Postgraduate Courses

Undergraduate courses marked with [BLD] or [SPO] may be offered in the mode of blended learning or self-paced online delivery respectively, subject to different offerings. Students should check the delivery mode of the class section before registration.

• PPOL 5110

  Foundation in Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Co-list with

  SOSC 5780

  Exclusion(s)

  SOSC 5780

  Description

  This course is required for all first-year MPhil/PhD students in Public Policy. The course will provide an advanced foundation in the study and practice of public policy at the level required for graduate study. The course will cover both the historic foundations of policy studies, as well as emerging approaches and directions. As the study of public policy is inherently interdisciplinary, it will include perspectives from political science, public policy, economics, business and other aspects of social science. It will take a broad view of public policy, including taking up some of the core literature on public management and public administration.

  Intended Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • 1.
    Demonstrate solid fundamental knowledge on how public policies are developed, approved, implemented
  • 2.
    Apply a public policy perspective to evaluate, compare core literature and current issues on public management and public administration
  • 3.
    Apply a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to policy research studies
  • 4.
    Develop holistic perspectives including political science, public policy, economics, business and other aspects of social science
• PPOL 5111

  Foundation in Public Policy II

  [3-0-0:3]
  Prerequisite(s)

  PPOL 5110

  Description

  This course will introduce postgraduate students to advanced topics in public policy theory. It will build on PPOL 5110, with a greater focus on key topics including public management and administration; multilevel and network governance; policy evaluation; institutional analysis; and regulatory structures and implementation.
• PPOL 5120

  Research Methods in Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Co-list with

  SOSC 5790

  Exclusion(s)

  SOSC 5790

  Description

  This course is required for all first-year MPhil/PhD students in Public Policy. The purposes of the course are to introduce to students the key concepts in research methods, and to help them develop skills in the design of empirical research used in the analysis of policy problems. The course aims to train students to be able to apply various research designs in conducting rigorous policy research in their chosen fields, as well as develop the ability to critically evaluate policy research products. A specific emphasis will be on the use of quasi-experimental designs in policy research, as well as on their potentials and limitations.

  Intended Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • 1.
    Identify the logic of policy research on causal relationship
  • 2.
    Demonstrate solid knowledge on key research designs for generalized causal inference and their potentials and limitations
  • 3.
    Design and develop a research proposal on a given research topic in their chosen fields
  • 4.
    Apply practical experiences and techniques in conducting qualitative analysis
• PPOL 5130

  Microeconomics and Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  The course covers Microeconomic core modules concerning consumer, firm, and market with emphasis on public policy application. A policy topic follows each module enquires students to apply economic model to analyze real world cases and evaluate policies.

  Intended Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • 1.
    Apply economic reasoning to the analysis of selected contemporary economic problems
  • 2.
    Compare and exemplify how individual, business and government interact in various market structures to determine pricing and quantity of goods and services produced and consumed
  • 3.
    Analyze the efficiency and equity implications of government interference in markets
  • 4.
    Apply economic problem solving skills to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of the increasing globalization of the world economy
• PPOL 5140

  Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course will introduce students to quantitative and empirical methods used by public policy analysts. The course will provide an introduction to probability, statistics, and decision analysis, with a focus on the application of these techniques to policy problems. The course will also introduce students to software commonly used to analyze quantitative data.
• PPOL 5150

  Public Policy Analysis

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course provides students with practical methods for analyzing public policy issues. It develops a policy research and modeling skillset in considering complex, real-world issues involving multiple actors with diverse interests, information uncertainty, institutional complexity, and ethical controversy. The analytical framework used in this course is inter- and multi-disciplinary. The course builds such an understanding of the complexity of policy problems in which the different branches of economics and social sciences have equal roles.
• PPOL 5160

  Evidence in Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Prerequisite(s)

  PPOL 5140

  Description

  What kind of evidence is used to support policy decision making? This course will introduce students to the different sorts of data and evidence used by policy analysts, including census data, spatial data, surveys, interviews, focus groups, case studies, and policy experiments. Students will also be introduced to some basic modeling approaches used in policy analysis (statistical models, economic models, systems dynamics etc). Students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of different types of information, and different analytical and visualization techniques that analysts use to incorporate evidence into their work.
• PPOL 5170

