By 2050, two out of every three people are likely to be living in cities or other urban centers, and most of the increase is expected to be highly-concentrated in a handful of countries, including China. Rapid urbanization and growth of cities call for high-quality public services and effective governance to make urban places more livable. The study of cities becomes an increasingly cross-disciplinary enterprise. The Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Programs in Urban Governance and Design employ cross-disciplinary perspectives to analyze the data on cities from different sources (including population census, surveys, administrative and big data) to address critical issues in contemporary urban governance and design.

The MPhil Program aims to train students to conduct independent research in urban governance. An MPhil graduate is expected to acquire cross-disciplinary knowledge of cities and employ quantitative skills to integrate and analyze the data from different sources, to write research reports addressing various audience in academia, think tanks, government, or industry, and to contribute to urban governance and design in practice.

The PhD Program seeks to train students in original research with cross-disciplinary approach to urban governance and design, and to cultivate independent and innovative thinking for knowledge creation in the field. A PhD graduate is expected to demonstrate mastery of knowledge in the chosen area of research and to synthesize and create new knowledge making an original and substantial contribution to the cross-disciplinary studies of cities.

On successful completion of the MPhil program, graduates will be able to:

1. Identify and synthesize current research on cities, especially those in the Chinese context;
2. Compare and contrast state-of-the-art knowledge in urban science and relevant referenced disciplines (e.g., data science, demography, economics, geography, public administration, and sociology), and apply such knowledge to drive research, practice, and innovation in the field;
3. Analyze, design, and execute research by utilizing proper research methodologies; and
4. Communicate the developed knowledge and research on cities with the academic and practitioners’ community.

On successful completion of the PhD program, graduates will be able to:

1. Identify and synthesize current research on cities, especially those in the Chinese context, to demonstrate mastery of knowledge in the chosen area of research;
2. Compare and contrast state-of-the-art knowledge in urban science and relevant referenced disciplines (e.g., data science, demography, economics, geography, public administration, and sociology), and cultivate independent and innovative thinking for knowledge creation in the field;
3. Analyze, design, and execute research by utilizing proper research methodologies to make an original and substantial contribution to the cross-disciplinary studies of cities; and
4. Communicate the developed knowledge and research on cities through publications and teaching.

1. Minimum Credit Requirement

   MPhil: 15 credits 
   PhD: 21 credits 
    

2. Credit Transfer 

   Students who have taken equivalent courses at HKUST or other recognized universities may be granted credit transfer on a case-by-case basis, up to a maximum of 3 credits for MPhil students, and 6 credits for PhD students. 
    

3. Cross-disciplinary Core Courses

2 credits
 

All students are required to complete either IIMP 6010 or IIMP 6030. Students may complete the remaining courses as part of the credit requirements, as requested by the Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee.

4. Hub Core Courses

4 Credits

Students are required to complete at least one Hub core course (2 credits) from the Society Hub and at least one Hub core course (2 credits) from other Hubs.

  Society Hub Core Course

  Other Hub Core Courses

5. Courses on Domain Knowledge

MPhil: minimum 9 credits of coursework 
PhD: minimum 15 credits of coursework 
 

Under this requirement, each student is required to take a required course and other elective courses to form an individualized curriculum relevant to the cross-disciplinary thesis research. To ensure that students will take appropriate courses to equip them with needed domain knowledge, each student has a Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee to approve the courses to be taken soonest after program commencement and no later than the end of the first year. Depending on the approved curriculum, individual students may be required to complete additional credits beyond the minimal credit requirements.

  Required Course List

  Sample Elective Course List

To meet individual needs, students will be taking courses in different areas, which may include but not limited to courses and areas listed below.
 

6. Additional Foundation Courses

Individual students may be required to take foundation courses to strengthen their academic background and research capacity in related areas, which will be specified by the Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee. The credits earned cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

Students who need to acquire a stronger quantitative background may be required to take relevant fundamental course(s) in probability and statistics, and software packages in the first regular term of study. The following are examples of such courses:

7. 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.

8. Professional Development Course Requirement

Students are required to complete PDEV 6770. The 1 credit earned from PDEV 6770 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 taking PDEV 6770, subject to prior approval of the Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee.

Students are required to complete SOCH 6780. The 1 credit earned from SOCH 6780 cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

PhD students who are HKUST MPhil graduates and have completed SOCH 6780 or other professional development courses offered by the University before may be exempted from taking SOCH 6780, subject to prior approval of the Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee.

9. 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.
 

Students are required to take one of the above three courses. The credit earned cannot be counted toward the credit requirements. Students can be exempted from taking this course with the approval of the Program Planning cum Thesis Supervision Committee.

10. Postgraduate Seminar

Students are required to complete UGOD 6101 and UGOD 6102 or their equivalent in two terms in sequence. The credit earned cannot be counted toward the credit requirements.

11. PhD Qualifying Examination

PhD students are required to pass a qualifying examination to obtain PhD candidacy following established policy.

12. Thesis Research

  MPhil:

1. Registration in UGOD 6990; and
2. Presentation and oral defense of the MPhil thesis.

PhD:

1. Registration in UGOD 7990; and
2. Presentation and oral defense of the PhD thesis.

Last Update: 24 July 2020

To qualify for admission, applicants must meet all of the following requirements. Admission is selective and meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.