Programme Information

Programme Aims

The Programme aims to provide a basic curriculum conforming to standards that are comparable to local and overseas universities, but also concentrations that develop students’ intellectual capacity and ability to apply psychological knowledge and skills in the workplace in three interrelated areas of concentration — (1) School Psychology, (2) Health Psychology, and (3) Human Relations and Communication.

The programme embraces two overarching goals and six subsidiary objectives for education and training. Upon graduating from the programme, students will be able to demonstrate a high level of competence in each of these areas.

To equip graduates with a solid background in psychological knowledge and research

1. Demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in psychology;
2. Apply scientific methods to design and carry out psychological research;
3. Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in applying psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues locally as well as globally.

To produce graduates who can competently integrate the science and application of psychology

4. Communicate and collaborate effectively with professionals and the public in providing information about psychological research and services;
5. Apply psychological knowledge and skills at pre-professional level in a variety of settings;
6. Demonstrate sensitivity and competence in applying ethical principles and standards to support the professional responsibilities and conduct in the workplace.

Programme Structure

To promote whole person development, the programme constitutes a total learning experience for all students incorporating Major, Final Year Project, Electives, General Education and Language enhancement courses to prepare our graduates to be able to apply psychological knowledge in various job settings.

Major Courses

The primary purpose of the Foundation Course, Basic Principles of Psychology, is to expose students to the major areas in the science of psychology, equipping students with a base and working knowledge of key areas, persons, events and issues in the broad discipline of psychology.

The Core Courses aim to introduce students to the content, methods, and applications of modern psychology, covering topics that represent the substantive areas (i.e., lifespan development, social psychology, personality, and abnormal psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, learning theories and processes), methodological (i.e. statistical methods), and practical side of psychology.

The Major Interdisciplinary Course aims to provide opportunities for students to understand the theoretical foundations of counselling and guidance, the roles and responsibilities of a counsellor and to develop appropriate strategies in meeting the emotional and social needs of a diverse population. This course will start with an overview of the personal and professional aspects of counselling, as well as the ethical and legal issues in the profession. Students will then be introduced to an all-inclusive look at the field of counselling and guidance through comprehensive coverage of different specialties of counselling and the process and theories connected to these specialties. Experiential learning regarding personal growth and basic counselling skills will also be included throughout the course.

The purpose of the Major Elective Courses is to provide students an opportunity to diversify and extend the knowledge and skills gained from the Core Courses. The Major Electives serve three areas of concentration (refer to the next session for detailed explanation). For students who do not opt for the concentration scheme, the range of major electives serves as a platform to broaden their knowledge base in psychology.

Concentration Scheme

It is desirable for psychology students to acquire more advanced knowledge of the field and the relevance of psychology to community needs, in addition to the general overview provided by the core courses. Therefore, the curriculum provides a concentration scheme so as to balance the breadth of content in core areas and research methods with opportunities for concentration in areas that are relevant to the needs of the community. Students may opt for one of the three areas of concentration. Through consultation with their faculty advisor, students will be able to find the concentration that best matches their interests, training goals, and career aspirations. The three areas of concentration are:

• School Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Human Relations and Communication

Internship

Students are required to take one 3-cps Internship course. Specifically, two 3-cps internship courses will be offered: “Industrial Internship” and “Scientific Study in Psychology I: Research Internship”.

“Industrial Internship” aims to provide students with experiential learning opportunities to put into practice the psychological knowledge and skills acquired from the core and major elective courses of the programme. Students will apply relevant knowledge and skills from the three areas of concentration (School psychology, Health psychology, Human Relations and Communication) to real-life working environments. The pre-professional work experience gained through the internship will also allow students to consider their future career goals.

The aim of “Scientific Study in Psychology I: Research Internship” is to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and research experiences to put the psychological knowledge and skills acquired from the core and major elective courses of the programme into practice. Students will gain hands on research experience by working in faculty members’ active research teams. Students, under the close guidance of their supervisors, will attempt to generate an innovative research idea, develop a professional and ethical research plan, write up a research proposal, and prepare the ethics approval application for the research project.

Final Year Project

Students are required to take Final Year Project (in the form of Scientific Study in Psychology II: Honours Project” or “Capstone Project”) and a mandatory course to equip students with basic research knowledge and skills.

The advancement of psychological knowledge depends on systematic, innovative, rigorous, ethical, and theoretically-informed approaches and scientific methods of investigation. “Research Methods” deals with fundamental principles and practices relevant to contemporary psychological research. As an introduction to scientific research methods in psychological science, it examines the research process in its broadest context, covering areas such as: philosophy of science, theories of knowledge, ethical processes, research methodologies and research outcomes. The course provides a basic grounding in research design and data analysis. The course will cover a selection of experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental research methods that generate answers to specific research questions.

The aim of “Scientific Study in Psychology II: Honours Project” is to enable students to demonstrate their ability to plan and execute psychological research based on the ideas generated from Scientific Study in Psychology I: Research Internship. It is designed to foster independent thinking and to encourage academic debate on significant issues and principles of psychological research via individual supervision. Additionally, the project requires demonstration of competence and skills in collecting, analyzing, interpreting, discussing, and reporting empirical research data within the mode of scientific research.

