Postgraduate Courses
a) Under a policy approved by the Senate, exceptions to the general University policy stating that English is the medium of instruction will be permitted when the courses are related to the area of Chinese studies and are approved by the School of Humanities and Social Science. Courses approved to be taught in Chinese carry a [PU] or [CA] notation in the course description, which indicates the spoken language used in teaching: [PU] stands for Putonghua; and [CA] for Cantonese.
b) Courses marked with a [C] in the course description are not taught in Chinese but may require students to read materials in Chinese. Students who have difficulty reading materials in Chinese should consult the instructor concerned prior to enrolling in these courses.
- SOSC 5090Statistics in Social Science[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 509Exclusion(s)MGCS 5010, SSMA 5020BackgroundKnowledge in Social ScienceDescriptionAn introduction to statistics at an advanced level. Necessary to understand much of social science literature and topics in research methods. Focuses on applicability to students' own research and includes computer exercises. Enrollment by students from outside the Division of Social Science by instructor permission.
- SOSC 5110Social Science Research Design and Methods[2-1-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 511Exclusion(s)SSMA 5010 (prior to 2017-18)BackgroundKnowledge in Social ScienceDescriptionTo answer the question "how do we translate concepts and theories about human interactions and institutions into empirically testable propositions?" The primary objectives of the course are: (1) to familiarize students with canons of contemporary social research, and (2) to enable students to initiate and execute their own research projects. Enrollment by students from outside the Division of Social Science by instructor permission.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Recognize the relationship between theory, hypothesis, data collection, and analysis in the pursuit of social science knowledge.
- 2.Describe the basic features of an experimental design, and the distinction between an experiment and an observational study.
- 3.Define the criteria for claiming that an observed relationship is causal.
- 4.Describe the ethical issues that commonly arise in the course of conducting social science research.
- 5.Define commonly used techniques for assessing whether observed relationships reflect causal influences.
- 6.Identify basic techniques for approximating an experimental design with analysis of observational data, including natural experiments, instrumental variables, and the inclusion of control variables.
- SOSC 5140Seminar on Chinese Society[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 514Exclusion(s)MGCS 5022DescriptionContemporary Chinese institutions; the historical context of social change and institutional factors that retard and/or buttress the process of modernization.
- SOSC 5170Systematic Methods in Qualitative Research[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 517Prerequisite(s)SOSC 5110BackgroundKnowledge in Social ScienceDescriptionThis course explores links between theory and practice in qualitative research. It combines learning about selected methods of qualitative inquiry (participant-observation, in-depth interview, oral history) and analysis (grounded theory, ethnography, and discourse analysis). Enrollment by students from outside the Division of Social Science by instructor permission.
- SOSC 5250Chinese Capitalism: Historical and Comparative Perspectives[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 6030GDescriptionThis course examines the development of capitalism in post-Mao China through the lens of comparisons with capitalist practices in pre-1949 China and non-PRC Chinese economies and with select capitalist systems elsewhere. Through reading and discussing scholarly works focusing on contractual governance, students will be guided to explore the forces that shape the evolution of internal organization, inter-firm interactions, and business-government relations in different historical and social contexts. The objective is to help students deepen their understanding of China's economic transformation and broaden their perspectives on capitalist economic organizations and institutions.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Describe basic knowledge about the building blocks and inner workings of a capitalist system.
- 2.Use historical and comparative analytic methods to critique different approaches to the study of modern economic activities.
- 3.Engage in empirically grounded and theoretically informed discussions about economic affairs in China.
- SOSC 5300Critical Perspectives on Global Development[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 530Reading Material[C] Require Chinese readingDescriptionFocuses on three perspectives of development, and discusses issues such as historical and contemporary development, the role of the state, social movements, and revolutions, with special focus on the socialist and post-socialist development of China.
- SOSC 5340Quantitative Analysis in Social Science[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 534Prerequisite(s)SOSC 5090Exclusion(s)MGCS 5011BackgroundKnowledge in Social ScienceDescriptionManagement and analysis of multivariate data sets, including simple and multiple regression analysis. Enrollment by students from outside the Division of Social Science by instructor permission.
- SOSC 5440Economics of Development[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 544BackgroundECON 5110 OR ECON 5130, ECON 5280 OR ECON 5300 OR SOSC 5090DescriptionThis course covers the microeconomics of development, focusing on empirical applications. Topics include household models, human resource issues (health and education), intrahousehold economics, rural institutions in land, labor, and credit markets, technology adoption, risk-coping strategies, and evaluation of development projects. Lectures will concentrate on theoretical models and rigorous application of empirical methods, discussing important journal articles.
