Study Scheme | Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study Scheme

Study Scheme
(for Students admitted in 2025/26 or thereafter)

MPhil Student

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 15 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:	15 units
	SOCI6001 and 6002, plus 3 specialized method courses chosen from the following course list.
	SOCI6003, SOCI6004, SOCI5637, CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, COMM6330, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, CULS5412, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GDRS5087, GISM5065, MMAT5370
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006	6 units
	Continuing students: SOCI8003	3 units
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of C in courses SOCI8003 or SOCI8006. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
(c)	Students are expected to complete the lecture course requirement within first three terms.
(d)	MPhil students are required to achieve a minimum grade of C in all lecture courses. 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)	Gender Studies Programme Students admitted to the Gender Studies (SOC) programme will be exempted from SOCI6001 and 6002. These students are required to complete 3 specialized method courses chosen from the following course list. SOCI6003, SOCI6004, SOCI5637, CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, COMM6330, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, CULS5412, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GDRS5087, GISM5065, MMAT5370
(f)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
(g)	Students are required to complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(h)	Students are required to complete and pass an IPL module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in their first year of study, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(i)	Students are required to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) during the first year of study, with effect from the 2025-26 intake. The final DMP should have been shared to the CUHK community on DMPTool or the relevant platform that CUHK provides when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio to the Graduate School. Students are required to have published the data on the CUHK Research Data Repository or an open data repository with a valid Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or other forms of permanent identifier when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio. Upon thesis supervisor’s endorsement, students can decide on how much data from the research project is to be published.
(j)	Students are required to complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
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*
(a)	Students must declare their intention of switching to the PhD stream before the Christmas holidays that follows right after the 1^st term of their study.
(b)	In addition to the two required theory/method courses, applicants may consider to take SOCI6010 in their 1^st term of study.
(c)	Approval of the switch depends on the 1^st term academic performance.
(d)	1^st year MPhil students approved of their switching to the PhD stream are required to take the 1^st candidacy examination by the end of the 2^nd 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.

Ph.D. Student (Pre-candidacy)

Ph.D. Students must complete the pre-candidacy and the post-candidacy stages. In total, Ph.D. students are required to take 7 lecture classes (21 units), including SOCI6001, 6002, 6010 and 6020, plus 3 specialized method courses chosen from the course list.

	The “candidacy requirement” composes of four major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, thesis proposal (and oral defence) and stipulated Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module requirements. Students must complete and fulfill the first three parts within the “maximum period for fulfilling candidacy requirements” and complete the stipulated IPL module(s) in their first year of study. Details of the requirement are listed below:

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 18 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:		18 units
	SOCI6001, 6002, 6010 and 6020, plus 2 specialized method courses chosen from the following course list.
	SOCI6003, SOCI6004, SOCI5637, CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, COMM6330, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, CULS5412, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GDRS5087, GISM5065, MMAT5370
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006 (6 units)
2.	*Candidacy Examination (CE)*
	All CEs are centralized on a specific date to guard students’ process in the programme:
	(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.

3.	*Thesis Proposal and Oral Defence*
	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 defence of the proposal. In case of late submission with less than one month before the 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 23^rd month).
4.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to acquire a grade of 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 C or above in other courses. 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.
	Students are required to complete the following Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) modules in their first year of study for partial fulfillment of candidacy requirements:
(e)	Students are required to complete and pass an IPL module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in the first year of study, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(f)	Students are required to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP), with effect from the 2025-26 intake.
5.	*Remarks*
(a)	Students without adequate sociological training background will be required to take additional undergraduate sociology courses as deemed necessary. Notably, elementary introductory courses in both qualitative and quantitative methods are prerequisites for all incoming PhD students. Any new students admitted without these prerequisites are required to enroll in foundational qualitative and quantitative courses offered by the Department.
(b)	All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department.

Ph.D. Student (Post-candidacy)

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
	Required Courses:	3 units
	1 specialized method course chosen from the following course list. This is the third specialized method course required for PhD students and students can complete this course requirement during the pre-candidacy period.
	SOCI6003, SOCI6004, SOCI5637, CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, COMM6330, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, CULS5412, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GDRS5087, GISM5065, MMAT5370
	Students are also required to take the Thesis research / monitoring course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8012	12 units
	Continuing students: SOCI8003	3 units
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in SOCI8003 or 8012, and C or above in all other courses in post-candidacy.
(c)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
	In addition to completing the IPL modules stipulated for partial fulfillment of candidacy requirements, students are also required to complete the following IPL modules for graduation:
(d)	Complete an IPL module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(e)	Complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
(f)	The final DMP should have been shared to the CUHK community on DMPTool or the relevant platform that CUHK provides when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio to the Graduate School. Students are required to have published the data on the CUHK Research Data Repository or an open data repository with a valid Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or other forms of permanent identifier when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio. Upon thesis supervisor’s endorsement, students can decide on how much data from the research project is to be published.
3.	*Remarks*
	All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department.

Recommended Coursework Plan for Full-time PhD and MPhil Students

PhD students: 3 terms to complete coursework

MPhil students: 3 terms to complete coursework

Term	Year 1
First term	Advanced Theory Advanced Methodology SOCI6010 (3 units), PhD only
Second term	Two Specialized Method Courses (6 units) SOCI6020 (3 units), PhD only
Third term or other term	The Third Specialized Method Course (3 units)

Note: With Thesis Supervisors’ approval, PhD students may opt to defer taking SOCI6010 in the 2nd term, and to take SOCI6020 in the 3rd term.

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)

(a) 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)

(a) 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.

(b) Students are required to quit the programme if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 3rd year; there is no extension.

PhD. Student in the Computational Social Science Concentration (Pre-candidacy)
(with effective from 2025-26 academic year and thereafter)

The “candidacy requirement” composes of four major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, thesis proposal (and oral defence) and stipulated Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module requirements. Students must complete and fulfill the first three parts within the “maximum period for fulfilling candidacy requirements” and complete the stipulated IPL module(s) in their first year of study. Details of the requirement are listed below:

1.	*Coursework Requirement*

(a)	Lecture courses

	A minimum of 12 units is required as below:
	Required Courses*:
	SOCI6001, 6002, and 6010	9 units

	Computational Social Science Elective Courses^:
	[Choose at least one] CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GISM5065, MMAT5370	3 units

	*Students should achieve a minimum grade of B- in SOCI6001 and SOCI6002 and B- in SOCI6010. 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 put on academic probation.
	^Students should achieve a minimum grade of C in Computational Social Science elective courses to fulfill the coursework requirement.

(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006	6 units

	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in thesis research/monitoring courses. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.

(c)	Students are required to take the seminar course each term from the second year of attendance as follows:
	SOSC7010	3 units

2.	*Candidacy Examination (CE)*

	CE is centralized on a specific date to guard students’ process in the programme:
(a)	PhD students in Computational Social Science Concentration are required to take one CE in either one term during 2nd, 3rd or 4th term. Students should start preparing the examination during the term before their examination.
(b)	CE will be based on the field selected by the Thesis Supervisor(s) and the content delivered in SOCI6010. The field should be different from the area of the dissertation project.
(c)	Students need to propose a reading list for the examination latest in January for the CE scheduled in the 2nd or 4th term, and in September for CE scheduled in the 3rd term. The reading lists are subject to the Thesis Supervisor’s approval.
(d)	Those who failed any CE would have to retake the examination in two months.

3.	*Thesis Proposal and Oral Defence*

	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 defence of the proposal. In case of late submission with less than one month before the 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).

4.	*Other Requirements*

(a)	Ph.D. students who failed to achieve the required grades of the course may be put on academic probation or transferred to the M.Phil. stream, or be discontinued from study upon consideration of the Graduate Panel. Please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk on details of academic probation.

	Students are required to complete the following Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) modules in their first year of study for partial fulfillment of candidacy requirements:
(b)	Students are required to complete and pass an IPL module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in the first year of study, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(c)	Students are required to submit a Data Management Plan (DMP), with effect from the 2025-26 intake.

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)	The Graduate Panel may grant exemption for individual courses to Ph.D. students who have taken similar graduate-level course before.

Ph.D. Student in the Computational Social Science Concentration (Post-candidacy)
(with effective from 2025-26 academic year and thereafter)

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Required Courses:*
	SOCI6020		3 units
	Students should complete the required course on or before the end of 6^th term
	Computational Social Science Elective Courses^:
	[Choose at least one] CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GISM5065, MMAT5370		At least 3 and up to 9 units
	Students should complete the Computational Social Science Elective Course(s) below on or before the end of 8^th term.
	*Students should achieve a minimum grade of B- in SOCI6020. Failure to do so, students are allowed to retake the course once. If the student still fails to achieve the minimum grade in the retake, he/she will be put on academic probation.
	^Students should achieve a minimum grade of C in Computational Social Science Elective Courses to fulfil the coursework requirement.
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Full-time students
	SOCI8012		12 units
	Students should take the above course every term.
	Continuing Students
	SOCI8003		3 units
	Students should take the above course every term.
	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade B- or above in thesis research/monitoring courses. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
(C)	Other Courses
	Full-time and continuing students
	SOSC7020		3 units
	Students should take the above course every term throughout the post-candidacy period for up to four terms
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	The composition of a dissertation committee is chairperson, supervisor(s), and 1 CUHK faculty member. An external member is not required until close to half-year before the defense of the completed dissertation.
(c)	PhD students in Computational Social Science concentration must fulfill additional requirements listed below. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
	(i)	Completion of the equivalent of a publishable research paper, a first or solo authored manuscript by the 5th term, accepted by the supervisor and endorsed by the Graduate Division Head.
	(ii)	Completion of a Computational Social Science concentration examination by the end of Year 3. This examination is similar to the candidacy examination, except that its focus has to be complementary to the candidacy examination and the topic should be approved by the student’s supervisor. The procedure, format and evaluation will be similar to a CE.
(d)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
	In addition to completing the IPL modules stipulated for partial fulfillment of candidacy requirements, students are also required to complete the following IPL modules for graduation:
(e)	Complete an IPL module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(f)	Complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
(g)	The final DMP should have been shared to the CUHK community on DMPTool or the relevant platform that CUHK provides when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio to the Graduate School. Students are required to have published the data on the CUHK Research Data Repository or an open data repository with a valid Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or other forms of permanent identifier when submitting the final version of the thesis/portfolio. Upon thesis supervisor’s endorsement, students can decide on how much data from the research project is to be published.
(h)	Following Graduate School guidelines for all PhD students, students should fulfill candidacy requirements in 24 months. Failure to meet the deadline will lead to the suspension of studentship or require to quit the programme, subject to their former academic degrees.
3.	*Remarks*
	All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department.

Study Scheme
(for Students admitted in 2021/22 to 24/25)

MPhil Student

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 12 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:	12 units
	SOCI6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006	6 units
	Continuing students: SOCI8003	3 units
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of C- in courses SOCI8003 or 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 semesters.
(d)	MPhil students are required to achieve a minimum grade of C 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 discontinue the studies.
(e)	Gender Studies Programme Students admitted to the Gender Studies (SOC) programme will be exempted from SOCI6001 and 6002. These students are required to complete at least two required courses: SOCI6003 and 6004 (6 units).
(f)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
(g)	Students are required to complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(h)	Students are required to complete and pass an IPL module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in their first year of study for completion of the University-specified requirement, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(i)	Students are required to complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
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*
(a)	Students must declare their intention of switching to the PhD stream before the Christmas holidays that follow right after the 1^st term of their study.
(b)	In addition to the two required theory/method courses, applicants may consider to take SOCI6010 in their 1^st term of study.
(c)	Approval of the switch depends on the 1^st term academic performance.
(d)	1^st year MPhil students approved of their switching to the PhD stream are required to take the 1^st candidacy examination by the end of the 2^nd 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.

Ph.D. Student (Pre-candidacy)

The “candidacy requirement” composes of four major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, thesis proposal (and oral defence) and stipulated Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module requirements. Students must complete and fulfill the first three parts within the “maximum period for fulfilling candidacy requirements” and complete the stipulated IPL module(s) in their first year of study. Details of the requirement are listed below:
1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 18 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:	18 units
	SOCI6001, 6002, 6003, 6004, 6010 and 6020
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006 (6 units)

2.	*Candidacy Examination (CE)*
	All CEs are centralized on a specific date to guard students’ process in the programme:

	(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.

