MASTER OF SCIENCE (MSc)
(See also General Regulations, pp. 1 to 16)
The degree of Master of Science (MSc) is a postgraduate degree awarded for the satisfactory completion of a prescribed course of study in one of a number of fields. Currently, study in the following field is offered: Materials Science.
Admission requirements
Sc 20 To be eligible for admission to the courses leading to the degree of Master of Science, a candidate
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shall comply with the General Regulations; | |
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shall hold | |
| (i) | a Bachelor's degree with honours of this University; or | |
| (ii) | another qualification of equivalent standard from this University or another University or comparable institution accepted for this purpose; and | |
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shall satisfy the examiners in a qualifying examination, if required. | |
Sc 21 A candidate who does not hold a Bachelor's degree with honours of this University or another qualification of equivalent standard may in exceptional circumstances be permitted to register if he demonstrates adequate preparation for studies at this level and satisfies the examiners in a qualifying examination.
Qualifying examination
Sc 22
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A qualifying examination may be set to test the candidate's academic ability or his ability to follow the courses of study prescribed. It shall consist of one or more written papers or their equivalent and may include a project report. |
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A candidate who is required to satisfy the examiners in a qualifying examination shall not be permitted to register until he has satisfied the examiners in the examination. |
Award of degree
Sc 23 To be eligible for the award of the degree of Master of Science, a candidate shall
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comply with the General Regulations; and |
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complete the curriculum and satisfy the examiners in accordance with the regulations set out below. |
Length of curriculum
Sc 24 The curriculum shall extend over not less than one academic year of full-time study or two academic years of part-time study, with a minimum of 300 hours of prescribed work, and shall include a written examination comprising not less than four written papers.
Completion of curriculum
Sc 25 To complete the curriculum, a candidate
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shall follow courses of instruction and complete satisfactorily all prescribed written, practical and field work; |
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shall complete and present a satisfactory mini-project on a subject within his approved field of study or complete courses with equivalent units in replacement ; and |
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shall satisfy the examiners in all prescribed written papers and in any prescribed oral or practical examination. |
Title of mini-project
Sc 26 The title of the mini-project shall be submitted for approval before the commencement of the last semester of the academic year in which the teaching programme ends and the mini-project shall be presented by a date prescribed in the syllabuses for each field of study. The candidate shall submit a statement that the mini-project represents his own work (or in the case of co-joint work, a statement countersigned by his co-worker, which shows his share of the work) undertaken after registration as a candidate for the degree.
Examinations
Sc 27 An assessment of the candidate's coursework during his studies, including completion of written assignments and participation in field work or laboratory work, as the case may be, taken into account in determining the candidate's result in each written examination paper.
Sc 28 A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners at his first attempt in not more than half of the number of papers in the written examination held during any of the academic years of study may be permitted
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to present himself for re-examination in the failed paper or papers at a specified subsequent examination, with or without repeating any part of the curriculum; or |
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to repeat a year of the curriculum and present himself for examination in the written papers prescribed at the end of the repeated year. |
Sc 29 A candidate who has failed to present a satisfactory mini-project may be permitted to submit a new or revised mini-project within a specified period.
Sc 30 A candidate who has failed to satisfy the examiners in any prescribed field work or practical work may be permitted to present himself for re-examination in field work or practical work within a specified period.
Sc 31 A candidate who is unable because of his illness to be present for one or more papers in any written examination other than that held in his final academic year of study, may apply for permission to present himself at a supplementary examination to be held before the beginning of the following academic year. Any such application shall be made on the form prescribed within two weeks of the first day of the candidate's absence from the examination.
Sc 32 A candidate who
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is not permitted to present himself for re-examination in any written paper or in field work or practical work in which he has failed to satisfy the examiners and is not permitted to repeat a year of the curriculum under Regulation Sc 28; or |
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has failed to satisfy the examiners in any written paper or in field work or practical work at a second attempt; or |
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is not permitted to submit a new or revised mini-project; or |
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has failed to satisfy the examiners in his mini-project at a second attempt |
may be recommended for discontinuation of his studies.
Examination results
Sc 33 At the conclusion of the examination, a pass list shall be published in alphabetical order. A candidate who has shown exceptional merit at the whole examination may be awarded a mark of distinction, and this mark shall be recorded in the candidate's degree diploma.
