The department offers supervision for M.Phil. /Ph.D. candidates in the following sub-disciplines within the field: aging and gerontology; families, children and youth; family violence and child welfare; gender and sexuality; health and mental health; demography and population studies; social policy, planning and community building. The degrees may be taken on either a full-time or a part-time basis. Applicants who have a good Bachelor’s degree with honours and/or a taught Master’s degree will be considered for admission to a 4-year PhD programme, whereas those who already hold a research Master’s degree (e.g. MPhil) will only be considered for admission to a 3-year PhD programme.

Applicants for 4-year PhD programme will be required to follow an approved course of study and research, including coursework on discipline-specific knowledge, language and research skills. The coursework component is well designed to equip students for their research work and thesis writing. Candidates for 3-year PhD programme may also be required to take courses and satisfy coursework requirements. Please click here for details of the coursework requirements.

English requirements of the application:
https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/application/admission_requirement

Documents for application
A research proposal with 5000-8000 words which can demonstrate your research ability must be enclosed in the application. The quality of the proposal is of paramount importance. Our Department Research Postgraduate Committee will consider your admission based on the quality of the proposal and academic performance.

Here is a guideline for writing a research proposal:

• Applicant’s name
• Applicant’s number
• Proposed supervisor
• Proposed topic / title of research
• Abstract
• Background
• Literature review
• Theoretical framework
• Research problems/questions
• Objectives of the study
• Research plan and methodology
• Outcomes and Value
• Key references

Please scan and upload the proposal with the following documents for our consideration

• Academic Transcript(s) of Degree Program(s)
• Certificate(s) of Degree Program(s)
• Result of English Language Proficiency Test
• 2 Referee reports

Information for RPg admission:
https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/application/how_to_apply

Important notes for online application:
https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/application/how_to_apply/online_application_system

FAQ regarding RPg admission:
https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/application/faq_on_application

To check the status of your application, please visit  http://www.hku.hk/gradsch/status.