DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

The Bachelor of Social Sciences with Honours in China Studies Programme was established in September 1989. The Programme aims at providing students with a broad-based education, which includes a solid training in a selected discipline and a multi-disciplinary knowledge base, in addition to mastering knowledge about China. At the same time, students will be able to develop their critical and analytical abilities in general, and enhance their communication skills in written and spoken Chinese and English, and their proficiency in Putonghua.

The programme is composed of four discipline options: Economics, Geography, History, and Sociology. The Option of Economics is provided by the Department of Economics under the Faculty of Business, and the other three options are provided by the departments of Geography, History and Sociology under the Faculty of Social Sciences. Department of Government and International Studies participates in the Programme by providing political science courses related to China.

Students are admitted to the China Studies Programme without a specific discipline option and have a common foundation curriculum in the first year. At the end of the first year, they will be allowed to choose and join one discipline option through an internal competitive application procedure. Upon graduation, students receive a degree of Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in China Studies with one of the four discipline options (Economics, History, Geography, or Sociology).

Option Descriptions:

Geography Option

The Geography Option of the BSocSc (Hons) in China Studies introduces students to the rapidly expanding horizons of the geography discipline and the study of China from a geographical perspective. The curriculum enables students to analyze in-depth the complexities of the geography of contemporary China.

Specifically, the programme aims at providing students with:

1.	A solid foundation of the theories and methodologies of the geography discipline;
2.	A sound knowledge of contemporary China, particularly in the understanding of its geographical assets and liabilities;
3.	The ability to use geographical tools to conduct independent research; and
4.	Proficiency in Chinese, especially Putonghua and English.

More specific objectives include:

1.	To prepare students for careers in China-related business and other endeavours; and
2.	To prepare students for graduate studies in geography, China studies and cognate fields.

Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs)

Successful students will be able to:

have a broad range of knowledge about contemporary China from multi-disciplinary perspectives, as well as in-depth knowledge of contemporary China from a particular disciplinary perspective;

possess in-depth critical knowledge of the theories and methodologies relevant to a specific discipline;

compare and contrast different social science disciplines in their approaches to studying human societies;

demonstrate subject-specific skills relevant to social science studies in China;

think critically and creatively;

communicate (in writing and verbally) effectively in Chinese and English; and

recognize and appreciate human diversity so as to be able to perceive the world in different perspectives.

Curriculum Structure

The structure of the curriculum is as follows:

China Studies Core Courses		43 units
	Introduction to China Studies	1 unit
	Summer Sojourn	3 units
	Honours Project	6 units
	Social Sciences Foundation Courses	12 units
	China Studies Foundation Courses	12 units
	Advanced China Studies Courses	9 units
Main Discipline Option Core / Electives		30 units
General Education		38 units
Free Electives		18 units

		129 units

Summer Sojourn

The Summer Sojourn Programme is a required three unit course. Students are required to attend this five week summer sojourn at Beijing’s Tsinghua University at the end of their third year. The major component of this summer program is the intensive Putonghua training. For three hours a day and five days a week, students take Putonghua classes taught by teachers from Tsinghua University. Other parts of the summer sojourn programme include seminars on topics related to current issues in China, which are given by renowned Chinese scholars and senior government officials, and field visits to places such as factories, farms, historical sites, government offices, and research institutions. Students are also required to do a group project to study one aspect of social life in Beijing. While the Summer Sojourn Programme is organized by the University, students should be prepared to bear some of the expenses such as part of the expenses for teaching, living expenses, and the cost of the trip back to Hong Kong.

Programme Requirements

China Studies Core Courses (43 units)
a)	Programme Requirements (10 units)
	Introduction to China Studies	1 unit
	Honours Project	6 units
	Summer Sojourn	3 units

b) Social Sciences Foundation Courses (12 units)
	Essentials of Economics	3 units
	Geography of Contemporary World	3 units
	China in the Imperial Age	3 units
	Understanding Society: An Introduction to Sociology	3 units

c) China Studies Foundation Courses (12 units)
	Regional Geography of China	3 units
Three of the following courses:
	Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta: A Survey	3 units
	Foundation of Chinese Economy	3 units
	Introduction to Modern Chinese History	3 units
	Foundation of Political Science	3 units
	Government & Politics of China	3 units
	Ideology & Socialism in China	3 units
	Chinese Legal System	3 units
	Modern Chinese Society	3 units

d) Advanced China Studies Courses (9 units)
Three of the following courses, and two of them must be taken from the Geography Option:
(courses from the Geography Option)
	Population Geography of China	3 units
	Energy Development in China	3 units
	Resource Management in China	3 units
	Problems in the Physical Geography of China	3 units
	Rural & Agricultural Development in China	3 units
	Urban Development in China	3 units
	Selected Topics in the Geography of China	3 units
(courses from other Options)
	Urban and Regional Economic Development in China	3 units
	Rural Economic Development in China	3 units
	China's Foreign Economic Relations & Trade	3 units
	Industrial Management & Development in China	3 units
	Money & Finance in China	3 units
	Engendering Imperial Chinese History (new)	3 units
	China & Asia in the Twentieth Century	3 units
	Contemporary China	3 units
	Chinese Women & Politics in Twentieth Century China	3 units
	Intellectual Trends in Modern China	3 units
	Missionaries in Modern China	3 units
	Oral History & Its Local Applications	3 units
	Revolution & Nationalism in Republican China (1912-1949)	3 units
	Selected Themes in the History of Chinese Women (new)	3 units
	Sino-American Relations	3 units
	Sino-Russian Relations	3 units
	Social & Economic Development of Modern China	3 units
	Topic Studies in Chinese History	3 units
	Topic Studies in Social History	3 units
	Chinese Social Thought	3 units
	Population of China	3 units
	Sociological Issues in Urban & Rural Development	3 units
	Chinese Family & Kinship	3 units
	Women in China	3 units
	Social Networks and Chinese Society	3 units
	Selected Topics in the Sociology of China I	3 units
	Selected Topics in the Sociology of China II	3 units
	China and the World	3 units


Main Discipline Option Core / Electives (30 units)
a)	Main Discipline Option Core Courses	18 units
	Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Geography	3 units
	Cartography	3 units
	Cultures, Peoples & Landscapes	3 units
	Earth Systems: Shaping Landscapes	3 units
	Earth Systems: Atmosphere & Biosphere	3 units
	Globalization of Economic Activities	3 units
	Field Camp	0 unit

b)	Major Discipline Option Elective Courses	12 units
	Global Environmental Issues & Sustainability	3 units
	Population Geography	3 units
	Energy Problems & the Environment	3 units
	Urban Geography	3 units
	Geography of Pacific Asia	3 units
	Techniques in Physical Geography	3 units
	Geography of Health & the Environment	3 units
	Geographical Thought	3 units
	Geographical Information Systems	3 units
	Remote Sensing & Image Interpretation	3 units
	Advanced Climatology	3 units
	Advanced Quantitative Methods in Geography	3 units
	Applied Geomorphology	3 units
	Geography of Economic Development	3 units
	Political Geography	3 units
	Geography of Transportation	3 units
	Coastal Environments & Processes	3 units
	Urban Planning	3 units
	Seminar in Environmental Planning & Management	3 units
	Seminar in Energy Problems	3 units
	Urban Cultural Landscape	3 units
	Seminar in Urban Geography	3 units
	Urban Development & Planning in Hong Kong	3 units
	Seminar in Social Geography	3 units
	Geography of Environmental Hazards	3 units

*	Please note that students are also required to pass two Putonghua courses: Elementary Putonghua and Intermediate Putonghua.

Note: The above information is subject to confirmation.