What Is Asian and International Studies? 

Professors and students in the Department of Asian and International Studies join together in explorations of contemporary societies in Asia, the ways in which they influence each other, and the international forces and trends which affect all of us. The teaching includes studies of globalization, social and political trends, and international exchanges of knowledge, policies, practices, and popular culture. The core disciplines of the department are sociology, anthropology, and political science.    

About Our Programmes

The Department offers two undergraduate programmes: a full-time BSocSc (Hons) East and Southeast Asian Studies (BSSESAS), and a full-time and part-time BSocSc (Hons) International Studies (BSSIS).  The BSSESAS has been operating successfully since 1995, and is continually updated to reflect new developments and new research in the region. The BSSIS programme, which commenced in September 2006, provides an opportunity for holders of a higher diploma/ associate degree to pursue further studies for a Bachelor's degree in International Studies.

The Department is also collaborating with the Department of Public and Social Administration and the Department of Biology and Chemistry, in a new Bachelors programme in Environmental Policy Studies (BSSEPS), which will commence in September 2009.

The Department also offers postgraduate research degree studies at MPhil and PhD levels on social, cultural, and political trends and developments in Hong Kong, China, and the Asian regions, with a focus on policy-oriented research, and a taught Master's degree in Development Studies, with a focus on regional and international development work and issues, including labour issues, migration, gender, environment, poverty, and social development. Other postgraduate programmes will be added to the department’s teaching and research profile in the near future.

Complementing these three programmes is the Southeast Asia Research Centre, which brings together scholars from the Department of Asian and International Studies and from other departments in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in research projects on Southeast Asian societies and their relationships with China and Hong Kong.