M.Phil.-Ph.D. Programme in Sociology (The following programme is applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 and thereafter. Students admitted in M.Phil. or Ph.D. programmes in 2010-11 or before should refer to the Division for details.) Introduction The Division of Sociology offers two comprehensive programmes leading to the MPhil and PhD degrees. Both programmes are research oriented; in addition to course work, students need to complete and successfully defend a thesis research. Candidates in both programmes will receive solid training in sociological theories and research methods. We encourage diversities in methodological approaches and subfields of the discipline. We also encourage teacher-student collaboration in research. Full-time students will receive financial support, serving as teaching or research assistants to enhance their teaching and research experience. Study Period Degree Mode Candidacy@ Normative Period Maximum Period M.Phil. FT -- 24 48 Ph.D. (entering with a FT 24 36 72 research master s degree) Ph.D. (entering without a research master s degree) FT *36 48 84 @ Maximum period to complete candidacy requirements, counted from first entry * PGS will stop at 24 months if the students cannot complete the candidacy requirements, but will resume upon completing the candidacy requirements. Course List Code Course Title Units SOCI 6001 [SOC5015] Advanced Theory 3 SOCI 6002 [SOC5025] Advanced Methodology 3 SOCI 6003 [SOC5035] Advanced Statistical Analysis 3 SOCI 6004 [SOC5095] Advanced Qualitative Methods 3 SOCI 6010 Guided Studies I 3 SOCI 6020 Guided Studies II 3 SOCI 6111 [SOC5111] Political Sociology 3 SOCI 6112 [SOC5112] Issues in Crime and Deviance 3 SOCI 6113 [SOC5113] Family Life in Transition 3 SOCI 6114 [SOC5114] Social Class and Inequalities 3 SOCI 6115 [SOC5115] Sociology of Organizations 3 SOCI 6116 [SOC5116] Social Network 3 SOCI 6117 [SOC5117] Sociology of Health and Medical Care 3 SOCI 6118 [SOC5118] Sociology of Development 3 SOCI 6119 Population and Society 3 SOCI 6120 Institutional Analysis 3 1
SOCI 6121 Education and Society 3 SOCI 6151 [SOC5151] Advanced Topics in Sociology I 3 SOCI 6152 [SOC5152] Advanced Topics in Sociology II 3 SOCI 6153 [SOC5153] Advanced Topics in Sociology III 3 SOCI 8003 [SOC803R] Thesis Research 3 SOCI 8006 [SOC806R] Thesis Research 6 SOCI 8012 [SOC812R] Thesis Research 12 [ ] Old course code I. MPhil Student Study Scheme 1. Coursework Requirement (a) Lecture Courses (a-1) Applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 A minimum of 15 units is required as below: (i) Required Courses: 12 units SOCI 6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004 (ii) Elective Courses: 3 units Any one course from SOCI 6111, 6112, 6113, 6114, 6115, 6116, 6117, 6118, 6119, 6120, 6121, 6151, 6152, 6153 Total: 15 units (a-2) Applicable to students admitted in 2012-13 and thereafter A minimum of 12 units is required as below: Required Courses: SOCI 6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004 12 units (b) Thesis Research / Monitoring Courses Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows: Full-time students: SOCI 8006 (6 units) Continuing students: SOCI 8003 (3 units) 2. Other Requirements (a) Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation. (b) IT Proficiency Test. (Applicable to students admitted in 2011/12 and before. Please refer to Student IT Competence in the Postgraduate Student Handbook.) (c) Students are required to acquire a grade C- or above in courses SOCI8003 or SOCI8006. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation. Students are also required to acquire a grade C- or above in all lecture courses including SOCI6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004. Failure to do so, students are allowed to retake the course(s) once. If the student still fails to achieve the minimum grade in the retake, he/she will be required to 2
discontinue the studies. (d) Students are expected to complete the lecture course requirement within first two semesters. (e) A student who obtains a cumulative grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 in the preceding term or receives a failure grade in thesis monitoring courses (for Research Postgraduate Programmes) will be put on academic probation. For details, please refer to Clause 14.0 Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/gss. (f) Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) course "Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research". This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the web site: www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/. (g) Gender Studies Programme Students admitted to the Gender Studies (SOC) programme will be exempted from SOCI 6001, 6002 and 1 elective course*. These students are required to complete at least two required courses: SOCI 6003 and 6004 (6 units). * Applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 3. Thesis Proposal Before the end of December of the first academic year, each student is normally required to have found a thesis supervisor and have submitted a thesis title to the thesis supervisor for endorsement. By the end of the following April, the student should have formed a thesis committee and have submitted a thesis proposal for review by the thesis committee. Students are expected to start collecting data for their research in the following summer. 