  Public Management and Leadership

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course offers an applied introduction to the field of public management and leadership. The course is designed to allow students to explore the challenges of implementing policy and to facilitate critical questioning of the techniques used by central and local governments to achieve these policies in both developed and developing countries. It will have a particular focus on public management and leadership in policy contexts that are characterized by complex systems, and policy areas that are characterized by a highly scientific/technical nature (energy systems, large scale infrastructure engineering projects/management, sustainable development, emergence of new technologies and risks, etc.).
• PPOL 5180

  Risk and Regulation

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  The emergence of regulatory systems is one of the major government advances of the 20th and 21st century. These regulatory regimes are responses to different types of risks-economic/financial, environmental, health, safety and others. This course will examine the concept of risk, and introduce students to the different types of regulatory structures that have been developed to address these.
• PPOL 5190

  Policy Analysis and Design for Sustainable Development

  [3-0-0:3]
  Exclusion(s)

  SOSC 5770 (prior to 2022-23)

  Background

  Previous study of sustainable development and/or public policy at an undergraduate level; or professional experience in these areas

  Description

  Sustainable development problems pose some of the greatest challenges for policy makers around the world, and effective policy design requires analysts with strong subject matter understanding, creativity, and the ability to incorporate diverse perspectives and approaches. The goal of this course is to advance students' abilities to apply tools and methods, including analytical techniques and presentation skills, which are required for effective policy analysis and decision making in this area. Coursework in the course will be largely case based, and topical issues will be presented and mastered alongside different analytical skills and techniques.
• PPOL 5200

  Applied Demography

  [3-0-0:3]
  Mode of Delivery

  [BLD] Blended learning

  Description

  Changes in population size and structure represent a very significant input to policy and planning decision making. This can be for both the public and the private sector; and at a local, regional or national scale. This course is an introduction to applied demography; namely an exploration of the key issues involved in the relationship between population change, policy and planning. Students will gain an understanding of the role of population change in the design and development of policies and programs, and learn demographic techniques used to both identify trends and challenges, as well as monitor and evaluate interventions.
• PPOL 5210

  Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course is intended for students interested in environmental policies and management of the natural environment and its resources. The course provides students with a basic toolkit of quantitative and qualitative techniques used in resource planning and analysis, together with case studies with which to gain experience of their application. Students will also gain knowledge of regional and global directives affecting the environment, as well as approaches to policy evaluation.
• PPOL 5220

  Complex Systems for Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  Many of the problems facing policy makers are considered to be complex, dynamic, socio-technical systems that display emergent structures and behaviors. This requires policy makers and administrators to develop competencies in both analysis and management. The course will focus on applications in policy, with a focus on science and technology such as natural systems with policy making, and complex engineering systems. Students will be introduced to some of the key elements of complex systems, including non-linearities, emergence, networks, and system dynamics. They will also learn about management techniques, specifically learning and adaptive management, that are needed for policy related to complex systems.
• PPOL 5230

  Technology, Innovation and Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course will explore the nature of science and technology, their funding, and their use in policy. The course will have two parts: technology and innovation policy. In the first part, students will learn about how science, technology and innovation are influenced by policy, including R&D funding, education, and other policies that governments use to promote the development of new knowledge. In the second part, which will focus on how knowledge and expertise are used by policy makers, students will investigate how science and engineering (quantitative) evidence and knowledge are integrated with social science (quantitative and qualitative) knowledge, and the limitations and types of uncertainty attached to different types of knowledge.
• PPOL 5240

  Advanced Analytical Methods for Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Prerequisite(s)

  PPOL 5140

  Description

  This course will build on the core methodology and data analysis courses, and enable students to develop the ability to use a range of different analytical methodologies for the assessment of public policies for recommendation, decision making and evaluation. The emphasis is on application in policy problems, and a focus on dealing with complexity and uncertainty. Methods presented in the course will include both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and will be taught using case studies and modeling exercises.
• PPOL 5250

  Innovation and Sustainability

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course examines the role of innovation in achieving sustainability. Among the issues to be discussed include models of technological change, systems approaches to innovation, intellectual property rights, research and development, and case studies in various sectors concerning sustainability. The mechanisms of co-evolution of technology and institutions in facilitating innovation for sustainability are examined from a global perspective.
• PPOL 5260

  Public Management: Theories and Practices

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course combines theoretical training with practical applications. It introduces students to key concepts in the discipline of public management and covers major approaches to management in the public sector. The course begins with a review of the evolution of thinking from public administration to public management. It allows students to explore the changes of responsibilities and skills of public managers. From that basis, we move to look at tools in important functional areas of public management and investigate how to critically apply a range of mechanisms to improve the performance of public managers.
• PPOL 5270

