Master of Social Sciences in Public Policy and Risk Governance (MSocSc-PPRG)
Programme Information
Risk governance denotes both the institutional structure and the policy process that guide and restrain collective activities of a group, society, or international community to regulate, reduce, or control risk problems. In the contemporary era, handling of collective risk problems has been shifted from traditional state-centric approaches with government agencies as the locus of power to multilevel systems, in which the political authority for handling risk problems is distributed to a variety of public bodies with overlapping jurisdictions.
The aim of this programme is to nurture students to develop a sophisticated understanding of public policy institutions and processes, its implications on policy development and implementation, as well as innovative policy recommendations to complex policy issues in an ever-changing risk society. The ultimate objective is to prepare students to be policy analysts, risk and crisis managers, as well as future public leaders.
Programme Objectives (POs)
PO1 Instill in students the theoretical and interdisciplinary expertise necessary for the practice of risk governance in public policy;
PO2 Gain broad and deep knowledge of the public policymaking processes in which decisions about risks are taken and implemented;
PO3 Demonstrate knowledge of research principles and methodologies relevant to public policy studies from the perspective of risk governance;
PO4 Acquire the analytics managerial skills in public sector that can be applied to developing innovative solutions to a broad range of risk problems in policy issues; and
PO5 Reflect critically on the challenges relating to risk governance on the management, implementation and evaluation of public policies and respond to these in innovative ways.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes
PILO1 Critically examine key theoretical and analytical perspectives and debates in risk and public policy studies;
PILO2 Develop a risk-based approach in understanding the public policy institutions and processes and its implications on policy development and implementation;
PILO3 Conduct risk analysis and public policy research using appropriate research methods;
PILO4 Apply skills and knowledge acquired in the curriculum to analyse various policy issues; and
PILO5 Devise innovative and professional policy recommendations to complex policy problems in a changing risk society.
Programme Structure
One-year Full-time Study Mode
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
PRG6101 Public Policy Analysis | PRG6104 Workshop on Policy and Risk Simulation |
PRG6102 Governing Risk in Public Sector | Elective 2 |
PRG6103 Public Policy Research Methods | Elective 3 |
Elective 1 | Elective 4 |
Two-year Part-time Study Mode
Year 1 | |
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
PRG6101 Public Policy Analysis | Elective 1 |
PRG6103 Public Policy Research Methods | Elective 2 |
Year 2 | |
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
PRG6102 Governing Risk in Public Sector | PRG6104 Workshop on Policy and Risk Simulation |
Elective 3 | Elective 4 |
List of Modules
PRG6101 Public Policy Analysis
PRG6102 Governing Risk in Public Sector
PRG6103 Public Policy Research Methods
PRG6104 Workshop on Policy and Risk Simulation
PRG6201 Critical Issues in Public Health
PRG6202 Environment and Global Governance
PRG6203 Risk Governance in the Digital Era
PRG6301 Political Communication in Public Policy
PRG6302 Managing Risk Society
PRG6303 Advanced Quantitative Methods for Public Policy Research
PRG6304 Selected Topic in Public Policy and Risk Governance
PRG6305 Individual Project
Admission Requirements
Applicants must fulfill the following requirements for admission:
1. A Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university or equivalent; and
2. Documentary evidence demonstrating the applicant’s English proficiency, which may include:
- Graduated from an institution where the medium of instruction is English; or
- A minimum of 550 (paper-based) and 79 (internet-based) in TOEFL; or
- A minimum of 6.0 in IELTS; or
- A minimum of 430 in College English Test-Band 6 (CET-6) or “Pass” if the test was taken before June 2005; or
- Equivalent of the above
Graduation Requirements
1. Complete and pass a minimum of 24 credits (at least one module must be chosen from the thematic elective modules) as laid down in the programme curriculum, and
2. Obtain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.
Education Pathways
Graduates of the Programme may pursue further studies at MPhil or PhD levels, particularly in the field of policy studies, and public administration.
Employment Pathways
Career opportunities include positions in administration and policymaking in government agencies, political organisations, NGOs, charities and international organisations; political consultancy; public relations and public affairs agencies; business; media policymaking; and higher education, including doctoral studies.
