Among Hong Kong’s universities, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is comparatively well positioned to help students achieve the goals of postgraduate study in Chinese philosophy.
HKU is an international, English-language university. With the exception of the School of Chinese, all courses are taught in English. As of the 2012–2013 academic year, the faculty will include four full-time specialists in Chinese philosophy: Chris Fraser, in the Department of Philosophy; Siufu Tang, in the School of Chinese; Dan Robins, in the Dept of Philosophy; and Chad Hansen, emeritus professor, who will be rejoining the department under the auspices of the new Common Core curriculum. Two other HKU scholars also publish on and teach Chinese thought (Joseph Chan and Jiwei Ci). A distinctively philosophical approach to Chinese thought is encouraged, rather than a more historical or philological approach.
HKU combines depth in Chinese philosophy with Hong Kong’s strongest faculty in Anglo-American philosophy. Instruction in Western philosophy is spread across two departments, the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Politics and Public Administration. Courses in Anglo-American and Continental thought are taught by faculty with degrees from Cornell, Deakin, Edinburgh, Harvard, M.I.T., Oxford, Rutgers, and Würzburg, who have published in journals such as Analysis, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ethics, International Journal of Philosophical Studies, Journal of the History of Ideas, Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Philosophical Quarterly, and Synthese, as well as with presses such as Continuum, Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, and Stanford University Press. HKU can thus provide the requisite training in both Chinese and Western philosophy while offering a stimulating environment for original research on Chinese thought.
The university’s external examiner system helps ensure that graduates will obtain letters of recommendation from both HKU faculty and scholars at other institutions.
Because HKU's postgraduate program originated from a traditional "pure research" model, it includes only minimal graduate coursework. This feature makes the program most suitable for students at the PhD level who already have a strong foundation in philosophy and competence in Classical Chinese. The program is less suitable for students at the master's level. As HKU does not offer introductory courses in Classical Chinese, graduate students who need language training are encouraged to undertake independent study.
Degree Programs and Financial Aid
The postgraduate program comprises three degree programs, the M.Phil., the three-year Ph.D., and the four-year Ph.D. The M.Phil. is a two-year program leading to a terminal master's degree. The three-year Ph.D. program is designed for students who have completed the HKU M.Phil. or a comparable "research" degree. The four-year Ph.D. program is for students holding a "coursework" master's degree from another institution.
Postgraduate students normally receive a “studentship” (a scholarship or stipend) covering the entire length of the program in which they are enrolled—two years for the M.Phil. and either three or four for the Ph.D. The value of the studentship (roughly HK $13,000/month in 2009) is sufficient to cover tuition and living expenses (tuition is not waived, but is paid out of the studentship). If further financial support is needed after the studentship expires, advanced postgraduate students may be employed as tutors (teaching assistants) or demonstrators (advanced teaching assistants or instructors).
Postgraduate housing is available on campus (information here and here), or students may arrange to share a flat off campus. Extensive information for international students is available here.
The deadline for the main round of applications for admission is usually December 31 of the preceding year. However, in some cases, students may be able to apply as late as May 31 of the year they plan to commence study.
The Research Grants Committee of the Hong Kong government has also recently instituted a new Ph.D. fellowship program that provides considerably more generous financial aid. Details on the program are available here. Note that the application deadline for this program is December 1, not December 31. Since most applicants for admission will also want to apply for this fellowship program, in practice the application deadline for admission is thus December 1, not 31. (Let me add that the fellowship program is highly competitive and is administered through a series of interdisciplinary selection committees, whose selection criteria may be unpredictable.)
For further information, see the department web page on graduate study at HKU and the "Information for Applicants" page at the Graduate School website.
IMPORTANT: Because of bureaucratic myopia, the official application channels sometimes do not stipulate that applicants should submit a writing sample and personal statement along with their application. All applicants should do so, however. The admissions committee cannot fairly evaluate an application without them. If the official, on-line application procedure does not allow you to submit these materials, please email them to the Department's Postgraduate Coordinator.
Job Placement
Of HKU’s seven Ph.D. graduates in Chinese philosophy since the 1990s, five hold tenured or tenure-track positions, one holds a full-time, non-tenure-track position, and one practices law. All but one of these positions are in Asia, however, so there is insufficient data to support generalizations about how degree-holders may fare in other job markets.
For students intending to pursue a career in Chinese philosophy in Asia, the HKU Ph.D. is a highly competitive degree, and strong academic performance is likely to lead to successful job placement.
Students hoping to pursue a career in Anglophone countries should be aware that some philosophy departments in these countries may hesitate to hire a job candidate holding a degree from a university in Asia. However, such hesitation is less likely when the degree is from an English-language university and the candidate’s area of specialization is a field in which that university has a long-standing reputation. An HKU Ph.D. in Chinese philosophy based on a solid dissertation and supported by strong letters of recommendation should be as competitive as a degree from other programs where students can work with a specialist in Chinese philosophy.
However, any discussion of academic job placement in Anglophone countries should also point out that job opportunities in philosophy have been limited in recent years and that the outlook for growth in the academic job market is uncertain.
