Master's programme of particular interest to trading firm executives as economy booms
China's booming economy has helped fuel interest in a multidisciplinary Master of Social Science in contemporary China studies, launched by the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Baptist University last year.
About half the students enrolled in the programme are working in firms trading with the mainland and 25 per cent are school teachers. The rest are made up of recent university graduates and government employees.
Taking two years to complete, the part-time programme comprises three units of advanced China studies and nine units from four fields: economic development and reform, history and culture, society and community, and urban development and environmental management.
A total of 17 classes are offered. Students are required to take three subjects from one field, which serves as their major, and at least one class from each of the remaining three fields. They must also complete a three-unit project during their final semester.
The entire programme comprises 27 units (or nine subjects).
'We don't just look at China from one area. Students might be expert in one area but inadequate in others. They enrol in the programme to widen their scope,' says Frank Fu, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