  Finance, Financial Crises and Economic Development

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  The global financial crisis was not just an economic calamity. It also precipitated a crisis in economic and political ideas. The pre-crisis faith that free markets produce optimal outcomes has been significantly eroded. A decade on, global policymakers still struggle to engage with a more empirically-grounded and less dogmatic brand of economics, and the differing prescriptions that it might suggest. Students of economics need to have an overview of the causes and consequences of the crisis, the ideas that contributed to it, and how those ideas and their policy implications are being challenged and debated. Most importantly, students of public policy need to be able to understand what went wrong – both in economics, and in policy.
• PPOL 5280

  Economic Reasoning for Public Management

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  Public sector managers are tasked with handling a wide range of issues with economic implications. These issues often involve the allocation of resources (not just governmental resources, but also society’s) and have implications for efficiency and equity. Sometimes, these issues involve difficult trade-offs between efficiency and equity. How are we to decide? Should efficiency consideration always trump equity ones? The course is designed to familiarize students with the methods, strengths and limitations of economic reasoning in addressing these issues. Concepts covered in this course are drawn from both micro- and macroeconomics. Illustrations are conducted in an interactive manner using cases studies as well as widely cited examples in public management.
• PPOL 5290

  Managing for Sustainability

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  Sustainable development problems pose some of the greatest challenges for both private and public sector organizations around the world, and effective policy design requires manager with strong subject matter understanding, creativity, and the ability to incorporate diverse perspectives and approaches to sustainability. The goal of this course is to advance students’ abilities to apply managerial principle, tools and methods to ensure sustainable development at organizational, sector and system levels.
• PPOL 5300

  Managing the Policy Process

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  The course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the principal elements of policy analysis and program evaluation. It introduces key concepts and tools from professional practices in the public sector. Main topics covered include process of policy analysis, market failures, governmental failures, information structuring, data collection methods, decision matrices, cost-benefit analysis, and program evaluation. Upon completing the course, students will develop the skills to analyze and evaluate policy programs.
• PPOL 5310

  Public Management for Technology Innovation

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  While advancements in science and technology have been rapidly expanding the range of solutions for tackling these challenges, science and technology innovations have also raised a set of emerging ethical, institutional and legal issues for government, non-profit and private entities. The course aims to help students familiarize with opportunities and challenges brought about by advances in science and technology and analytical approaches for developing appropriate public policy and governance structure to harness the full potentials of these advances. Major topics covered include science and technology policy, regulations of the uses and applications of new technologies, smart cities, the applications of big data, and the management and governance of new media.
• PPOL 5320

  Urban Economics and Urban Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course focuses on urban policy as it is examined in the context of general economic, social and spatial trends in metropolitan settings. Particular attention is placed on the decision-making process and how it affects policy choices. Students will develop an understanding of relevant urban theories, and apply them in the exploration of various urban issues around the world.
• PPOL 5330

  Ethics and Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100A

  Description

  This course approaches public policy from the perspective of ethics, or moral philosophy. The overriding theme is to explore the moral debate surrounding some pressing policy issues in today’s world. The first part of the course introduces the essential moral concepts and theories for reasoning in ethics and public policy. The second part of the course discusses a selection of disputed policy issues through the application of moral concepts and theories. Students will benefit with the knowledge and skills necessary for policy argumentation from a moral perspective.
• PPOL 5340

  China and the World: Policies and Development Strategies

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100E

  Description

  This course will examine the rise of China and China’s development strategies. It will focus on critical assessment of China’s global vision, formulation, implementation, and performance of development strategies, and global reactions to such development. It will equip students with fundamental knowledge about China, and also with important theoretical foundations in theories of international relations, political economy and development to be able to think critically about China’s role in the world and in specific countries. The different tasks in the course will enable students to come up with detailed examinations and policy recommendations on China, and also critically evaluate analysis and policy briefs on China.
• PPOL 5350

  Local and Regional Development

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100C

  Background

  A background that includes courses such as undergraduate economics, economic geography, urban and regional planning is beneficial.