“Capstone Project” provides opportunities for students to consolidate and thereby, practice their understanding of psychological theories and research methods by completing an individual Psychology-related intervention programme in an education or a community setting. Such an inquiry-oriented learning avenue is expected to enable students to consolidate, integrate, and reflect upon their undergraduate experiences before their impending transitions to their post-graduation career pursuits.

Electives

The Electives of the programme provide flexibility of choice for students to diversify and extend the knowledge and skills gained from their Major studies, as well as to encourage them to expose to different study areas for all-round development. Students can choose a wide range of courses offered by the University in accordance with their own background and study interests, as well as their future aspirations for their career and further studies. Students may also choose to take a Second Major (30 cps) or one/two Minor(s) (15/ 30 cps).

General Education

The EdUHK’s General Education programme prepares students to be active agents of change, by broadening their intellectual horizons, helping them make connections among different areas of knowledge and between their formal studies and life outside the classroom, and strengthening their capacity for sound thinking and good judgement. It offers a varied but balanced mix of individual courses across a range of subject areas and disciplines, set within an integrated structure of (i) General Education Foundation Course, (ii) Experiential Learning, (iii) General Education Breadth Courses, and (iv) University ePortfolio with a total of 22 credit points (cps).

1. General Education Foundation Course (4 cps)

General Education Foundation Course (GEFC) is a 4-credit point course that will run in Semesters 1 and 2, and will be taken by all first year students at EdUHK. The purpose of the course is to introduce first year students to a range of disciplines and methodologies from the perspectives of senior academics who are experts in their respective fields.

2. Experiential Learning (6 cps)

Experiential Learning (EL) is composed of a 3-cp Co-curricular Service Learning Course (CSLC) and a 3-cp Experiential Learning Course (ELC) which will be offered by departments under the GE domain. Students have to take one of each component for fulfilling the EL (6 cps) requirement. The 3-cp CSLC provides students with an opportunity to engage in learning in action and through co-curricular learning activities with direct service elements in real-life or work-place context while complementing, connecting with, and mirroring their learning experiences derived from formal curriculum. The 3-cp ELC encourages students to learn through experimentation, observation, reflection and (re-) conceptualization while undertaking a wide variety of activities, such as creative work, field studies, projects, thematic overseas trips, outward-bound training etc. These courses enrich students’ learning experiences and skills through learning, thinking and reflecting on practice, in practice and for practice, while exposing them to authentic and real-life contexts.

3. General Education Breadth Courses (9 cps)

The General Education Breadth Courses (GEBCs) (9 cps) are composed of General Education Breadth Learning Strands (1-3) (GELS) (Level 1-2), Positive and Values Education (PAVE) Course and General Education Interdisciplinary Course (GEIC) (Level 4). Students have to take one from each of the components in order to fulfill the GEBCs (9 cps) requirement. These courses aim to equip students better for the study of the ontological, epistemological and/or methodological issues in a wide variety of disciplines. In addition, a new 3-cp GEIC (Level 4) will be offered on cross-faculty basis for students from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3 Semester 1, in order to enable them to appreciate the complexity of issues and problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries and to make sense of them through dialogues across disciplines. Students are allowed to take GELS and/ or PAVE Course(s) after the completion of GEFC or concurrently with GEFC in Year 1 Semester 2 if they are interested and their curriculum schedules allow. After the completion of any GELS/ PAVE Course, students are allowed to take the GEIC from Year 2 Semester 2 to Year 3.

4. University ePortfolio (3 cps)

After the completion of these courses, students will take a 3-cp course at Consolidation Level to complete their University ePortfolios normally before the final year. Based on their on-going evidence-based reflections on learning since Year One through Years Two-Three/Four, students are required to complete the construction of their University ePortfolios that are made up of the artifacts and evidence derived from a wide variety of learning experiences (e.g. Language Enhancement, GEFC, GELS, PAVE Course and GEIC, Majors, Minors/Electives, Field Experience/Internship, Exchange Programme, CSLCs, ELCs etc.). It provides an intellectual platform for students to synthesize their learning experiences garnered from the academic journey at the EdUHK by critically reflecting on the values and significance of what they have learned, making connections to their lives, and charting or imagining their own future.

Language Enhancement

Students take two mandatory credit-bearing English enhancement courses during the first two years of studies as part of the English enhancement programme. These two courses will equip students with the academic literacy skills essential to their study at tertiary level. They will also receive 60 hours of mandatory non-credit-bearing English enhancement courses in Year 1 and 2. Optional IELTS preparation workshops will be held periodically on demand.

Besides, students are also required to study three Chinese enhancement courses and up to two Putonghua enhancement courses depending on their level. The Chinese enhancement programme consists of one mandatory credit-bearing course in Year 1 and two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses in subsequent semesters, which provide students with the input on Chinese language skills as well as elements of literature and culture. The Putonghua enhancement programme consists of two mandatory non-credit-bearing courses in Year 1. In addition, students can take up to 120 hours of optional non-credit-bearing Putonghua course after Year 1.

Career Prospects/Professional Qualifications

Graduates of BSocSc (Honours) in Psychology are eligible to apply for membership in the Hong Kong Psychological Society as well as international psychological associations. This programme thus helps to develop the University's reputation as a provider of Education Plus programmes by offering a qualification which is professionally and internationally recognized.