CUHK
News Centre

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) further develops its plan to enhance its undergraduate four-year normative curriculum under the new ‘3+3+4’ academic structure to be launched in 2012. The new curriculum places strong emphasis on breadth of knowledge across different disciplines in addition to depth in a specialty studied as a major subject. The core curriculum common to all undergraduates in the University will be greatly strengthened with more general education and language courses. Students will also enjoy greater flexibility to pursue double majors and/or major with one (or more) minor(s), and will be encouraged to take advantage of the greater opportunities for experiential learning, outside the classroom, as interns and during academic exchange.

The University had adopted a four-year curriculum since its establishment in 1963, and only switched to a flexible credit unit system in 1994 as a result of the then government policy, allowing completion of the degree in three years after S7. The University is confident that with its experience, it can easily realign to a four-year system, but with a modern curriculum that is fit for purpose and nurtures students to meet the challenges of the times and society’s changing expectations. The University believes that the change is more than an increase in the normative duration or merely additions to subject content; the aim is also to take advantage of the change in structure to reflect on the true meaning of university education, and to promote innovations in pedagogy. For example, with an outcome-based approach, the new curriculum attaches greater significance to cultivating the capacity of life-long learning and self-learning among students.

New Curriculum

In the new curriculum, students in most subjects will have to complete a minimum of 123 units to graduate, 24 more than in the current three-year curriculum; the number of units will be higher in a small number of professional programmes lasting more than four years. In line with the long-standing educational philosophy of the University, the new curriculum aims to nurture students so that they will be able to appreciate the values of a broad range of intellectual disciplines as well as general knowledge, and within that wide spectrum, will be able to gain a depth of knowledge within a specialty, not only as an end in itself but also as a vehicle for experience in serious study and enquiry. They will also have a high level of bilingual proficiency in Chinese and English, and a basket of skills including numeracy, critical thinking skills and IT literacy appropriate to the modern age, and above all the capacity for life-long learning and continuing professional development. In this day and age, that ability will be far more important than disciplinary knowledge acquired during university studies. The University will therefore increase its core programme required of all undergraduates from 23 to 39 units, accounting for about one-third of the overall required units, while the minimum required units for a major will only be slightly increased, with much of the increase attributed to a Faculty Package that ensures exposure to several cognate disciplines. The core programme includes Chinese Language (6 units), English Language (9 units), General Education (21 units), Physical Education (2 units) and Information Technology (1 unit).

CUHK sets great store by general education, which will be increased by two foundation courses (6 units) required of all students. A pilot version of these courses are already being trialed as electives: they are ‘Classics for Today: In Search of Good Life and Good Society’ and ‘Science in Classics: Exploring the Universe and Life’. The courses allow students to reflect on the ideal society and the good life, and explore the world of science and knowledge, through the study of classical texts, which among others cover works by Plato, Homer, Aristotle and Darwin, as well as the Analects of Confucius, Zhuangzi, the Bible, the Heart Sutra and the Koran. Many top universities in the world adopt a similar approach to their general education programmes, and the CUHK version is truly a combination of ‘tradition with modernity, bringing together China and the West’. These two pilot courses were rolled out last semester, to warm reception by the students.

To broaden inter-disciplinary knowledge, each faculty will offer a Faculty Package from which students are required to take courses outside their major discipline(s). With the additional year at the University, students will have more room for academic pursuit. They can then enjoy more flexibility to go for double majors or adding minor(s) to their major. In the three-year curriculum, not all CUHK undergraduates have the opportunity to work on a dissertation or project that synthesizes their learning experience. In order to help students better integrate their learning, a capstone course requiring participation in research and/or internship will be incorporated in each major programme.

The new curriculum will also be less packed, and students will have more room for overseas exchange or internship, and still be able to finish their studies within four years.

Admission

CUHK is also working towards an admission scheme that would cater to broader student choice. In many cases, students can enrol in a number of courses in one broad category during their first year, and choose their major subject only in the second year based on their interest. It will also be easier for them to change majors among programmes within the same category. The University expects to announce admission categories next year. With the new assessment mechanism of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, it is likely that many students will obtain identical scores. In these circumstances, students’ other learning experiences will gain even more importance as a useful reference in admissions.

Enriching Experiential Learning

CUHK is committed to enriching students’ experiential learning by providing extensive opportunities for overseas exchange and internships. More than 20% of CUHK students have been overseas for exchange study for at least one semester, and there are enough opportunities to enable 100% of them to undertake at least short-term exchange. Overseas experience can greatly broaden students’ horizons. The goal is that every undergraduate student who wants to go for exchange lasting half a year or more will be given such an opportunity.

Table: The University core curriculum to be implemented in 2012