SYLLABUSES FOR THE DEGREE
OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE
Materials Science
A candidate shall follow and be examined in two units of courses in each academic year of study.
Courses
The list of courses, and their contents set out thereafter, may be changed from time to time.
First Year
All courses are compulsory:
C0101. Introduction to materials science (1/2 unit)
C0102. Properties and applications of materials (1/2 unit) or
C0201. Surface science (1/2 unit)
C0103. Analytical techniques I (1/2 unit)
C0104. Analytical techniques II (1/2 unit)
Second Year
1. One compulsory course:
C0102. Properties and applications of materials (1/2 unit) or
C0201. Surface science (1/2 unit)
2. Students will take one and a half units out of the following courses: 1
C0202. Opto-electronics and laser technology (1/2 unit)
C0203. Mini-project (1 unit)
C0204. Macromolecular science (1/2 unit)
C0205. Mechanical service behaviour of materials (1/2 unit)
1 One or two of these courses may not be offered in a particular year.
Course Contents
First Year
C0101. Introduction to materials science
The purpose of this course is to provide basic knowledge of materials, their classifications, and properties in relation to atomic and microscopic structures.
Course contents include structure and bonding, solid state chemistry and physics; mechanical properties of materials: equilibrium and non-equilibrium structures, grain boundaries, elasticity, strength; basic classifications of materials, metals, ceramics; electronic, magnetic, and optical properties.
C0102. Properties and applications of materials
The purpose of this course is to provide a broad overview on the properties, the design and applications of various materials related to concepts and principles developed in Introduction to materials.
Course contents include introduction to polymer science; structure-property relationship of materials bearing optical, electrical, magnetic, liquid crystalline and information storage properties and their applications.
C0103. Analytical techniques I
The purpose of this course is to provide mathematics and computational skills for advanced instrumentation; and characterization techniques in materials science.
Course contents include data treatment and statistical methods, integral and differential calculus, function mininization, elementary differential equations, Fourier transform and analysis, spherical harmonics, basic programming, diffraction methods, vibrational spectroscopy: Infrared absorption, Raman scattering.
C0104. Analytical techniques II
The purpose of this course is to provide students with knowledge of advanced instrumentation and techniques and their applications in the characterization studies in materials science.
Course contents include selected topics from the followings:
Imaging techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM); Electronic and Chemical Characterization: X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-ray Absorption Edge Spectroscopy and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (EXAFS), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Reflection High Energy Electron Energy Diffraction (RHEED), High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (HREELS), Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF), Induction Coupled Plasma (ICP); Polymer Characterization: Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).
Second Year
C0201. Surface science
The purpose of this course is to elucidate properties and processes that occur at the boundaries of materials. Both physical and chemical properties are covered. The course also covers cross-disciplinary areas where new phenomena occur due to the presence of a surface or an interface.
Course contents include surface structure; surface bonding; electronic and vibrational properties in the surface region; atomic deposition; and growth mode studies; catalysis at surfaces; special topics in surface science.
C0202. Opto-electronics and laser technology
The purpose of this course is to provide basic understanding of the principles of laser operation; to learn the applications of lasers in materials science, medicine and industry; to learn basic laser technology by making gaseous lasers.
Course contents include introductory wave/quantum mechanics; propagation of light; interaction of light with matter; resonant optical cavities; laser excitations, operations and characteristics; applications of lasers; safety measures in laser operations.
C0203. Mini-project
The purpose of this course is to provide experience of materials scientific research by planning and carrying out a small project under the supervision of a member of staff. After admission to the course by the course coordinators, the student will be assigned a supervisor.
C0204. Macromolecular science
The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth knowledge on more advanced topics related to macromolecular-based materials.
Course contents include advanced polymerization methods; copolymerization; polymerization kinetics; block polymers; polymers for photonic applications; polymer processing; polymer blends; engineering plastics; photoresist materials; molecular films and membranes; compatible materials; modelling; selected topics.
C0205. Mechanical service behaviour of materials
The purpose of this course is to provide students coming from a science background with the following:
| (i) | the relevant physical basis for the understanding and prediction of the mechanical service behaviour of materials in industrial applications. |
| (ii) | the knowledge to engineer the microstructure in such a way that the service behaviour of materials can be improved. |
Course contents include yield; fracture; fatigue; creep; corrosion; case studies.
