MPhil-PhD in Biological Sciences | 医学院硕博项目

The proposed MPhil-PhD Programme in Biological Sciences aims to educate and cultivate research students with a broad foundation in Biological Sciences, with specialized knowledge in selected areas. They are expected to become leading academics and researchers in universities, research institutes, and industries.

Our objective is to develop an elite MPhil-PhD programme in the area of Biological Sciences, with research concentrations in biochemistry, cell biology, cancer biology, immunology, neurobiology, pharmacology, genetics, human genetics, biophysics, developmental biology, and/or computational and systems biology. Applicants should have education background in biological sciences, chemical sciences and/or related disciplines.

Applicants should have education background in biological sciences, chemical sciences and/or related disciplines.

Degree	Master of Philosophy	Doctor of Philosophy
Mode of Study	Full-Time	Full-Time
Study Period	Normative period: 24 months Maximum period: 48 months	For students who enter with a research master’s degree: Normative period: 48 months Maximum period: 72 months Students have maximum 24 months to pass the candidacy requirement counted from first entry. A student who fails to pass the candidacy requirement within 24 months is required to withdraw from PhD study. For students who enter without a research master’s degree: Normative period: 60 months Maximum period: 84 months Students have maximum 36 months to pass the candidacy requirement counted from first entry. A student who fails to pass the candidacy requirement within 36 months is allowed to switch to MPhil study.
Credit unit requirements for graduation	A minimum of 18 units are required from the list of lecture courses, with at least 12 units to be selected from Group A, and some units are required from thesis research courses.	A minimum of 27 units are required from the list of lecture courses, with at least 18 units to be selected from Group A, and some units are required from thesis research courses.
Credit unit requirements for graduation	For all graduate students (applicable to all students with Chinese nationality, including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan residents) admitted in The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen in 2021-22 and thereafter, Civic Education (CE) courses are required.
Scholarships	CUHK-Shenzhen may offer various kinds of financial suupports to selected applicants: 1. Presidential Fellowship, which will offer: (i) an after-tax stipend of RMB 180,000 per year to cover the normative study period, subject to annual review by the Graduate Panel or equivalent body. The student is required to work as TA for a total of four semesters (summer counts as one semester) during the scholarship period. (ii) In addition, the student is eligible to receive a tuition subsidy, like any other student. 2. PGS Scholarship I, which carries a full tuition wavier (RMB 115,000). The student may serve as Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) to earn monthly after-tax stipends of up to RMB5,000 per month (12 months). 3. PGS Scholarship II, which carries a half tuition waiver (RMB 57,500). The student’s advisor may cover the other half. The student may serve as a Teaching Assistant or RA to earn monthly after-tax stipends of up to RMB 5,000 per months (12 months). Each fellowship and scholarship will be offered for a duration of up to 4 years, subject to annual review. Fellowships and PGS scholarships are available to all applicants. The selection is based on merit and no separate application is required.
Tuition fee	The tuition for both MPhil and PhD students is RMB 115,000 per year.

TEL：0755-235 19023

E-mail：pg_med@cuhk.edu.cn

Required courses	Group A courses (MPhil students select at least 12 units; PhD students select at least 18 units)	Group B courses
Thesis Research	Cell and Molecular Biology	Topics in Computer-Aided Drug Design
Thesis Research II	Biochemical and Molecular Basis of Diseases	Computational Structural Biology
Research Seminars I	Molecular Pharmacology and Modern Drug Development	Nutraceuticals and Natural Products in modern medicine
Research Seminars II	Advanced Biochemistry	Immunology
Responsible Conduct of Biological Science Research	Cancer Biology	Structural Analysis of Proteins
Thesis Writing and Presentation	Advanced Topics in Biological Sciences	Organic Chemistry with a Biological Emphasis
Civic Education courses	Advanced Neurobiology	Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics
	Methods in Biomedical Science I	Selected Topics in Bioinformatics Algorithms
	Methods in Biomedical Science II	Statistical Methods for Biomedical Research
	Methods in Biomedical Science III	The Biochemical Principles of Infectious Diseases and Their Treatments
	Selected Topics in Computational Biology	Epigenetics
	Computational Molecular Modelling and Design	Nucleic Acids
	Theories and Algorithms in Bioinformatics	Enzymology
	Genome Informatics	Machine Learning for Biomedical Research
	Cell and Acellular Therapy in Regenerative Medicine	Biological Databases Design and Data Visualization
	Advanced Biosensing Technologies
	Biomarker Development for Clinical Practice
	Genome Informatics

For the PhD Stream, applicants should have:
(i) a Master's degree from recognized university category A, 985, 211 for domestic university; or
(ii)   graduated from recognized university and obtained a Bachelor's degree, normally with honours not lower than Second Class or equivalent; or
(iii)   graduated from an honours programme of recognized university with a Bachelor's degree, normally achieving an average grade of GPA≥3.2/4.0 or equivalent;
(iv)   completed a course of study in a tertiary educational institution and obtained professional or similar qualifications equivalent to an honours degree.
(v)   fulfilled the 'English Language Proficiency Requirement':

The applicant should either:
· possess a pass grade in English in one of the following examinations:
Hong Kong Advanced Level Exam. (AS Level)
Hong Kong Higher Level Exam.
CUHK Matriculation Exam., or
· achieve Level 4 or above in the English Language subject of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination; or
· have a degree from CUHK(SZ), or recognized university with English as teaching language, or
· submit one of the following original score reports/certificates for assessment by the Programme concerned:

TOEFL* (not lower than 550 paper-based; 213 computer-based; and 79 internet-based)
GMAT (Verbal, not lower than 21)
IELTS (Academic) (not lower than Band 6.5

* Due to COVID-19 pandemic, subject to the University’s approval, the University accepts, on a temporary basis and for those students who are admitted to postgraduate programmes in the 2023-24 intake, the following online English tests as an alternative to fulfil the University’s English Language Requirements.
i. TOEFL-iBT Home Edition Overall 79
ii. IELTS Indicator: Overall 6.5
iii. IELTS Online: Overall 6.5
iv. GMAT Online Examination: Band 21 (Verbal)

Accept the application all year round
Normally Fall Admission Date is in August, and Spring Admission Date is in January. Applicants should submit the application online at least one month before the admission date.

Application time for spring term admission in 2024: August 8, 2023 to November 11, 2023 4:00 pm
Application time for fall term admission in 2024: September 20, 2023 to June 9, 2024 4:00 pm

1. Contact the supervisor first
2. Online application:
Please go to https://pgapply.cuhk.edu.cn/

Please note that all original documents will be checked at the time of programme application and enrollment. Any misrepresentation in the documents and information provided will result in disqualification of their applications and subsequent enrollments in the University.

The tuition for both M.Phil. and Ph.D. students is RMB115,000 per year. CUHK-Shenzhen may offer various kinds of financial supports to selected applicants:

Scholarship Type	Offers	Requirements
Presidential Fellowship	After-tax stipend of RMB180,000/Year	To work as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a total of four semesters (summer counts as one semester) during the fellowship period
PGS Scholarship I	A full tuition waiver (RMB 115,000)	To serve as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) to earn monthly stipends
PGS Scholarship II	A half tuition waiver (RMB 57,500)	The student may serve as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) to earn monthly stipends

Each fellowship and scholarship will be offered for a duration of up to 4 years, subject to annual review. Fellowships and PGS scholarships are available to all applicants. The selection is based on merit and no separate application is required.