4. Switching from MPhil to PhD Stream (Applicable to students admitted in 2012-13 and thereafter) (a) Students must declare their intention of switching to the PhD stream before the Christmas holidays that follow right after the 1st term of their study. (b) In addition to the two required theory/method courses, applicants may consider to take SOCI6010 in their 1st term of study. (c) Approval of the switch depends on the 1st term academic performance. (d) 1st year MPhil students approved of their switching to the PhD stream are required to take the 1st candidacy examination by the end of the 2nd term, i.e. follow the same schedule as the PhD students. 5. Remarks (a) Students without adequate sociological training background will be required to take additional undergraduate sociology courses as deemed necessary. (b) All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department. (c) Students admitted in 2010-11 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements. II. Ph.D. Student (Pre-candidacy) 3
The candidacy requirement composes of three major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, and thesis proposal (and oral defence). Students must complete and fulfill all three parts within the maximum period for fulfilling candidacy requirements. Details of the requirement are listed below: 1. Coursework Requirement (a) Lecture Courses (a-1) Applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 A minimum of 18 units is required as below: (i) Required Courses: 12 units SOCI 6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004 (ii) Elective Courses: 6 units Any two courses from SOCI 6111, 6112, 6113, 6114, 6115, 6116, 6117, 6118, 6119, 6120, 6121, 6151, 6152, 6153 Total: 18 units (a-2) Applicable to students admitted in 2012-13 and thereafter A minimum of 18 units is required as below: Required Courses: SOCI6001, 6002, 6003, 6004, 6010 and 6020 18 units (b) Thesis Research / Monitoring Courses Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows: Full-time students: SOCI 8006 (6 units) 2. Other Requirements (a) IT Proficiency Test. (Applicable to students admitted in 2011/12 and before. Please refer to Student IT Competence in the Postgraduate Student Handbook.) (b) Students are required to acquire a grade B- or above in SOCI8006. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation. (c) Students are expected to complete the lecture course requirement within first two or three semesters. (d) PhD students are required to acquire a grade B+ or above in SOCI6001 and 6002 and B- or above in other courses including SOCI6003, 6004, 6010 and 6020. Failure to do so, students are allowed to retake the course(s) once. If the student still fails to achieve the minimum grade in the retake, he/she will be required to discontinue the studies. (e) A student who obtains a cumulative grade point average (GPA) below 2.0 in the preceding term or receives a failure grade in thesis monitoring courses (for Research Postgraduate Programmes) will be put on academic probation. For details, please refer to Clause 14.0 Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/gss. (f) Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) course "Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research". This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the web site: 4
www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/. 3. Candidacy Examination (CE) All CEs are centralized on a specific date to guard students process in the programme: Applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 (a) 1st CE for full-time PhD students Year 1 students are required to take the 1st CE by the end of the 2nd term. The examination will be based on the elective courses taken in the first year. Those who failed the 1st CE would have to retake the examination in two months. (b) 2nd CE for full-time PhD students Year 2 students are required to take the 2nd CE by the end of the 3rd term (they should start preparing the examination in their first summer). This is an individualized examination in the area of the dissertation project. Students need to propose a reading list in September to define the examination