Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management
文學碩士(公共政策及管理)

About 20 faculty from the Department of Public and International Affairs teach in the MAPPM each year.  Many are leaders in their area of expertise.

“Academic excellence in public administration, ranked No.1 in Hong Kong, No. 2 in Asia, 23rd in the world.”

"CityUHK has the best public sector department in all of East & South East Asia." --Professor Jan-Erik Lane, Former External Academic Advisor

"As a former president of the U.S. Network of Associated Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration a few years ago, I can say with certainty that this master’s degree is highly competitive in its substance and rigor and flexibility for master’s students. “ --Dr. Frances Stokes Berry, Former External Academic Advisor

"The MAPPM is a practical course. The theories learnt can be utilized in my daily work. The topics are highly relevant and have greatly strengthened my thinking and analytical skills” --MAPPM Graduate

Programme Aims and Objectives

The MAPPM will provide you with opportunities to enhance your theoretical knowledge, practical skills and critical understanding of public policy and management processes in both local and international contexts. Upon successful completion of the programme, you should be able to:

• discover and analyse critically current and emerging knowledge relating to principles, theories and practices in international and local governance, public policy and management;
• contrast and assess the roles, inter-relationships and limitations of various actors and organizations involved in the governance of people, money, and the environment;
• explain, compare and evaluate critically various values, ethical principles and cultural traditions shaping policy-making processes and the delivery of services to the community;
• be creative in problem solving and demonstrate practical and, as appropriate, innovative management, planning, team-working, decision making and research skills; and
• contribute to the development of knowledge about public policy and management by active discovery through undertaking supervised dissertation, capstone project, or other project-related coursework.

Programme Structure for students to be admitted to the programme from 2022 onwards (36 credits):

There are six common core courses (a total of 18 credit units) and four stream core courses (a total of 12 credit units). In addition, this programme includes a 3-credit research elective course and 3-credit experiential learning elective course:

Programme core courses (18 credit units)

Students are required to take six common core courses (a total of 18 credit units). These common core courses consist of public management, public policy evaluation, research methods and statistical analysis.  They serve as a firm foundation for public policy and management professions.

• Theories of Government and Public Administration
• Managing Public Institutions and Organizations
• Values and Choice in Public Policy
• Policy Processes and Analysis
• Research Methods in Public Policy and Management
• Statistical Analysis for Public Policy and Management

Stream core courses (12 credit units)

To facilitate professional specialization, the programme has four streams: Public Policy, Public Management, Smart Cities and Governance in China. Students are allowed to choose one stream, with 12 credit units. Four designated stream courses (3 credit each) are specially designed for each of the streams.

Public Policy Stream

• Comparative Public Policy
• Evidence-based Policy and Practice
• Behavioral Insights in Public Policy
• Practice in Public Policy

Public Management Stream#

• Public Budgeting and the Management of Financial Resources
• Comparative Public Sector Management
• Public Strategic Planning and Management
• Public Human Resource Management
• Practice in Public Management

Smart Cities Stream#

• The Asian Metropolis: Issues in Urban Management
• The Urban Management Workshop: Exploring the Contemporary City
• Understanding and Managing Smart Cities
• Data Analytics for Public Policy and Management
• Urban Development and Sustainable Cities
• Practice in Smart City Management
• Environmental Energy and Policy

Governance in China Stream

• Key Issues in Chinese Politics
• State and Market in China
• Environmental Governance in China
• Governance in the Greater China Region

#Note: Depending on the availability of resources, the Department will decide which four courses will be offered for the Smart Cities Stream and the Public Management Stream respectively at the beginning of each academic year.

Experiential Learning Elective (3 credit units)

• PIA Postgraduate Internship OR
• MAPPM Action Report OR
• MAPPM Overseas Study

Internship examples

Research Electives (3 credit units)

Most students work in groups on a capstone project, thoroughly analyzing a public management or policy problem using the concepts and skills they have learned.  Students who performed particularly well (both in terms of their cumulative grade point average and their grade in research methods) and want to work on more academically oriented research topics or pursue further study may choose to work on a dissertation instead.

