Table of Contents Message from the Programme Director The Department and the MPA Teaching Staff The Programme * Master of Administration (MPA) * Structure of the Programme * Course Lists * Class Schedule * Course Details The People * Our Faculty * Our Candidates * Our Distinguished Alumni The Facilities and Support Master of Public Administration Alumni Association (MPAAA) Admission * The Requirements * Application Procedure Programme Administration 1 Message from the Programme Director ong Kong is currently experiencing profound political, administrative and socio-economic Hchanges, which will have significant and widespread implications for our community for many years to come. Serving in the public and nonprofit sectors has become more challenging than ever before. Administrators and managers need to be fully equipped with the latest knowledge, skills and toolkit in public policy and management in order to cope with the policy and management challenges of the 21st century. Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) Programme aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet these challenges. The University of Hong Kong has offered the MPA for over thirty years. Our extensive experience combined with an internationally recognized, dynamic MPA faculty makes us justifiably proud of our programme and confident that it will meet your professional and learning needs. Our experienced MPA faculty, well-designed curriculum, innovative teaching styles, and flexible class schedule for both full-time and part-time students are some of the highlights of our programme. We welcome your interest in our MPA programme and please contact us for more information. Peter T.Y. Cheung PhD Programme Director 2 The Department and the MPA teaching staff he Department of Politics and such as institutional design, comparative Public Administration has been civil service system, service delivery Tplaying a leading role in research systems, civil engagement, policy process, and education in public affairs in Hong public sector reform, regulation and Kong and the Asia-Pacific region since intergovernmental relations. 1969. At the forefront of Politics and Public Administration education at both Many of our teachers have extensive the undergraduate and post-graduate experience in the training of the senior levels, we offer a professional education management of the Hong Kong government essential for students to become future and the nonprofit sector. Some have also leaders in the public, private and nonprofit served as consultant or advisor to the sectors. The programme is designed not government and non-government think only to enhance students’ knowledge and tanks and international organizations such awareness of politics and public affairs, as the UNDP and the Asian Development but also to help them develop a critical Bank. and analytical mind and the skills to meet policy and managerial challenges in our Many of our MPA faculty members have globalized world. been awarded research grants from the Research Grant Committee and other We aim to provide an intellectually international sources. A majority of our stimulating and professionally rewarding faculty members have been consistently programme. Our MPA faculty members rated as fully international-level consistently produce work of the highest researchers by the Research Assessment international academic standard and are Exercises (RAE). In fact the Department, widely published in international journals. as a whole, received the highest ratings They are actively involved in research in Hong Kong from the University Grants in public administration and policy, Committee (UGC) for research in previous focusing on critical issues in the field RAE. 3 The Programme Degree Title: Master of Public Administration (MPA) he Master of Public Administration (MPA), launched in 1978, was the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The programme is designed to Tprovide quality professional education to students and prepare them for managerial and leadership roles in the public sector. No effort is spared to enhance our students’ educational experience. Apart from traditional classroom instruction, we include various dynamic interactive elements such as group projects, seminars and guest lectures. Distinguished international scholars are regularly invited to teach in our MPA programme. Our MPA students enjoy full campus facilities such as library (including loan service), computer center, health service and sports amenities. In addition we offer the option of attending a course at Tsinghua University (清華大學) so that they can have greater exposure to China and the valuable learning experiences gained from residential education. The curriculum is designed to achieve the following objectives: 1. to introduce students to the theory and principles of public administration and public policy from social, economic, political and legal perspectives; 2. to enhance students’ knowledge, skills and competence in managing public sector organizations; 3. to help students acquire the skills in applying qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyse and address policy and management issues. We are committed to offering an outstanding programme for candidates who are interested in advancing their careers in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Since the launch of the programme, we have continuously improved the curriculum and the entire programme design. Distinctive features of the programme include: 1. the only Master’s programme that provides an (optional) live-in course in Tsinghua University; 2. the extensive use of interactive teaching (such as debates, project presentations, seminars); 3. the inclusion of distinguished overseas academics to enhance the international nature of the programme; and 4. the involvement of senior professionals in the public, private and nonprofit sectors to share their insights and experience with students. 4 Structure of the Programme PA is offered on a 2-year part-time or 1-year full-time basis. Students are required to complete eight taught courses and one Mdissertation in order to graduate. The eight courses include four compulsory courses, and four courses from the lists of elective courses. The curriculum can be summarized as follows: Part-time Full-time Year 1 Semester 1 September POLI7002 + POLI7002 + October POLI8027 POLI8027 + November 2 Elective courses December Semester 2 January 2 Elective courses POLI8017 + February POLI8026 + March 2 Elective courses April May * Tsinghua live-in course * Tsinghua live-in course June July August Dissertation Timeline Year 2 Semester 3 September 2 Elective courses October November December Semester 4 January POLI8017 + February POLI8026 March April May * Tsinghua live-in course June * The optional Tsinghua course is available to students at additional cost. It lasts for about two weeks and will require time off work. The course is equivalent to POLI8008 Public Administration in China. 5 Course Details Course Lists (i) Compulsory courses list: POLI7002 Public administration: scope and issues POLI8012 Dissertation POLI8017 Workshop in public affairs POLI8026 Workshop in managerial skills POLI8027 Public administration in Hong Kong (ii) Elective courses list: (the offering of these courses varies in each academic year) POLI7001 Human resource management POLI7003 Public policy: issues and approaches POLI7004 Public management reform POLI8001 Bureaucracy and the public POLI8002 Ethics and public affairs POLI8003 Financial management POLI8004 Government and law POLI8005 Government and the economy POLI8006 Policy-making in China POLI8007 Policy problems in Hong Kong POLI8008 Public administration in China POLI8009 Policy design and analysis POLI8010 The state and urban policy POLI8011 A selected topic in public policy POLI8014 NGOs and governance POLI8018 Management information systems POLI8019 Comparative public administration reform POLI8020 Administrative research and programme evaluation POLI8021 Organization theory and management POLI8022 Comparative public policy POLI8023 A selected topic in public management POLI8024 China’s governance in the reform era POLI8025 Public administration in action Class Schedule The compulsory courses will be scheduled on Saturdays and elective courses on weekday evenings as well as Saturday afternoons. This flexible class scheduling allows students to complete the MPA without the need to take leave from work. 6 Compulsory sections POLI7002. Public administration: scope and issues This course provides an introduction to the study of public administration in the modern state. It does this by focusing on the interdependent and changing nature of the state, market and civil society. Various perspectives are adopted concerning work arrangements, legal-structural configurations, and policy dynamics. These perspectives have both historical and current significance. They are supported with reference to relevant ideas and theories, as well as to actual developments in Hong Kong and elsewhere. POLI8012. Dissertation The dissertation is a core part of the M.P.A. degree. A dissertation topic is selected in consultation with relevant staff of the Department by the end of the first semester of the first year. The dissertation is then researched and written and submitted for examination by 30 June of the final year of study. (100% coursework) POLI8017. Workshop in public affairs This course provides an opportunity for students to learn the latest developments in the study of public affairs in a workshop format emphasizing