearchAreas which possess world-class strengths and offer unique research opportunities. They include computer-assisted diagnosis, treatment and