Calendar 2015–16

The University 5 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 58 departments/ schools offering 58 major programmes and 68 minor programmes under the three-year curriculum, and 70 major programmes and 70 minor programmes under the four-year curriculum for undergraduate students. Postgraduate programmes including 41 MPhil–PhD programmes, 30 doctoral programmes, 163 master’s programmes, 18 postgraduate diploma programmes, and one postgraduate certificate programme are offered by the Graduate School through its 59 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/schools, which deliver disciplinary teaching. The Colleges, in turn, support the broader development of students as whole persons in addition to the provision of residential accommodation. 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. n n 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 programmes to meet the changing needs of society. In 2015–16, a new two- year Bachelor of Social Science Programme in Gender Studies, for articulation by associate degree/higher diploma holders, is introduced under the four-year curriculum by the Faculty of Social Science. n n Postgraduate Studies Master’s programmes were first offered in 1966–67, and the number of programmes in 2015–16 is 163. Doctoral programmes were first introduced in 1980–81 and the number of programmes is 30 in 2015–16. MPhil–PhD programmes were first introduced in 2004–05, and the number of programmes is 41 in 2015–16. In addition, 18 postgraduate diploma programmes and one postgraduate certificate programme are offered.