Common Core Thematic Clusters
Sustaining Cities, Cultures, and the Earth (SCCE) (applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2017-18)
Sustaining Cities, Cultures, and the Earth aligns with the University’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals and addresses the pressing question of sustainability across multiple domains of knowledge and practice.
| Science, Technology and Big Data | |
| CCST9001 | Redesigning Life |
| CCST9002 | Quantitative Literacy in Science, Technology and Society |
| CCST9003 | Everyday Computing and the Internet |
| CCST9006 | Chasing Biomedical Miracles: Promises and Perils |
| CCST9008 | Infectious Disease in a Changing World |
| CCST9009 | Living with Stem Cells |
| CCST9010 | The Science of Crime Investigation |
| CCST9012 | Our Place in the Universe |
| CCST9013 | Our Living Environment |
| CCST9014 | Science and Music |
| CCST9015 | Electronic Technologies in Everyday Life |
| CCST9016 | Energy: Its Evolution and Environmental Impacts |
| CCST9017 | Hidden Order in Daily Life: A Mathematical Perspective |
| CCST9018 | Origin and Evolution of Life |
| CCST9019 | Understanding Climate Change |
| CCST9020 | Sustainable Development of the Built Environment |
| CCST9021 | Hong Kong: Our Marine Heritage |
| CCST9022 | How the Mass Media Depicts Science, Technology and the Natural World |
| CCST9023 | The Oceans: Science and Society |
| CCST9025 | Genetics and Human Nature |
| CCST9026 | Scientific Revolutions: Their Continuing Impact on Our World and Society |
| CCST9027 | The Science of Irrational Thinking |
| CCST9029 | Cyberspace Crime: Technology and Ethics |
| CCST9030 | Forensic Science: Unmasking Evidence, Mysteries and Crimes |
| CCST9032 | “Intelligent” Architecture and Sustainability |
| CCST9033 | Left Brain, Right Brain: Science and Myth |
| CCST9034 | Living in a Hazardous World |
| CCST9035 | Making Sense of Science-related Social Issues |
| CCST9036 | Frontiers in Materials: Civilisation, Industry, and Well-Being |
| CCST9037 | Mathematics: A Cultural Heritage |
| CCST9038 | Science and Science Fiction |
| CCST9039 | Statistics and Our Society |
| CCST9042 | The World of Waves |
| CCST9043 | Time’s Arrow |
| CCST9045 | The Science and Lore of Culinary Culture |
| CCST9046 | The Science of the Mind-body-health Relationship |
| CCST9047 | The Age of Big Data |
| CCST9048 | Simplifying Complexity |
| CCST9049 | The Metaverse: From Human Vision to Extended Reality |
| CCST9052 | Coffee, Cigarettes, and Alcohol |
| CCST9053 | Responding to Natural Disasters |
| CCST9054 | War, Peace and the Natural World |
| CCST9055 | Beauty Secrets: Science and Consumerism |
| CCST9056 | The Force is with You: How Things Work |
| CCST9067 | Leaving Earth: Our Future in Space |
| CCST9074 | Water: The Next Oil? |
| CCST9075 | Be Fit! Be Active! |
| CCST9081 | All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Humans |
| Arts and Humanities | |
| CCHU9001 | Designs on the Future: Sustainability of the Built Environment |
| CCHU9002 | Battles for Bodies: The Birth of Surveillance Society |
| CCHU9003 | Making History: Engaging with the Powerful Past |
| CCHU9005 | Food and Values |
| CCHU9006 | Girl Power in a Man’s World |
| CCHU9007 | Sexuality and Gender: Diversity and Society |
| CCHU9009 | Moral Controversies in Contemporary Society |
| CCHU9010 | Being Different: Understanding People with Disabilities |
| CCHU9011 | Social Divisions in Contemporary Societies |