Interim Award

Students who have completed all the required courses but not the dissertation or capstone project may be considered for an interim award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management.

Admission Requirements

MAPPM shall follow the University’s General Entrance Requirements and the University’s latest decision on English Proficiency Requirements. For details and the latest updates, please click HERE.

Applicants should possess a first degree or equivalent qualification. Priority will be given to those with relevant working or public service experience, preferably with at least two years in a managerial position. Selection processes may include participation in a group discussion, writing a short summary and a brief individual interview. Those who have or have not studied public policy and management before are equally welcome.

Applicants whose entrance qualification are obtained from an institution where the medium of instruction is NOT English should also fulfill the following minimum English proficiency requirement:

• 79 (internet-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)@#; or
• Overall band 6.5 in International English Language Testing System (IELTS)@; or
• Score 450 in the new College English Test (CET-6) of Chinese mainland; or
• Other equivalent qualifications.

@ TOEFL and IELTS scores are considered valid for two years. Applicants are required to provide their English test results obtained within the two years preceding the start of the University's application period. 'TOEFL iBT Home Edition', ‘TOEFL MyBest Score’, ‘IELTS Indicator’, ‘IELTS One Skill Retake’ and ‘IELTS Online’ are not acceptable. 

# Applicants are required to arrange for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to send their TOEFL results directly to the University. The TOEFL institution code for CityUHK is 3401.

FAQs on Admissions

Our Students

Our students include:

• Administrative, Executive and Disciplined Services Officers;
• Professionals in health- or social welfare-related services;
• University Administrators or School Teachers;
• Journalists, Accountants, Lawyers and various Private Sector Business Managers;
• District Council Members and Assistants to Legislative or District Councilors;
• And many others who want to know more about public policy and governance.

Graduation Rates

Employment of 2023-2024 graduates

Mode of Study and Teaching Arrangements

Students in “Full-time mode”:

• all non-local students who pursue the programme with student visa are normally under this mode;
• local students may also opt for this study mode if they can commit taking at least 12 credits of courses for a regular semester throughout the study period;
• can normally complete the programme in one year.

Students in “Part-time mode”:

• should not take more than 11 credits of courses for a regular semester throughout the study period;
• can normally complete the programme in two years.

Students in “Combined mode":

• suitable for students who are uncertain whether they can pursue the programme in the specific “full-time” or “part-time” mode throughout the study period;
• flexibility to switch between the “full time” or the “part time” study load during the study period;
• the maximum study period of “combined mode” students are the same as “part time” students;
• will not be entitled to benefits exclusive for “full-time students”, such as the MTR student travel scheme.

Except students who registered for the “full-time” mode, all other students will be pre-registered for taking “combined mode” study load by default.

Class Schedule : Daytime/evening/Weekend sessions. For combined/ part-time mode students, the classes offered on weekday evenings and Saturdays will allow them to finish in the normal study period.

Classes are taught on CityUHK’s main campus unless noted otherwise.

Application

Application should be made online via https://cityu.edu.hk/pg/programme/p27 (also see this page for the indicative student intake target and the tuition cost)

Applicants are reminded to get the following documents prepared in PDF format for uploading to the application system:

• Official academic transcript with an official explanation on the grading scale
• For academic qualifications obtained in the Mainland China, the degree award certificate (學士學位証) and online verification report of China Higher Education Student’s Academic Transcript (中國高等學校學生成績驗証報告)

For details of the supporting documents required, please refer to the Notes to Applicants on SGS’s website.

Further Information and Contacts

Programme Leader and Public Policy Stream Leader: Professor Nicolai PETROVSKY

Associate Programme Leader and Public Management Stream Leader: Professor Bert GEORGE

Governance in China Stream Leader: Professor Ruozhu LI

Smart Cities Stream Leader: Professor Edmund CHENG

Admissions Tutors: Professor Nick OR, Professor Ruozhu LI

Dissertation Coordinator: Professor Nicolai PETROVSKY

For further information of the programme, please refer to our pamphlets and Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies’ online prospectus.

Enquiries

Tel: +852 3442 7533

Fax: +852 3442 0413

Email: [email protected]