- SOSC 5480Issues in Contemporary Chinese Politics[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 548Exclusion(s)MGCS 5021, MGCS 5022, SSMA 5060DescriptionMajor political events and basic patterns of political interaction in contemporary China since 1949. Strategic choices of elites and ordinary people. The structural conditions will also be studied in terms of how they would affect political actors' preference and constrain their choices.
- SOSC 5520International Aspects of China's Reforms[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 552DescriptionA study of the impact of China's international opening on China's economic, political and cultural development.
- SOSC 5620Sustainable Development[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 562Exclusion(s)SOSC 301EDescriptionThis course is designed to give students an understanding of how government and business professionals formulate policies related to the foundations of sustainable development. The course begins with an exploration into the concept of prosperity and conventional view of development in the context of environmental limitations. From that basis we will consider the economic, political and social ramifications of sustainable development and investigate the need for rejuvenation and innovation.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Analyze agglomeration forces in the PRD from a sustainability perspective.
- 2.Evaluate whether stakeholders in different sector and community contexts are successfully integrating sustainability into development.
- 3.Generate practical solutions in sustainability for sectors and communities.
- 4.Develop teamwork and presentation skills.
- SOSC 5660Migration and Globalization[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 566, SOSC 602PExclusion(s)SSMA 5180DescriptionThis course aims to explore the interrelationship between migration and economic development in the era of globalization. Special attention is given to the role of human capital circulation between China/HKSAR and the outside world.
- SOSC 5680Democracy and Democratization[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 568, SOSC 603BDescriptionDrawing from single-country and cross-national research, this course covers the following: i) basic features of democracy: its definitions, causes of emergence, strengths and problems; ii) global expansion of democracies since the late twentieth century; iii) research on whether democracy can promote human rights, whether there is a basic conflict between Asian values and democracy, and whether democracy is favourable or unfavourable to economic development; iv) causes of global democratization.
- SOSC 5700Categorical Data Analysis[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 570, SOSC 602QPrerequisite(s)SOSC 5090DescriptionThis seminar will focus on sociological (and other social scientific) applications of limited-dependent and qualitative variables. A family of statistical models, including logit/probit models, log-linear models, one-dimensional and multidimensional association models, multinomial logistic and probit models, ordered logit and probit models, and models with sample selection and truncation. The only prerequisite of the class is that students must have already taken courses on multiple regression (SOSC 5090) or its equivalent.
- SOSC 5720Economic Development in China[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 6030A, SOSC 603LDescriptionThis course focuses on economic reforms and development in China, especially since 1978. It will be a combination of institutional details and comprehensive empirical evidence. Basic knowledge in statistics or economics will benefit.
- SOSC 5730Comparative Social Stratification[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 603CPrerequisite(s)SOSC 5090DescriptionThis course is an introduction to the modern research literature on social stratification and social mobility, as represented by journal articles and research monographs. While this is not a course on Chinese stratification, the discussion of the general materials is expected to stimulate ideas and finally lead to empirical research papers on China. This course is combined with SOSC 5710 (prior to 2017-18) (“Chinese Social Stratification”) to provide RPG students a strong training in the field of social stratification and mobility.
- SOSC 5740Empirical Analysis in China Studies[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 603DPrerequisite(s)SOSC 5340DescriptionThe primary goal of this course is to provide advanced research students the rare opportunity of learning how to conduct theoretically-guided empirical research on the study of China from a social science perspective. The instructor will, through presentation of his various research projects, show how a solid piece of research work is conducted from its inception to the final stage of publications. Students taking this course are expected to present their own work following the methodological format as required by the instructor, and to critically discuss the work of their peers. It is hoped that, by taking this course students who are keen on developing a research career will be able to sharpen their research skills and ideas as a result. To be able to perform solid empirical analysis, students are required to have taken SOSC 5340 prior to taking this course. The instructor assumes that students taking the proposed course have acquired most of the necessary skills required for understanding the course materials and for conducting their own research project.
- SOSC 5750International Political Economy[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 6030BDescriptionThis course explores some of the important topics in international political economy. Specifically, if focuses on the politics of international economic relations by examining international trade and finance, foreign direct investment, international organizations, and development.
