Curriculum

Minimum Credit Requirement

MPhil: 12 credits
PhD:   21 credits

Credit Transfer

Subject to the approval of the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director, students may be granted credit transfer on a case-by-case basis. The maximum number of credits transferrable is 6.

Required Courses

MPhil: A minimum of 12 credits of postgraduate courses at HKUST, approved by the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director.

PhD:   A minimum of 21 credits of postgraduate courses at HKUST, approved by the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Training

All full-time RPg students are required to complete PDEV 6800. The course is composed of a 10-hour training offered by the Center for Education Innovation (CEI), and session(s) of instructional delivery to be assigned by the respective departments. Upon satisfactory completion of the training conducted by CEI, MPhil students are required to give at least one 30-minute session of instructional delivery in front of a group of students for one term. PhD students are required to give at least one such session each in two different terms. The instructional delivery will be formally assessed.

Professional Development Course Requirement

Students are required to complete PDEV 6770. The 1 credit earned cannot be counted toward the credit requirements. PhD students who are HKUST MPhil graduates and have completed PDEV 6770 or other professional development courses offered by the University before may be exempted from this requirement, subject to prior approval of the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director.

MPhil students must register and pass IIMP 6090 in their first term of study. PhD students must register and pass IIMP 6090 for two terms in their first year of study.

English Language Requirement

Full-time RPg students are required to take an English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) Speaking Test administered by the Center for Language Education before the start of their first term of study. Students whose ELPA Speaking Test score is below Level 4, or who failed to take the test in their first term of study, are required to take LANG 5000 until they pass the course by attaining at least Level 4 in the ELPA Speaking Test before graduation. The 1 credit earned from LANG 5000 cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

With the approval of the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director, students can replace this requirement with other research writing skill course more relevant to their research areas, such as LANG 5001, LANG 5002, LANG 5010.

The credit(s) earned from the research writing skill course cannot be counted toward the credit requirements. Students can be exempted from taking this course with the approval of the Primary Supervisor, Co-supervisor(s) and the Program Director.

For student admitted in Fall 2023 or Spring 2024 and students admitted before who have not yet taken the LANG 5081, you will be required to take the following course to fulfill the English Language Requirement.

Students are required to complete LANG 5005 and advised to complete it in the first year of study. The 1 credit earned from LANG 5005 cannot be counted toward the program credit requirements. Students may be considered for exemption from this course, subject to the recommendation by Center for Language Education and approval of their department.

PhD Qualifying Examination

PhD students are required to submit a thesis proposal to the Qualifying Examination Committee who will examine the students’ general background knowledge and knowledge related to the topic of the research. Students must pass the qualifying examination no later than the forth regular term of study for full-time students, or the sixth regular term of study for part-time students.

Thesis Research

MPhil:
Registration in IIMP 6990; and
Presentation and oral defense of the MPhil thesis.
PhD:
Registration in IIMP 7990; and
Presentation and oral defense of the PhD thesis.