  Description

  This course provides students with a background in the theories of local and regional development, examines the rationales for the use of different approaches and introduces the policy instruments used to stimulate local and regional development. Students discover, compare and critique the use of local and regional policy instruments across the Greater Bay Area.
• PPOL 5351

  Environmental Economics

  [3-0-0:3]
  Co-list with

  ECON 5351

  Exclusion(s)

  ECON 5351, ENVR 5250

  Description

  This course is an introduction to an economics perspective of environmental problems, with attention to public policy solutions to pollution and climate change challenges. Part I will cover the ways in which markets fail to efficiently allocate resources in the presence of pollution along with the class of Pigouvian policies used to correct those failures. Part II will focus on the empirical techniques used by economists to assess the cost and benefits of environmental policies.
• PPOL 5360

  Emerging Markets in Comparative Perspective

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  Emerging markets are now the main engine of global GDP growth; most have also made rapid progress in poverty reduction and other development outcomes over the last three decades. At the same time, the pandemic has raised doubts about the prospects of emerging markets. Both the pandemic-induced global recession and the possible reversal of globalization threaten the gains emerging markets have made in recent decades. Using growth diagnostics, this course examines the economic prospects of the key emerging markets in Asia – China, India, the ASEAN-5 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand), draws lessons for development policy, and examines the implications for emerging markets in a pandemic-disrupted world.
• PPOL 5370

  Singapore in Comparative Policy Perspective

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  Singapore is often held up by policy scholars as a model of sound, rational, technocratic policymaking in which the relatively low level of democratic freedoms has not held back (and may even have contributed to) the city-state’s success. Like Hong Kong, it is also a global financial center, taxes wealth and income lightly, and embraces free trade and flexible markets. At the same time, the Singapore state is far more intrusive and paternalistic in certain policy domains, e.g. public housing, retirement financing, economic planning, and public sector ownership of businesses. These similarities and contrasts between Singapore and Hong Kong reveal both cities’ governing philosophies and provide insights into how history and context shape policy and outcomes. This course will include a four-day study trip to Singapore.
• PPOL 5380

  Technology Disruptions and Public Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100B

  Description

  Rapid advances in disruptive technologies over the last two decades have significantly altered our lives. They have upended old business models, disintermediated incumbent firms in many industries, and disrupted supply chains. This module gives students a broad introduction to the key disruptive technologies that are likely to transform our economy and society in the next decade or so. We will examine the practical applications of these technologies and discuss their policy implications and socioeconomic impacts. We will also look at the potential for governments to leverage new digital technologies to deliver new services or improve existing ones and enhance public value. Above all, we will examine the implications for public policy and how government should respond.
• PPOL 5400

  The Politics and Policy of Global Health

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100F

  Description

  What is the relationship between global health and policy? What are the socioeconomic and political determinants of disease? How have such tiny microorganisms affected the government and politics of states, supranational institutions, and non-state actors throughout history and today? Who are the key actors involved in global health governance and security? And what are key political consequences and concerns of global health policy? This course grapples with these questions as an interdisciplinary take on the complex relationship between government, governance, health, and policy issues through the lens of public policy, political science, and public health. Theoretical concepts from all three fields will be studied and used to analyze real-world problems and evaluate policy options to deal with them from across the globe. The course does not assume any previous knowledge of microbiology, public health, or epidemiology.
• PPOL 5410

  Public Management through the Lens of the Asian Development Bank

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100G

  Description

  Taught by a former Asian Development Bank (ADB) Head of the Risk Management Unit of the Private Sector Operations Department, this course enables its students to go deep-dive to examine and discuss current public management strategies in dealing with major social issues at the ADB. Specific questions to be explored include: How are policies and processes formulated? How are projects and programs recommended, approved, implemented, monitored, and independently evaluated in an MDB (Multilateral Development Bank)? How results orientation is emphasized at ADB in achieving better quality projects and programs? And how institutional reforms take place at MDBs such as ADB which ensure improved staff resource reallocation and skills-mix changes in meeting evolving operational needs with efficiency and effectiveness? Specific cases will also be discussed to enhance professional skills valued at MDBs.
• PPOL 5420

  Environmental Politics and Policy

  [3-0-0:3]
  Previous Course Code(s)

  PPOL 6100H

  Description

  This course introduces students to the political dimensions of environmental policy. It explores how various political actors and institutions interact with each other in shaping environmental policy. The course is divided into two parts. First, it presents the normative and ideational foundations for environmental politics and discusses the major forms of collective action. Second, it analyzes the government’s policy responses to environmental ideas and collective action in the context of capitalist political economy. Students will benefit from the ability to think politically about the environment, which is essential for successful environmental policymaking in practice.
• PPOL 5430