- SOSC 5760Structural Equation Modeling[3-0-0:3]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 602MPrerequisite(s)SOSC 5090DescriptionThis course focuses on sociological (and other social-scientific) applications of path analysis and structural equation models. Following a review of basic ideas about the structure, interpretation, estimation, and inference in recursive causal models, the course will work through problems of specification and identification in latent-variable models and non-recursive models, using published examples where possible. A wide variety of models will be reviewed, they include: factor models, MIMIC models, recursive and non-recursive models with and without latent variables, multiple group models (with or without latent mean structures), models of repeated measurement, models with missing data, nonlinear and interactive models, the specification of latent structural models for ordinal data, and latent growth curve modeling.
- SOSC 5770Policy Analysis and Design for Sustainable Development[3-0-0:3]Co-list withPPOL 5190Exclusion(s)PPOL 5190BackgroundPrevious study of sustainable development and/or public policy at an undergraduate level; or professional experience in these areasDescriptionSustainable development problems pose some of the greatest challenges for policy makers around the world, and effective policy design requires analysts with strong subject matter understanding, creativity, and the ability to incorporate diverse perspectives and approaches. The goal of this course is to advance students’ abilities to apply tools and methods, including analytical techniques and presentation skills, which are required for effective policy analysis and decision making in this area. Coursework in the course will be largely case based, and topical issues will be presented and mastered alongside different analytical skills and techniques.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Differentiate and use different core sustainability concepts.
- 2.Choose and use appropriate analytical methodologies for policy design and analysis.
- 3.Effectively communicate sustainable development policy recommendations to diverse audiences.
- 4.Critically assess and use different forms of knowledge in the development of effective sustainable development policy proposals.
- 5.Design policy to be effective in the complex adaptive systems typical of sustainable development problems.
- 6.Articulate the value of complex adaptive systems (human-environment systems) perspectives in their analysis of policy problems.
- SOSC 5780Foundation in Public Policy[3-0-0:3]Co-list withPPOL 5110Exclusion(s)PPOL 5110DescriptionThe course will provide an advanced foundation in the study and practice of public policy at the level required for graduate study. The course will cover both the historic foundations of policy studies, as well as emerging approaches and directions. As the study of public policy is inherently interdisciplinary, it will include perspectives from political science, public policy, economics, business and other aspects of social science. It will take a broad view of public policy, including taking up some of the core literature on public management and public administration.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Demonstrate solid fundamental knowledge on how public policies are developed, approved and implemented.
- 2.Apply a public policy perspective to evaluate and compare core literature and current issues on public management and public administration.
- 3.Apply a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to public research studies.
- 4.Develop holistic perspectives including political science, public policy, economics, business and other aspects of social science.
- SOSC 5790Research Methods in Public Policy[3-0-0:3]Co-list withPPOL 5120Exclusion(s)PPOL 5120DescriptionThe purposes of the course are to introduce to students the key concepts in research methods, and to help them develop skills in the design of empirical research used in the analysis of policy problems. The course aims to train students to be able to apply various research designs in conducting rigorous policy research in their chosen fields, as well as develop the ability to critically evaluate policy research products. A specific emphasis will be on the use of quasi-experimental designs in policy research, as well as on their potentials and limitations.Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- 1.Identify the logic of policy research on causal relationship.
- 2.Demonstrate solid knowledge on key research designs for generalized causal inference and their potentials and limitations.
- 3.Design and develop a research proposal on a given research topic in their chosen fields.
- 4.Apply practical experiences and techniques in conducting qualitative analysis.
- SOSC 6000-6090Special Topics[1-3 credits]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 600-609DescriptionCoherent collection of topics selected from the humanities/social science. A student may repeat the course for credit if the topics studied are different each time.
- SOSC 6100Independent Study[1-3 credits]Previous Course Code(s)SOSC 610DescriptionIndependent study in a designated subject under the supervision of a faculty member; may require readings, tutorial discussions, and submission of research paper(s); may be repeated for credit if different topics are studied. Regular students are required to enroll in 3-credit course. Enrollment in course below 3 credits require the Division's approval.
- SOSC 6990MPhil Thesis ResearchPrevious Course Code(s)SOSC 699DescriptionMaster's thesis research supervised by a faculty member. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned.
- SOSC 7990Doctoral Thesis ResearchPrevious Course Code(s)SOSC 799DescriptionOriginal and independent doctoral thesis research. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned.