Course Information
Registration period
7 Apr 2022 (Thu) - 7 Apr 2026 (Tue)
Price
-
Study Mode
Duration
4 Year(s)
Language
English
Location
-
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Course Overview
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.
What You’ll Learn
Minimum Credit Requirement
MPhil: 15 credits
PhD: 21 credits
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.
Cross-disciplinary Core Courses
2 credits
IIMP 6010Cross-disciplinary Research Methods I2 Credit(s)
IIMP 6020Cross-disciplinary Research Methods II2 Credit(s)
IIMP 6030Cross-disciplinary Design Thinking I2 Credit(s)
IIMP 6040Cross-disciplinary Design Thinking II2 Credit(s)
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 Committee.
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
SOCH 5000Technological Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship2 Credit(s)
Other Hub Core Courses
FUNH 5000Introduction to Function Hub for Sustainable Future2 Credit(s)
INFH 5000Information Science and Technology: Essentials and Trends2 Credit(s)
SYSH 5000Model-Based Systems Engineering2 Credit(s)
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 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
UGOD 5010Science of Cities3 Credit(s)
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.
UGOD 5020Quantitative Social Science3 Credit(s)
UGOD 5030GIS and Spatial Analysis3 Credit(s)
UGOD 5040Urban Data Acquisition and Analysis3 Credit(s)
UGOD 5050Cities and Society3 Credit(s)
UGOD 5060Urban Data Analytics3 Credit(s)
COMP 5211Advanced Artificial Intelligence3 Credit(s)
COMP 5212Machine Learning3 Credit(s)
ECON 5130Microeconomic Analysis4 Credit(s)
ECON 5390Labor Economics3 Credit(s)
ECON 5420Topics in Development Economics3 Credit(s)
ENVR 5250Environmental Economics and Management3 Credit(s)
ENVR 5320Environmental Data Analysis3 Credit(s)
MATH 5470Statistical Machine Learning3 Credit(s)
MATH 5471Statistical Learning Models for Text and Graph Data3 Credit(s)
orCOMP 5222Statistical Learning Models for Text and Graph Data3 Credit(s)
PPOL 5130Microeconomics and Public Policy3 Credit(s)
PPOL 5200Applied Demography3 Credit(s)
PPOL 5220Complex Systems for Policy3 Credit(s)
PPOL 5320Urban Economics and Urban Policy3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5440Economics of Development3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5480Issues in Contemporary Chinese Politics3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5620Sustainable Development3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5660Migration and Globalization3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5700Categorical Data Analysis3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5720Economic Development in China3 Credit(s)
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 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:
PPOL 5140Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods3 Credit(s)
SOSC 5090Quantitative Methods for Social Science Research3 Credit(s)
Graduate Teaching Assistant Training
PDEV 6800Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education0 Credit(s)
All full-time RPg students are required to complete PDEV 6800. The course is composed of a 10-hour training offered by the Center for Education Innovation (CEI), and session(s) of instructional delivery to be assigned by the respective departments. Upon satisfactory completion of the training conducted by CEI, MPhil students are required to give at least one 30-minute session of instructional delivery in front of a group of students for one term. PhD students are required to give at least one such session each in two different terms. The instructional delivery will be formally assessed.
Professional Development Course Requirement
PDEV 6770Professional Development for Research Postgraduate Students1 Credit(s)
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 Committee.
SOCH 6780Professional Development in Innovation, Technology, and Social Responsibility1 Credit(s)
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 Committee.
English Language Requirement
LANG 5000Foundation in Listening & Speaking for Postgraduate Students1 Credit(s)
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.
LANG 5001Postgraduate English for Engineering Research Studies1 Credit(s)
LANG 5002Postgraduate English for Business and Social Science Studies1 Credit(s)
LANG 5010Postgraduate English for Science Studies1 Credit(s)
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 Committee.
Postgraduate Seminar
UGOD 6101UGOD Program Seminar I0 Credit(s)
UGOD 6102UGOD Program Seminar II1 Credit(s)
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.
PhD Qualifying Examination
PhD students are required to pass a qualifying examination to obtain PhD candidacy following established policy.
Thesis Research
UGOD 6990MPhil Thesis Research0 Credit(s)
UGOD 7990Doctoral Thesis Research0 Credit(s)
MPhil:
Registration in UGOD 6990; and
Presentation and oral defense of the MPhil thesis.
PhD:
Registration in UGOD 7990; and
Presentation and oral defense of the PhD thesis.
