phd-en

This research programme prepares students for a research career.

 

Requirements for Admission

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should possess a Master’s degree in communication/media studies or in a related field of humanities and social science from a recognized university.

All applicants MUST have a minimum TOEFL* score of 580 (paper-based) or 92 (internet-based), or a minimum IELTS* (Academic) score of 7,

1. unless they possess a pass grade in English in one of the following examinations:

    • H.K. Advanced Level Examination (including AS Level),
    • H.K. Higher Level Examination,
    • CUHK Matriculation Examination,
    • General Certificate of Education Examination Advanced Level (GCE A Level) / Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS Level) or

2. have a degree from a university in Hong Kong or taken a degree programme of which the medium of instruction was English, or

3. achieve level 4 or above in the English subject of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination.

*  TOEFL and IELTS are considered valid for two years from the test date.

Applicants are required to furnish proof of their research capability in the form of:

    1. a strong Master’s thesis;
    2. an innovative and methodologically / theoretically strong research proposal outlining areas of interest, goals and plans;
    3. three letters of reference from academic sources; and
    4. academic records at the Master’s and undergraduate levels.

Special consideration will be given to applicants’ scholarly achievement and professional experience in related fields.

In addition to the University regulations, students in the M.Phil. in Communication Programme, after completing a minimum of 18 units of coursework with a GPA of at least 3.7, may apply for transferal into the Ph.D. in Communication Programme subject to approval of the Division Head, the Board of School of Journalism and Communication, and the Graduate School.

If applicants apply for more than one programme in the School, please list the programmes in a priority order of their study interest clearly. Each applicant will be given only ONE admission offer from the School if he/she is eligible.

According to the School’s policy, applicants are not allowed to switch to another programme once they accepted the admission offer.

 

 

Programme

1) Coursework Requirement

 

2) Qualifying Examination

    1. Qualifying examination
      Advancement to Ph.D. candidature is conditional upon passing qualifying examinations. The examinations consist of three parts. Part I is on Theory and Methodology, Part II is on Area of Specialization and Part III is a Proposal Defense.
    2. Every year we have a fixed timetable for PhD students to take qualifying examinations. The examination time cannot be changed unless for specific reasons.
    3. A student will be discontinued from studies if he/she cannot pass the qualifying examinations.
    4. Students are required to pass the qualifying examinations within the maximum period as listed below:
  With research Master’s*: Full-time  30 months
  Part-time  42 months  
  Without research Master’s*: Full-time  42 months
  Part-time  58 months  
       

*With effect from 2014-15 intake, except (a) research M.Phil. degrees and (b) other research master’s degrees offered by UGC-funded institutions, all other master’s degree, including those from the mainland, will be regarded as non-research master’s degrees and such applicants will be given a normative study period of 48 months. The University has the authority to decide whether the degree possessed by an incoming student is a research master’s degree or not, and such decision will be communicated to the student through the letter of admission.

 

3) Study plan

Students must submit a study plan, with the advice of the supervisor, for the approval of the Graduate Panel of the Board of School of Journalism and Communication within six months after registration. The Division Head will help students search for a supervisor within the first semester of study.

 

4) Thesis

    1. Thesis proposal
      A full-time Ph.D. student must submit a thesis proposal no later than the end of the 1st term of the 3rd year whereas a part-time Ph.D. student must submit a thesis proposal no later than the end of the 1st term of the 4th year. Students are NOT allowed to change their thesis topic after the proposal defense (unless under special circumstances).
    2. Thesis supervisors
      Students are NOT encouraged to change their supervisors after the 2nd academic year begins (unless under special circumstances).
    3. Students are required to submit a research thesis and pass an oral examination for graduation.
    4. Thesis Monitoring Courses are listed as follows: COMM 8200.