| CCHU9012 | Body, Beauty and Fashion |
| CCHU9014 | Spirituality, Religion and Social Change |
| CCHU9015 | Sex and Intimacy in Modern Times |
| CCHU9021 | Critical Thinking in Contemporary Society |
| CCHU9022 | Journey into Madness: Conceptions of Mental Health and Mental Illness |
| CCHU9023 | Shaping the Landscape: A Quest for Harmony between Nature and the City |
| CCHU9024 | The Last Dance: Understanding Death and Dying |
| CCHU9026 | Cultures of Violence: Making Sense of the Human Fighting Instinct |
| CCHU9030 | Image, Space and Society |
| CCHU9032 | Language, Institution and Power |
| CCHU9034 | Architecture and Film |
| CCHU9038 | Music and the Human Body |
| CCHU9039 | Sexuality and Culture |
| CCHU9042 | Human Language: Nature or Nurture? |
| CCHU9043 | Rethinking Women: The Big Debates |
| CCHU9044 | Creative Arts as a Way of Knowing |
| CCHU9045 | Vision: The Science and Art of Perception |
| CCHU9047 | The Press, the Public and the Public Sphere |
| CCHU9048 | The City: Histories of Urbanism and the Built Environment |
| CCHU9049 | Reinventing Classical Music |
| CCHU9050 | Freedom: Spirits, Experiences, and Expressions |
| CCHU9052 | The Best Things in Life: A Philosophical Exploration |
| CCHU9053 | Contested Words, Disputed Symbols |
| CCHU9054 | Borderlines – Questioning Boundaries in a Vague World |
| CCHU9056 | Virtual Worlds, Real Bodies |
| CCHU9057 | Killing Stories: A Search for Truth in the Narratives of War |
| CCHU9058 | Nature in the City: Beyond the Concrete Jungle |
| CCHU9059 | Making and Appreciating Drama |
| CCHU9060 | Games: Play, Learning and Society |
| CCHU9061 | Science and Religion: Questioning Truth, Knowledge and Life |
| CCHU9062 | Buddhist Visions in World Cinema |
| CCHU9063 | Cultures of Madness |
| CCHU9065 | A Life Worth Living |
| CCHU9066 | Human Learning: A Life-long Adventure |
| CCHU9069 | Finance and Society: How Human Societies have Innovated to Deal with Risk |
| CCHU9079 | Queering Art, Performance and Cities |
| Global Issues | |
| CCGL9002 | Hong Kong Culture in the Context of Globalization |
| CCGL9003 | Contagions: Global Histories of Disease |
| CCGL9004 | Governance and Democracy in the Age of Globalization |
| CCGL9007 | Youth in a Global World |
| CCGL9008 | Cybersocieties: Understanding Technology as Global Change |
| CCGL9009 | Local Cultures and Global Markets |
| CCGL9014 | Thinking about Global Ethics |
| CCGL9015 | Globalization and Migration |
| CCGL9016 | Feeding the World |
| CCGL9017 | Food: Technology, Trade and Culture |
| CCGL9018 | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| CCGL9019 | Economic Globalization: Issues and Challenges |
| CCGL9020 | Environment, Globalization, and Institutions |
| CCGL9021 | Globalization and Tourism |
| CCGL9023 | Internet, Media and Society |
| CCGL9024 | The Life and Death of Languages: Diversity, Identity and Globalization |
| CCGL9026 | Think Global, Act Local: You, Hong Kong, and the World |
| CCGL9027 | Criminal Globalization, Global Insecurity and the Illicit Global Economy |
| CCGL9028 | Gender, Health, and Globalization |
| CCGL9030 | Financial Crises: History, Solutions, and Our Economic Futures |
| CCGL9031 | Entrepreneurship: Global and Social Development |
| CCGL9032 | Rule of Law in a Globalizing World |
| CCGL9033 | Weapons of Mass Destruction: Science, Proliferation and Terrorism |
| CCGL9034 | Globalization and Architecture |
| CCGL9035 | Challenges of Global Governance: Past and Present |
