Our department is the largest academic department in HKU’s Faculty of Social Sciences and is one of the largest social work educational units in the region. We have 23 faculty members with diverse backgrounds and expertise in research ranging from psycho-social-spiritual intervention to social policy. They collaborate closely with the local community and engage in regional and international research to promote human well-being and good governance through evidence-based social welfare policies. Members of our department are also the directors of three HKU research centres founded to conduct international and community based psychosocial research and to promote the integration between research, teaching, practice and knowledge exchanges.
Currently, we have 90 postgraduate students (both part-time and full-time), making ours one of the largest postgraduate programs in the faculty and in the University. We have attracted many international students to join our program. Thus far, about 40% of our postgraduates come from prestigious universities in China, such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Renmin University, Nanjing University, Fudan and Nankai University. We also have a number of students from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore, Turkey and Australia.
Topics of study conducted by our department cover a wide range of issues, including mental health, social policy, deviant behaviour and psychosocial treatment in both local and international contexts. We have also established academic exchange and research activities with many esteemed international universities.
All of our graduates will make a significant impact in their communities.