3.	*Thesis Proposal and Oral Defence*
	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 defence of the proposal. In case of late submission with less than one month before the 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 23^rd month).

4.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to acquire a grade of 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- 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)	Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(f)	Students are required to complete and pass an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in the first year of study for partial fulfilment of candidacy requirements and completion of the University-specified requirement, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(g)	Complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
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.

Ph.D. Student (Post-candidacy)

*Coursework Requirement*
There is not any other lecture course requirement. Students are required to take the Thesis research / monitoring course each term as follows:
Full-time students: SOCI8012	12 units
Continuing students: SOCI8003	3 units
Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in SOCI8003 or 8012. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
*Other Requirements*
Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
*Remarks*
All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department.

Recommended Coursework Plan for Full-time PhD and MPhil Students

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 2nd term, and to take SOCI6020 in the 3rd term.

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)

(a) 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)

(a) 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.

(b) Students are required to quit the programme if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 3rd year; there is no extension.

PhD. Student in the Computational Social Science Concentration (Pre-candidacy)
(with effective from 2022-23 to 2024-25)

The “candidacy requirement” composes of four major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, thesis proposal (and oral defence) and stipulated Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module requirements. Students must complete and fulfill the first three parts within the “maximum period for fulfilling candidacy requirements” and complete the stipulated IPL module(s) in their first year of study. Details of the requirement are listed below:
1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 12 units is required as below:
	Required Courses*:
	SOCI6001, 6002, and 6010	9 units
	Computational Social Science Elective Courses^:
	[Choose at least one] CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GISM5065, MMAT5370	3 units
	*Students should achieve a minimum grade of B+ in SOCI6001 and SOCI6002 and B- in SOCI6010. 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 put on academic probation.
	^Students should achieve a minimum grade of C in Computational Social Science elective courses to fulfill the coursework requirement.
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006	6 units
	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade of B- in thesis research/monitoring courses. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
(c)	Students are required to take the seminar course each term from the second year of attendance as follows:
	SOSC7010	3 units

2.	*Candidacy Examination (CE)*
	CE is centralized on a specific date to guard students’ process in the programme:
(a)	PhD students in Computational Social Science Concentration are required to take one CE in either one term during 2nd, 3rd or 4th term. Students should start preparing the examination during the term before their examination.
(b)	CE will be based on the field selected by the Thesis Supervisor(s) and the content delivered in SOCI6010. The field should be different from the area of the dissertation project.
(c)	Students need to propose a reading list for the examination latest in January for the CE scheduled in the 2nd or 4th term, and in September for CE scheduled in the 3rd term. The reading lists are subject to the Thesis Supervisor’s approval.
(d)	Those who failed any CE would have to retake the examination in two months.
3.	*Thesis Proposal and Oral Defence*
	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 defence of the proposal. In case of late submission with less than one month before the 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).
4.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Ph.D. students who failed to achieve the required grades of the course may be put on academic probation or transferred to the M.Phil. stream, or be discontinued from study upon consideration of the Graduate Panel. Please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk on details of academic probation. Students are required to complete the following Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) modules in their first year of study for partial fulfillment of candidacy requirements:
(b)	Complete an IPL module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(c)	Students are required to complete and pass an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Basics of Research Data Management” in the first year of study for partial fulfilment of candidacy requirements and completion of the University-specified requirement, with effect from the 2022-23 intake. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf.
(d)	Complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
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)	The Graduate Panel may grant exemption for individual courses to Ph.D. students who have taken similar graduate-level course before.