| CCGL9036 | Dilemmas of Humanitarian Intervention |
| CCGL9038 | English as a Global Language in Asian Contexts |
| CCGL9040 | Energy Futures, Globalization and Sustainability |
| CCGL9044 | Mobile Identities: Person, Place, and Global Flows |
| CCGL9047 | Power, Leadership, and Legitimacy in a Globalizing World |
| CCGL9048 | Global Crime and Injustice |
| CCGL9049 | Carbon, Money, and Lifestyle |
| CCGL9050 | Europe without Borders? |
| CCGL9051 | Technology, Power, and Culture in the Global Age |
| CCGL9052 | Some We Love, Some We Eat: Human-Animal Relationships in the Global Marketplace |
| CCGL9053 | Suicide: Risks, Research, and Realities |
| CCGL9054 | Responding to the Challenges of Aging Societies |
| CCGL9058 | Villages and Global Futures |
| CCGL9062 | Shaping Our Health Across Cultures |
| CCGL9065 | Our Response to Climate Change: Hong Kong 2100 |
| CCGL9070 | The Birth of the City and the Shaping of Societies |
| CCGL9073 | Fashion, Politics, and the Global City |
| CCGL9074 | Unleashing the Power of Big Data in Global Cities |
| China: Culture, State and Society | |
| CCCH9001 | Chinese House and Garden: Architecture, Landscape, and Material Culture |
| CCCH9002 | Chinese Cities in the 21st Century |
| CCCH9003 | Modernity and Traditional Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9004 | Ideas and Images of the West in Late Imperial China |
| CCCH9005 | The Chinese Cultural Revolution |
| CCCH9006 | China’s Modernization in the East Asian Context |
| CCCH9007 | China in the Global Economy |
| CCCH9008 | Hong Kong’s Environment: Issues and Policies |
| CCCH9011 | China’s Rise and Asia’s Future |
| CCCH9013 | Love, Marriage and Sex in Modern China |
| CCCH9014 | Social Development Challenges in China |
| CCCH9015 | Population, Society and Sustainable Development in Hong Kong |
| CCCH9016 | Hong Kong: Becoming a Chinese Global City |
| CCCH9017 | People, Propaganda and Profit: Understanding Media in China |
| CCCH9020 | Science and Technology: Lessons from China |
| CCCH9021 | Chinese Business Practice and Society: Past and Present |
| CCCH9023 | Family and Development in Modern China |
| CCCH9024 | Following the Dao: Ways of Life in Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9025 | Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9028 | Hong Kong and China’s Economic Development |
| CCCH9029 | Ideas and Practices of Healing Arts in Traditional Chinese Medicine |
| CCCH9033 | Sustainable Urban Development and Hong Kong |
| CCCH9035 | Music Along the Silk Road |
| CCCH9036 | Environmental Pollution in China |
| CCCH9039 | Curing the Chinese: Medicine and Society in Modern China |
| CCCH9041 | The Rule of Law in Contemporary China |
| CCCH9042 | Corruption and Anticorruption in China |
| CCCH9050 | Blessings or Curses? World Heritage Sites in China and their Sustainability |
| CCCH9051 | Digitizing Cultural Heritage in Greater China |
The Quest for a Meaningful Life (UQM) (applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2020-21) /
The Universe and the Question of Meaning (UQM) (applicable to cohorts admitted in 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20)
‘The Quest for a Meaningful Life’ (previously ‘The Universe and the Question of Meaning) is designed for those most interested in cross-overs between different ways of knowing the world, practices of spirituality, and philosophical reflections on meaning, ethics and well-being.
