The Faculty of Social Sciences was established in 1967 and has since undergone rapid expansion and significant transformation. The Faculty comprises the Departments of Geography, Politics and Public Administration, Psychology, Social Work and Social Administration, and Sociology. It also has nine multidisciplinary research centres that provide a platform for research interaction and collaboration among colleagues on campus and in the wider world.

The Faculty offers four full-time and two part-time degree programmes with a total enrolment of more than 1,200 students. The Faculty endeavours to nurture caring leaders with global vision. We are committed to integrating the twin concepts of social innovation and global citizenship into all of our teaching and research programmes. Our ideal graduates are expected to be creative, flexible, inquisitive, critical and independent.

Geography provides useful knowledge to understand the interaction between the natural environment and human society. It offers important insights about how and why human beings think and behave differently in different natural environments, how human society and culture are developed in different places, and what policies and decisions can best utilise locational advantages and natural resources for the mutual benefit of both the human population and their environment. Students are offered a wide range of stimulating and well-structured courses that are grouped under four main themes, China and the Pacific Rim, Environment and Resources, Tourism and Leisure, and Urban and Transport. Majoring in Geography enables students to have an edge in the pursuit of careers in urban planning, transport logistics, environmental impact assessment, tourism, international trade, and public policy making.

Politics and Public Administration

A broad-based view on the study of politics is taken in the Department of Politics and Public Administration. Students are exposed to basic concepts and general features of political systems, as well as the organisation and functions of government. The specialist streams include comparative politics, international politics, political theory and public administration.

The current popularity of Psychology arises from the fact that it is all about us, and involves how we think and behave, together with how we interact with others at a social level. Courses in psychology therefore cover areas such as memory, learning, intelligence, language, perception, personality, and emotions, as well as more applied areas such as clinical and educational psychology. An undergraduate degree with a major in Psychology is essential for students wishing to pursue a career in clinical or educational psychology.

Social Work and Social Administration

The Department offers two programmes of study. One leads to the degree of BSW, an internationally recognised professional qualification for social work practice, while the other leads to the degree of BSocSc, and is aimed at students already reading for the degree but with an interest in social policy and social administration. This programme allows students to tailor their own interests according to four areas of concentration: (1) Policy and Planning, (2) Social Services, (3) Management and Administration, and (4) Social Research. Students may also choose any combination of courses within the curriculum.

Sociology studies the changing trends of cultures and societies in a globalising world, although our own courses naturally place a strong emphasis on Hong Kong and China. Courses offered are grouped under three main streams: (1) Media, culture and heritages; (2) Asian societies and global networks, and (3) Criminology. To all three streams the Department brings its specialist expertise in social structural analysis, anthropological expertise and criminological research. The Department offers a curriculum which draws from the latest developments of the discipline, while underpinning them with a local and regional empirical focus. The Department also offers multidisciplinary major programmes in Criminology, Culture, Heritage and Tourism; and Media and Cultural Studies under the BSocSc degree, and offers a part-time Bachelor of Criminal Justice degree. Additional information on this Bachelor degree programme can be obtained from the Department.