Ph.D. Student in the Computational Social Science Concentration (Post-candidacy)
(with effective from 2022-23 to 2024-25)

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Required Courses:*
	SOCI6020		3 units
	Students should complete the required course on or before the end of 6^th term
	Computational Social Science Elective Courses^:
	[Choose at least one] CMSC5707, CMSC5733, CMSC5734, COMM6320, CSCI5150, CSCI5350, CSCI5640, ECON5150, ECON5180, ENGG5103, ENGG5108, GISM5065, MMAT5370		At least 3 and up to 9 units
	Students should complete the Computational Social Science Elective Course(s) below on or before the end of 8^th term.
	*Students should achieve a minimum grade of B- in SOCI6020. Failure to do so, students are allowed to retake the course once. If the student still fails to achieve the minimum grade in the retake, he/she will be put on academic probation.
	^Students should achieve a minimum grade of C in Computational Social Science Elective Courses to fulfil the coursework requirement.
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Full-time students
	SOCI8012		12 units
	Students should take the above course every term.
	Continuing Students
	SOCI8003		3 units
	Students should take the above course every term.
	Students are required to achieve a minimum grade B- or above in thesis research/monitoring courses. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
(C)	Other Courses
	Full-time and continuing students
	SOSC7020		3 units
	Students should take the above course every term throughout the post-candidacy period for up to four terms
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Clause 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	The composition of a dissertation committee is chairperson, supervisor(s), and 1 CUHK faculty member. An external member is not required until close to half-year before the defense of the completed dissertation.
(c)	PhD students in Computational Social Science concentration must fulfill additional requirements listed below. Failure to do so, students will be put on academic probation.
	(i)	Completion of the equivalent of a publishable research paper, a first or solo authored manuscript by the 5th term, accepted by the supervisor and endorsed by the Graduate Division Head.
	(ii)	Completion of a Computational Social Science concentration examination by the end of Year 3. This examination is similar to the candidacy examination, except that its focus has to be complementary to the candidacy examination and the topic should be approved by the student’s supervisor. The procedure, format and evaluation will be similar to a CE.
(d)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
(e)	Following Graduate School guidelines for all PhD students, students should fulfill candidacy requirements in 24 months. Failure to meet the deadline will lead to the suspension of studentship or require to quit the programme, subject to their former academic degrees.
3.	*Remarks*
	All postgraduate students are expected to attend seminars organized by the Department.

Study Scheme
(for Students admitted in 2018-19 to 2020-21)

MPhil Student

1.	*Coursework Requirement*
(a)	Lecture courses
	A minimum of 12 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:	12 units
	SOCI6001, 6002, 6003 and 6004
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006 (6 units)
	Continuing students: SOCI8003 (3 units)
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Section 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to acquire a grade of C- or above in courses SOCI8003 or 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 semesters.
(d)	MPhil students are 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 discontinue the studies.
(e)	Gender Studies Programme Students admitted to the Gender Studies (SOC) programme will be exempted from SOCI6001 and 6002. These students are required to complete at least two required courses: SOCI6003 and 6004 (6 units).
(f)	Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
(g)	Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(h)	Students are required to complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
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*
(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 2011-12 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements.

Ph.D. Student (Pre-candidacy)

	The “candidacy requirement” composes of three major parts, namely, coursework requirement, candidacy examination, and thesis proposal (and oral defense). 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 minimum of 18 units is required as below:
	Required Courses:	18 units
	SOCI6001, 6002, 6003, 6004, 6010 and 6020
(b)	Thesis research / monitoring courses
	Students are required to take the thesis research course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8006 (6 units)
2.	*Other Requirements*
(a)	Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Section 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk.
(b)	Students are required to acquire a grade of 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- 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)	Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
(f)	Students are required to complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” offered by the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.
3.	*Candidacy Examination (CE)*
	All CEs are centralized on a specific date to guard students’ process in the programme:

	(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 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 23^rd 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 2011-12 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements.

Ph.D. Student (Post-candidacy)

1.	Coursework Requirement
	There is not any other lecture course requirement. Students are required to take the Thesis research / monitoring course each term as follows:
	Full-time students: SOCI8012 (12 units)
	Continuing students: SOCI8003 (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 Section 13.0 “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 2011-12 and before should consult the Division for programme requirements.

Recommended Coursework Plan for Full-time PhD and MPhil Students

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

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)

(a) 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)

(a) 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.

(b) Students are required to quit the programme if failed to fulfill candidacy requirements by July 31 of the 3rd year; there is no extension.