Newsletter No. 500

The University Part 1 Academic Structure and Policy The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a growing university offering a wide range of full-time and part-time programmes which lead to bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and doctorates. There are eight Faculties (Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Science), and 59 departments offering 59 major programmes and 61 minor programmes for full-time undergraduate students, and one part-time undergraduate programme for part- time students. Postgraduate programmes including 28MPhil–PhD programmes, 41 doctoral programmes, 160 master’s programmes, 27 postgraduate diploma programmes, and 1 postgraduate certificate programme are offered by the Graduate School through its 64 graduate divisions. The Senate regulates instruction, education and research. The Faculties advise the Senate through the faculty boards on the programmes of study recommended by the departments, which deliver disciplinary teaching. The Colleges, in turn, support the broader development of students as whole persons in addition to the provision of residential accomodation. All teaching staff and full-time undergraduate students, with a few exception of teachers belonging to research institutes or centres, belong to both a Faculty and to a College. 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-1980s, 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 2009–10, four major programmes are introduced, namely Bachelor of Education Programme in Liberal Studies under the Faculty of Education, Bachelor of Science Programme in Public Health under the Faculty of Medicine, Bachelor of Science Programme in Cell and Molecular Biology under the Faculty of Science, as well as Interdisciplinary Major Programme in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science, which is jointly offered by the Faculties of Business Administration and Science. One minor programme, Earth System Science, under the Faculty of Science is launched. Part-time Undergraduate Studies The Part-time Degree Programmes were first launched in 1981–82 with classes conducted in the evening. One part-time degree programme in early childhood education is currently offered. n