  Research, Analysis and Evaluation Methods: Survey and Interview Design

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course aims to equip students with the essential knowledge and skills for designing and conducting survey and interview research in various policy contexts and domains at a foundational level. Students will learn the theoretical foundations and practical applications of survey and interview methods, and how to use them to collect primary data from the public, stakeholders, and experts on diverse and contemporary policy issues and problems. Students will also learn how to critically evaluate the quality and validity of survey and interview data, and how to identify and address the sources of error and bias that may affect the results and their interpretation.
• PPOL 5440

  Sustainable Urban Design and Development

  [3-0-0:3]
  Description

  This course is designed for postgraduate students who want to learn about urban sustainability, an emerging and still developing field that draws on different disciplines, such as industrial ecology, urban political ecology, urban ecology, and planning and how public policy and public management approach it. It will explore how to make cities more sustainable in terms of environmental, social, and economic aspects and equip students with the theoretical and methodological tools to draft and analyze strategies and their viability. The course will also introduce and evaluate various approaches to foster more sustainable and resilient forms of urbanization and urban life, such as localization, industrial symbiosis, and ecological restoration and review processes of reducing the dependence on external resources and increasing the local production and consumption of goods and services. These approaches will be examined in different contexts and scales, from local to global, and from individual to collective.
• PPOL 5770

  Professional Development for Taught Postgraduate Students

  [0 credit]
  Description

  This course aims at equipping taught postgraduate students with transferrable skills conducive to their professional and career developments. Students are required to attend a mandatory training session on topics including plagiarism, group work and approaching the case study methods as well as a series of compulsory and optional sessions of career talks, presentation skills and English enhancement workshops in their course of program study. Graded PP, P or F.
• PPOL 6000

  Independent Study

  [1-3 credit(s)]
  Description

  Independent study in a designated subject under direct guidance of a faculty member to provide students the advanced knowledge and research skill sets on a public policy topic. Required readings, tutorial discussions, and submission of report(s) will be used for assessment. The course may be repeated for credit if different topics are studied. Graded P or F.
• PPOL 6100

  Special Topics in Public Policy

  [1-3credit(s)]
  Description

  This course covers emerging topics of public policy concerns not covered in the present curriculum. The course aims to provide students with the advanced knowledge and research skill sets on a public policy topic, Required readings, tutorial discussions, and submission of report(s) will be used for assessment. The course may be repeated for credit if different topics are studied.
• PPOL 6110

  Policy Analysis Project

  [6 credits]
  Description

  An independent group project carrying 6 credits cover two consecutive regular terms for students to work on selected topics in public policy under the supervision of a faculty member. The project is designed to help student learn how to identify some public policy problem and prepare, design and select public policy measure or program to mitigate/solve it. Participation of both internal communities of the university and external organizations in these projects will be highly encouraged. The responsibility of control, administration and assessment of the projects rest with the University. Students will hone their ability to work in team, analyze policy issues and develop concise report of their findings and recommendations. The paper should be written as though for a particular decision-maker in government or a nonprofit organization, with the writer assuming the role of a staff assistant to this decision-maker. This course is for MPP students only. May be graded PP.
• PPOL 6120

  Capstone Project

  [3 Credits]
  Description

  Capstone project offers a unique opportunity for students to focus on specific areas of public policy and management in Hong Kong, China, or Asia and carry out in-depth studies. Students may expect discussions of issues that have been the cornerstones of the regions’ development that they choose. HKUST is well-positioned to share the experience of effective governance across Greater China in particular, and Asia-Pacific in general. Faculty supervisors will work with students to reach out to the practitioners in the public sector. Students will apply what they have learnt in class to analyze and solve the problems in the real and dynamic society. The project brings students to reflect on the overall training in the MPM Program and helps them consolidate their knowledge in the area.
• PPOL 6770

  Professional Development in Public Policy

  [0-1-0:1]
  Description

  This one-credit course aims at providing research postgraduate students with basic training in career development and related professional skills. This course consists of a number of division-specific workshops. Graded PP, P or F.
• PPOL 6990

  MPhil Thesis Research
  Description

  Master's thesis research supervised by a faculty member. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned.

  Intended Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • 1.
    Design, develop and conduct a research proposal on science/technology-based public policy research in their chosen fields
• PPOL 7990

  Doctoral Thesis Research
  Description

  Original and independent doctoral thesis research. A successful defense of the thesis leads to the grade Pass. No course credit is assigned.

  Intended Learning Outcomes

  On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • 1.
    Design, develop and conduct a research proposal on science/technology-based public policy research in their chosen fields