| Science, Technology and Big Data | |
| CCST9001 | Redesigning Life |
| CCST9012 | Our Place in the Universe |
| CCST9018 | Origin and Evolution of Life |
| CCST9026 | Scientific Revolutions: Their Continuing Impact on Our World and Society |
| CCST9027 | The Science of Irrational Thinking |
| CCST9043 | Time’s Arrow |
| CCST9051 | What are We Made of – the Fundamental Nature of Matter |
| CCST9058 | Learning and the Brain |
| CCST9060 | Exploring Human Longevity |
| CCST9072 | Smile! Teeth and Society |
| CCST9077 | The Quantum Revolution: From Secret Codes to Black Holes |
| CCST9081 | All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Humans |
| Arts and Humanities | |
| CCHU9009 | Moral Controversies in Contemporary Society |
| CCHU9014 | Spirituality, Religion and Social Change |
| CCHU9024 | The Last Dance: Understanding Death and Dying |
| CCHU9051 | Mysteries of the Human Mind |
| CCHU9052 | The Best Things in Life: A Philosophical Exploration |
| CCHU9061 | Science and Religion: Questioning Truth, Knowledge and Life |
| CCHU9062 | Buddhist Visions in World Cinema |
| CCHU9065 | A Life Worth Living |
| CCHU9078 | Contemplative Practices: From Personal Awareness to Social Well-being |
| CCHU9080 | Dead People’s Things: Excavating the Past with Archaeology |
| CCHU9083 | Spiritual, not Religious: Technologies of the Soul |
| CCHU9086 | Understanding Religious Worlds |
| CCHU9090 | The Love We Give and the Lies We Tell: The Ethics of Relationships |
| Global Issues | |
| CCGL9003 | Contagions: Global Histories of Disease |
| CCGL9008 | Cybersocieties: Understanding Technology as Global Change |
| CCGL9014 | Thinking about Global Ethics |
| CCGL9042 | The Evolution of Civilization |
| CCGL9055 | Genocide: Mass Violence and the Quest for Justice |
| CCGL9061 | Digital Humanitarianism: Can You Save the World with Your Computer? |
| CCGL9064 | Body Politics: Local Worlds, Global Processes |
| China: Culture, State and Society | |
| CCCH9003 | Modernity and Traditional Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9018 | Buddhism and Chinese Culture |
| CCCH9024 | Following the Dao: Ways of Life in Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9025 | Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9029 | Ideas and Practices of Healing Arts in Traditional Chinese Medicine |
| CCCH9037 | Chinese Mythology |
| CCCH9056 | Valuing the Land: Stories from Chinese Cities |
Creative Arts (CA) (applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2021-22)
‘Creative Arts’ offers students a combined experience of both making and interpreting the arts across multiple media-formats, historical periods, and social contexts.
| Science, Technology and Big Data | |
| CCST9014 | Science and Music |
| CCST9038 | Science and Science Fiction |
| Arts and Humanities | |
| CCHU9018 | Art and Ideas: East and West |
| CCHU9034 | Architecture and Film |
| CCHU9044 | Creative Arts as a Way of Knowing |
| CCHU9049 | Reinventing Classical Music |
| CCHU9056 | Virtual Worlds, Real Bodies |
| CCHU9062 | Buddhist Visions in World Cinema |
| CCHU9070 | Making Movies: Creative Expression on Screen |
| CCHU9082 | 24 Frames: Communicating Ideas through Film |
| Global Issues | |
| CCGL9001 | Hong Kong Cinema through a Global Lens |
| CCGL9066 | Music and Global Politics: From Beethoven to Beyoncé and Beyond |
| China: Culture, State and Society | |
| CCCH9040 | Representing Contemporary China through Film |
| CCCH9051 | Digitizing Cultural Heritage in Greater China |
The Human Life Span (HL) (applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2021-22)
‘The Human Lifespan’ offers students a holistic transdisciplinary engagement with the multidimensional questions about the human lifespan from before conception to death and the debates that hover around the question of immortality.
