Graduate School Courses

Graduate School courses aim to provide students from all faculties core knowledge on thesis writing and research skills and methods.  Students should have passed all Graduate School compulsory courses by the end of the probationary period.  
 

Graduate School Course Information & Timetable

For Students Registered in or after September 2021

Modules Courses 4-year PhD/ MPhil 3-year PhD
Researcher Development Training (5 Modules)

Module 1 
Doing Research @ HKU 
(2 hours) 

 Required Optional
(Strongly encouraged to enrol in this orientation module)
 

Module 2
Introduction to Qualitative/ Quantitative Research Methods
(3 hours)

 Select one of the following courses based on your research needs:
  • GRSC6104 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (Humanities)
  • GRSC6105 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (Sciences)
  • GRSC6106 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Humanities)
  • GRSC6107 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Sciences)
 Required
 		 Optional
 
Module 3
Thesis Writing 
(3 hours)

Select one of the following courses based on your research needs:

  • GRSC6120 Introduction to Thesis Writing (Humanities)
  • GRSC6121 Introduction to Thesis Writing (Sciences)
  • GRSC6140 Advanced Thesis Writing (Humanities)
  • GRSC6141 Advanced Thesis Writing (Sciences)
     

Note: Selected students are required to complete GRSC6027 Intensive English for Postgraduate Students prior to taking this module.  Students concerned will be notified individually by the Graduate School.

 Required Optional
Module 4
Responsible Conduct of Research
(3 hours)
  • GRSC6101 Responsible Conduct of Research
 Required Required
Module 5
Stream-based Responsible Conduct of Research 
(3 hours)
  • GRSC6102 Stream-based Responsible Conduct of Research
     
Select one of the following topics based on your research needs:
-    Working with Human Participants (Humanities)
-    Working with Human Participants (Medicine)
-    Working with Animals (Medicine)
-    Lab Safety
-    Working on Big Data
-    Working on Texts		 Required Required
Professional Development Training (1 Module)
Module 6
Transferable Skills 
(12 hours)		 Select one of the following courses:
  • GRSC6108 Online Transferable Skills Programme
  • GRSC6138 Transferable Skills Retreat
 Required Optional

 

For Students Registered between September 2013 and August 2021 
  Courses 4-year PhD/ MPhil 3-year PhD
Thesis Writing

Select one of the following courses based on your research needs:

  • GRSC6001 Introduction to Thesis Writing
  • GRSC6020 Introduction to Thesis Writing (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6021 Introduction to Thesis Writing (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6040 Advanced Thesis Writing (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6041 Advanced Thesis Writing (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6120 Introduction to Thesis Writing (Humanities)
  • GRSC6121 Introduction to Thesis Writing (Sciences)
  • GRSC6140 Advanced Thesis Writing (Humanities)
  • GRSC6141 Advanced Thesis Writing (Sciences)

Note: Selected students are required to complete GRSC6027 Intensive English for Postgraduate Students prior to taking this course.  Students concerned will be notified individually by the Graduate School.

 Required Optional
Research Ethics for Graduate Students

Select one of the following courses:

  • GRSC6029 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculties of Business and Economics, Education, Law and Social Sciences)
  • GRSC6030 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculties of Arts and Architecture)
  • GRSC6031 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry)
  • GRSC6032 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculty of Engineering)
  • GRSC6033 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculty of Science)
  • GRSC6101 Responsible Conduct of Research and GRSC6102 Stream-based Responsible Conduct of Research
 Required Required
Transferable Skills

Select one of the following courses:

  • GRSC6008 Transferable Skills
  • GRSC6038 HKU Transferable Research Skills Course/ Transferable Skills Retreat
  • GRSC6039 International Transferable Research Skills Programme
  • GRSC6108 Online Transferable Skills Programme
  • GRSC6138 Transferable Skills Retreat
 Required Optional
Research Methods

Select one of the following courses based on your research needs:

  • GRSC6007 Applied Quantitative Research Methods
  • GRSC6034 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6035 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6036 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6037 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6042 Intermediate Quantitative Research Methods
  • GRSC6104 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (Humanities)
  • GRSC6105 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (Sciences)
  • GRSC6106 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Humanities)
  • GRSC6107 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Sciences)
 Required Optional
For Students Registered before September 2013
  Courses 4-year PhD/ MPhil 3-year PhD
Thesis Writing

Select one of the following courses based on your research needs:

  • GRSC6001 Introduction to Thesis Writing
  • GRSC6020 Introduction to Thesis Writing (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6021 Introduction to Thesis Writing (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)

Note: Selected students are required to complete GRSC6027 Intensive English for Postgraduate Students prior to taking this course.  Students concerned will be notified individually by the Graduate School.    

 Required Optional
Basic Research Skills and Methods - 
Compulsory Module

Select one of the following courses:

  • GRSC6009 Research Ethics for Graduate Students
  • GRSC6029 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculties of Business and Economics, Education, Law and Social Sciences)
  • GRSC6030 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculties of Arts and Architecture)
  • GRSC6031 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry)
  • GRSC6032 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculty of Engineering)
  • GRSC6033 Research Ethics for Graduate Students (Faculty of Science)

Note: GRSC6009 Research Ethics for Graduate Students have been replaced by five discipline-specific courses (GRSC6029, GRSC6030, GRSC6031, GRSC6032, GRSC6033) with effect from 2013/14.  Students should select the course intended for their home Faculty, unless approval from supervisor(s) and Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee (DRPC) has been obtained.

 Required
(For students registered between September 2009 and August 2013)		 Required
(For students registered between September 2011 and August 2013) 
Basic Research Skills and Methods -
Elective Module

For students registered between September 2009 and August 2013, select one of the following courses:

For students registered before September 2009, select two of the following courses:

  • GRSC6002 Making Your Writing Clear
  • GRSC6003 Reporting on Other Researchers’ Work
  • GRSC6004 Effective Academic Presentations
  • GRSC6007 Applied Quantitative Research Methods
  • GRSC6008 Transferable Skills
  • GRSC6010 Logic, Critical Thinking, and Creativity
  • GRSC6014 How to Publish Your Research (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6015 How to Publish Your Research (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6018 Qualitative Research Methods
  • GRSC6022 Basic Quantitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6023 Basic Quantitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6024 Intermediate Quantitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6025 Intermediate Quantitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6026 Computer-Assisted Analysis of Qualitative Data
  • GRSC6028 Biological Safety
  • GRSC6034 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6035 Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6036 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (The Humanities & Related Disciplines)
  • GRSC6037 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (The Sciences & Related Disciplines)
 Required Optional
Faculty/Departmental Courses in Lieu

Approval has been granted to specific Faculty/departmental courses which can be taken in lieu of the Graduate School courses. Please click here for details.

GenAI Reference Guidelines

With effect from the 2023/24 academic year, the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) referencing guidelines have been adopted for Graduate School courses.