area. The reading list is subject to the Thesis Supervisor s approval. Those who failed the 2nd CE would have to retake the examination in two months. Applicable to students admitted in 2012-13 and thereafter (a) Year 1 students are required to take the 1 st CE by the end of the 2 nd term, and Year 2 students are required to take the 2 nd CE by the end of the 3 rd term. For the 1 st CE, students should start preparing the examination in the 1 st term, while for the 2 nd CE, students should start preparing for the examination in the first summer. (b) One CE will be based on the field selected by the Thesis Supervisor and the content delivered in SOCI6010, and if applicable, SOCI6020 as well. The field should be different from the area of the dissertation project. (c) Another CE will be based on the area of the dissertation project. (d) Two CEs are individualized examinations in the areas selected. Students need to propose a reading list for each examination latest in January for the 1 st CE scheduled in the 2 nd term, and in September for the 2 nd CE scheduled in the 3 rd term. The reading lists are subject to the Thesis Supervisor s approval. (e) Those who failed any CE would have to retake the examination in two months. 4. Thesis Proposal and Oral Defense One CE should be closely related to the dissertation project. Students should complete thesis proposals by the end of the 4th term (April), and defend their proposals within a month of the submission. The proposal format should be similar to an RGC proposal. Students should allow at least one month to arrange an oral defense of the proposal. In case of late submission with less than one month before the 5
maximum period to fulfill candidacy requirements (i.e. 24 months from admission), students bear the risk of failing to fulfill the candidacy requirements in time, resulting in either discontinuation of their studies (applicable to those with normative study period of 36 months) or suspension of PGS (applicable to those with normative study period of 48 months). For instance, if July 31 is the deadline, the latest submission date will be June 30 (the end of the 23rd month). 5. Remarks (a) Students without adequate sociological training background will be required to take additional undergraduate sociology courses as deemed necessary. (b) All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department. (c) Students admitted in 2010-11 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements. III. Ph.D. Student (Post-candidacy) 1. Coursework Requirement There is not any other lecture course requirement. Students are required to take the Thesis Research Course each term as follows: Full-time students: SOCI 8012 (12 units) Continuing students: SOCI 8003 (3 units) Students are required to acquire a grade of B- or above in SOCI8003 or 8012. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation. For details, please refer to clause 14.0 Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage. 2. Other Requirements Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation. 3. Remarks (a) All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department. (b) Students admitted in 2010-11 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements. IV. Recommended Coursework Plan for Full-time PhD and MPhil Students (a) Applicable to students admitted in 2011-12 PhD students: 2 semesters to complete coursework MPhil students: 2 semesters to complete coursework Term Year 1 First term Advanced Theory 6
Second term Advanced Methodology Area 1 (3 units) Adv Statistical Analysis Adv Qualitative Methods Area 2 (3 units), PhD only (b) Applicable to students admitted in 2012-13 and thereafter PhD students: 2 or 3 semesters to complete coursework MPhil students: 2 semesters to complete coursework Term Year 1 First term Advanced Theory Advanced Methodology SOCI6010 (3 units), PhD only Second term Adv Statistical Analysis Adv Qualitative Methods SOCI6020 (3 units), PhD only Note: With Thesis Supervisors approval, PhD students may opt to defer taking SOCI6010 in the 2 nd term, and to take SOCI6020 in the 3 rd term. V. Maximum Periods to Fulfill Candidacy Requirements: 1. Coursework, candidacy examinations and proposal defense should be completed in 24 months, i.e. by July 31 of the 2nd year. 2. 3-year PhD Programme (with research masters) Students are required to quit the programme if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 2nd year; there is no extension. 3. 4-year PhD Programme (without research masters) PGS will be suspended if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 2nd year, and PGS will not extend beyond the 4th year. Students are required to quit the programme if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 3rd year; there is no extension. 7