| Science, Technology and Big Data | |
| CCST9006 | Chasing Biomedical Miracles: Promises and Perils |
| CCST9009 | Living with Stem Cells |
| CCST9025 | Genetics and Human Nature |
| CCST9032 | Intelligent” Architecture and Sustainability |
| CCST9050 | Robot: Flesh, Machines, Intelligence |
| CCST9060 | Exploring Human Longevity |
| CCST9062 | Sports: For You and Hong Kong |
| CCST9073 | Emotion, Cognition, and Brain |
| CCST9078 | Health Literacy: Things to Know Before Consulting Dr. Google |
| CCST9081 | All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Humans |
| Arts and Humanities | |
| CCHU9001 | Designs on the Future |
| CCHU9009 | Moral Controversies in Contemporary Society |
| CCHU9010 | Being Different: Understanding People with Disabilities |
| CCHU9014 | Spirituality, Religion and Social Change |
| CCHU9015 | Sex and Intimacy in Modern Times |
| CCHU9019 | From Health to Well-being |
| CCHU9024 | The Last Dance: Understanding Death and Dying |
| CCHU9051 | Mysteries of the Human Mind |
| CCHU9052 | The Best Things in Life: A Philosophical Exploration |
| CCHU9061 | Science and Religion: Questioning Truth, Knowledge and Life |
| CCHU9065 | A Life Worth Living |
| CCHU9066 | Human Learning: A Life-long Adventure |
| CCHU9078 | Contemplative Practices: From Personal Awareness to Social Well-being |
| Global Issues | |
| CCGL9003 | Contagions: Global Histories of Disease |
| CCGL9005 | Poverty, Development, and the Next Generation: Challenges for a Global World |
| CCGL9025 | The Political Economy of Growth and Poverty in the World |
| CCGL9042 | The Evolution of Civilization |
| CCGL9053 | Suicide: Risks, Research, and Realities |
| CCGL9054 | Responding to the Challenges of Aging Societies |
| CCGL9058 | Villages and Global Futures |
| CCGL9062 | Shaping our Health Across Cultures |
| CCGL9074 | Unleashing the Power of Big Data in Global Cities |
| China: Culture, State and Society | |
| CCCH9002 | Chinese Cities in the 21st Century |
| CCCH9013 | Love, Marriage and Sex in Modern China |
| CCCH9014 | Social Development: China, Asia, and the World |
| CCCH9015 | Population, Society and Sustainable Development in Hong Kong |
| CCCH9018 | Buddhism and Chinese Culture |
| CCCH9023 | Family and Development in Modern China |
| CCCH9025 | Humanity and Nature in Chinese Thought |
| CCCH9029 | Ideas and Practices of Healing Arts in Traditional Chinese Medicine |
| CCCH9033 | Sustainable Urban Development and Hong Kong |
| CCCH9039 | Curing the Chinese: Medicine and Society in Modern China |
Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity (GSD) (applicable to cohorts admitted in or after 2021-22)
‘Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity’ offers students a space for the transdisciplinary holistic exploration of questions that bear deeply upon individual and social identities across multiple cultural contexts.
| Science, Technology and Big Data | |
| CCST9065 | Women in Science |
| CCST9079 | Gender, Science, and Self-Shaping: Biohacking and Techno-Identities |
| CCST9081 | All You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Humans |
| Arts and Humanities | |
| CCHU9006 | Girl Power in a Man’s World |
| CCHU9009 | Moral Controversies in Contemporary Society |
| CCHU9007 | Sexuality and Gender: Diversity and Society |
| CCHU9011 | Social Divisions in Contemporary Societies |
| CCHU9012 | Body, Beauty and Fashion |
| CCHU9015 | Sex and Intimacy in Modern Times |
| CCHU9026 | Cultures of Violence: Making Sense of the Human Fighting Instinct |
| CCHU9032 | Language, Institution and Power |
| CCHU9036 | Reflecting on Human Experience through Literature |
| CCHU9039 | Sexuality and Culture |
| CCHU9043 | Rethinking Women: The Big Debates |
| CCHU9053 | Contested Words, Disputed Symbols |
| CCHU9071 | Man Up: Masculinities in the Making |
| CCHU9079 | Queering Art, Performance and Cities |
| CCHU9088 | We are Family: Myths, Realities and the Future of an Idea |
| CCHU9090 | The Love We Give and the Lies We Tell: The Ethics of Relationships |
| Global Issues | |
| CCGL9003 | Contagions: Global Histories of Disease |
| CCGL9005 | Poverty, Development, and the Next Generation: Challenges for a Global World |
| CCGL9007 | Youth in a Global World |
| CCGL9028 | Gender, Health, and Globalization |
| CCGL9064 | Body Politics: Local Worlds, Global Processes |
| China: Culture, State and Society | |
| CCCH9013 | Love, Marriage and Sex in Modern China |
| CCCH9014 | Social Development: China, Asia, and the World |
| CCCH9023 | Family and Development in Modern China |
| CCCH9037 | Chinese Mythology |
| CCCH9040 | Representing Contemporary China through Film |
| CCCH9043 | Chinese Poetry as Social Critique |
| CCCH9054 | Mothering China: From the Womb to the Nation |