 

5) Other Requirements

    1. Students must fulfill the Term Assessment Requirement of the Graduate School. For details, please refer to Section 13.0 “Unsatisfactory Performance and Discontinuation of Studies” of the General Regulations Governing Postgraduate Studies which can be accessed from the Graduate School Homepage: https://www.gs.cuhk.edu.hk/.
    2. A student must achieve a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 in order to fulfill the graduation requirement, unless special approval is granted by the Graduate Council.
    3. Complete an Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) module on “Observing Intellectual Property and Copyright Law during Research”. This will be an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/prodev/ipl.html.
    4. Complete an IPL module on “Research Data Management Training”. This is an online module and relevant information can be accessed from the website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/clear/download/IPL-Researchskills.pdf. Students are required to complete and pass the module in their first year of studies, with effect from the 2022-23 intake.
    5. Students are required to complete an online Research Ethics Training (RET) module on “Publication Ethics” and obtain a valid Publication Ethics Certificate for graduation. Relevant information can be accessed from the RET website at https://www.research-ethics.cuhk.edu.hk/web/.

 

6) Unsatisfactory Performance

A student whose thesis/portfolio is not passed but re-submission is allowed and re-examination is required must re-write and re-submit the thesis/portfolio to the satisfaction of the Thesis/Assessment Committee before being recommended for the award of degree. Such re-submission must be made within twelve months from the date of the official notification of the result of the first examination and within the student’s prescribed maximum period of study. Only one re-submission of thesis/portfolio is allowed.

 

7) Remarks

With the approval of the Division Head, in lieu of the courses on the elective course list, students can take other courses within and/or outside the Division of Communication.

 

Tuition Fee, Studentships, Scholarships & Grants

1) Tuition Fee

HK$42,100 per annum regardless of the study mode

For local full-time RPg students, please refer to the Tuition Waiver Scheme for Local Research Postgraduate (RPg) Students for details.

 

2) Postgraduate Studentships

  • For full-time research postgraduate students.
  • Annual studentship for 2023-24 is HK$220,320. Payable during normative period of study.
  • The award of the studentship will be made known to students with the admission offers.

3) Scholarships

Internationalization Scholarships will be offered to selected international students with outstanding academic performance to join the research postgraduate programmes of the School. No separate application is required. For more details, please refer to the following FAQ.

The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS) is available for both local and non-local students to apply. Students who apply for our full-time PhD Programme are highly recommended to apply through the HKPFS.

 

4) School-level Research/Conference Grants

For more details, please refer to Student Handbook.

 

 

 

Honesty in Academic Work

         
         
  A Guide for Students and Teachers

The Chinese University of Hong Kong places very high importance on honesty in academic work submitted by students, and adopts a policy of zero tolerance on academic dishonesty. While “academic dishonesty” is the overall name, there are several sub-categories as follows:

Impersonation fraud in tests and examinations (including violation of rule 19 of the University’s Examination Rules or rule 15 of the University’s Online Examination Rules)

  
 
(i) Plagiarism
(ii) Undeclared multiple submissions
(iii) Employing or using services provided by a third party to undertake ones’ submitted work, or providing services as a third party
(iv) Distribution/ Sharing/ Copying of teaching materials without the consent of the course teachers to gain unfair academic advantage in the courses
(v) Violating rules 15 or 16 of the University’s Examination Rules (Annex 1) or rule 9 or 10 of the University’s Online Examination Rules (Annex 2)
(vi) Cheating in tests and examinations (including violation of rules 17 or 18 of the University’s Examination Rules or rule 11, 12, 13, 14 or 16 of the University’s Online Examination Rules)
(vii) Impersonation fraud in tests and examinations (including violation of rule 19 of the University’s Examination Rules or rule 15 of the University’s Online Examination Rules)
(viii) All other acts of academic dishonesty

Any related offence will lead to disciplinary action including termination of studies at the University.

Everyone should make himself/herself familiar with the content of this website http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/ and thereby help avoid any practice that would not be acceptable.

  

 

FAQ

For general admission questions to the School of Journalism and Communication, please refer to the details HERE (PDF download).