Students are expected to undertake coursework, attend research seminars and conduct thesis research. Submission and successful defense of a thesis is required. All PhD students are also required to pass a qualifying examination within a stipulated period. The qualifying examination may be conducted through the oral or written mode, or both. Individual programs may have their own stipulations concerning the program specific requirements.

In order to ensure our research postgraduate students meet the University’s English language standard, all new full-time research postgraduate students are required to take a spoken English test, the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) before the start of their first term of study. The test provides a useful assessment on the spoken English ability of those students whose mother tongue or first language is not English. Students who fail to attain Level 4 in the test are required to take an English language course LANG 5000 Foundation in Listening and Speaking for Postgraduate Students in order to improve their spoken English.

Apart from the above requirements, all year one research postgraduate students in our School are also required to take another English language course LANG 5005 Communicating Research in English in order to acquire necessary English skills on scientific writing and presentations. 

To develop our research postgraduate students all-round capabilities and to enhance their personal growth and career development, all research postgraduate students are required to take two Professional Development Courses (PDCs) as part of their program requirements.

University-level Professional Development Course

The university-level professional development course is composed of a series of workshops and the modules cover the following themes:

• Professional Conduct 
• Responsible Conduct of Research
• Communication Skills 
• Research Competency 
• Entrepreneurship 
• Self-Management 
• Career Development 

Students admitted in Spring 2021/22 and thereafter are required to complete 3 hours of online modules on Professional Conduct in first year of studies; and 12 hours of activities covering 1 hour of mandatory training on prevention of sexual harassment and various electives under the designated themes.

Discipline-specific Professional Development Course

Students are also required to attend at least 13 hours of discipline-specific workshops/ seminars to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills required for development of their professional career. Please click here for more details.

The training aims to help prepare our research postgraduate students for teaching-related work they need to undertake. It helps students be exposed to varied situations where they can acquire and improve transferable skills, which will be useful to them in the long term. The range of skills involved includes time management, communication skills, group discussion techniques, techniques for conducting materials or information search, writing skills, critical thinking skills and organizational skills. The assignments are limited to 36 effective hours per month on average. Besides, all full-time research postgraduate students admitted in 2019/20 and thereafter are required to complete PDEV 6800 Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Please click here for more details.