ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 1
PROGRAMME APPROVAL FORM
SECTION 1 – THE PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION 1. Programme title and designation MSc in China and Globalisation
For undergraduate programmes only
Single honours Joint Major/minor
2. Final award
Award Title Credit
Value
ECTS equivalent
Any special criteria MSc China &
Globalisation
180 90 N/A
3. Nested awards
Award Title Credit
Value
ECTS equivalent
Any special criteria
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
4. Exit awards
Award Title Credit
Value
ECTS equivalent
Any special criteria Postgraduate Diploma China & Globalisation 120 60 N/A Postgraduate Certificate China & Globalisation 60 30 N/A
5. Level in the qualifications framework M 6. Attendance
Full-time Part-time Distance learning
Mode of attendance X X n/a/
Minimum length of programme One year Two years n/a
Maximum length of programme 3 Years 4 Years n/a
7. Awarding institution/body King’s College London 8. Teaching institution King’s College London 9. Proposing department King’s China Institute 10. Programme organiser and contact
Details
Jan Knoerich
337N, Strand Campus Tel: 020-7848-7843
Email: [email protected] 11. UCAS code (if appropriate) N/A
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 2 Professional, statutory and regulatory body guidelines
13. Date of production of specification February 2010 14. Date of programme review 2015/16
15. Educational aims of the programme
The programme provides high quality post-graduate teaching and research training in contemporary Chinese studies. Based at King’s China Institute, the programme draws on social scientific and humanities expertise located across other departments in the Schools of Social Sciences and Public Policy and Arts & Humanities. The programme offers a distinctive approach to understanding change and continuity in China, placing in historical and comparative perspectives China’s political institutional and market reform experience in the post-Mao reform, and analysing its human impact through textual evidence of
changing Chinese identities and belief systems. It is designed to launch King’s strategic bid as a leading centre of excellence in UK for the study of contemporary China.
Theoretically informed and rooted in area studies, the programme seeks to develop the critical and analytical capabilities of the participants with the specific aims of:
1. To provide a social scientific framework for identifying and interpreting the most salient problems facing China’s sustainable development, informed by advance theories and live debates in political science, sociology, institutional economics, management studies, economic geography, cultural analysis, and other interdisciplinary approaches. 2. To develop in students a historical awareness of China’s prior episodes of intense interactions with worldwide structures of power and exchange, prevailing norms and ideologies, and specific regional blocs in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the West.
3. To deepen students' understanding of the human impact of rapid changes in contemporary China, through analysis of relevant cultural texts, including both
biographical and fictional narrative and key texts in traditional Chinese ethics, philosophy and religion.
4. To guide students to develop an innovative mindset and toolset to deal with methodological challenges relating to work in and on China, in particular in concept
formulation, measurement, and data interpretation techniques. Students will be made aware of the advantages and disadvantages of major means of qualitative and quantitative
analyses, and ways to triangulate different data sources.
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6. To offer strong guidance from faculty to ensure students put together a coherent package of optional courses. Every student will be allocated an advisor at the start of the year who will be an expert in a field the student is interested in, and who they will consult in designing their degree.
7. To provide additional methodological training and directed reading for the MSc thesis. In choosing their thesis topic and research questions, students will be encouraged to consider a range of issues and perspectives, as long as they primarily address social scientific theories and focuses on empirical outcomes in contemporary culture, international relations, and political economy.
8. To enable students to undertake an internship, either in mainland China or the UK, under strict monitoring to ensure consistency in the learning experience while preserving
individual initiatives and innovation in reporting on the independent-learning process. 9. To encourage students to take up optional Mandarin language training at the Modern Language Centre.
16. Educational objectives of the programme/programme outcomes (as relevant to the SEEC Credit Level Descriptors)
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding and skills in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding The programme provides a knowledge
and understanding of the following: 1. Important aspects of, and
inter-relationships between, domestic socio-political, cultural and economic institutional changes in contemporary China and global power, exchange, and normative structures.
2. Advanced approaches and
methodologies in social scientific studies of comparative development, and their conventional and state-of-the-art applications to the area studies of China.
3. Advanced approaches and methodologies in humanities
scholarship on and critical analysis of textual evidence for tradition and change in contemporary Chinese identity formation.
These are achieved through the
following teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Knowledge is acquired by students through a combination of lectures, tutorials/seminars, private study, and independent research and internship. Lectures are normally employed to present major methods and approaches, highlight key information, demonstrate the broad structure of an issue area, and explain more complex material.
Together with tutorials/seminars, lectures will provide an open
explanatory framework that encourages student-centred learning, where
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 4 4. Core issues in state-society relations in contemporary China, from the end of the 19th century to the present:
Political pluralism within an authoritarian polity,
Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation,
Land use and innovation in agricultural production,
Cultural continuity in the face of external technological, military, organisational, and normative challenges
Governance in authoritarian politics including specific forms of corruption and social
mobilisation,
Redefining individual experiences of citizenship, gender, class, ethnicity, religion, and elite and intellectual status,
Strategically advancing China as a responsible major power on the world stage.
5. Policy-relevant implications for the UK and other Western societies:
Foreign policymaking in response to China Rising,
Monitoring and managing cross-boundary externalities such as pollution, migration, and illegal and informal transactions of goods and finance,
Alternative governance structures in international relations and global business,
Providing relevant lessons in long-term health care, social security, infrastructure
development and maintenance, public finance, macroeconomic policy management, and other areas of public policy,
and a combination of learning activities and data sources.
Instructors place particular emphasis on student preparation and active
participation in classes, through
interactive pedagogical devices such as multimedia teaching, debates and presentations based on recommended and supplementary readings.
Finally, students gain expertise on a topic of their interest, undertaking independent research for the master’s dissertation and optional internship. The programme is research led and much of the material will be in the area of interest of the instructors responsible for the individual modules. The assigned advisors within the
programme will monitor and provide advice on the student’s learning experience with instructors from other departments and in internships.
1. One programme specific, compulsory module covering select periods in Chinese history when a confluence of domestic and international pressures produced political crises and institutional adaptation on a grand scale. The module integrates disciplinary contributions from history, geography, and political science,
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Marginalisation, alienation and new forms of post-collective identify in modernity,
Contested notions of human rights and democracy,
Business opportunities for UK entrepreneurs, cross-cultural management, corporate social responsibility and host
government-business relations. 6. Comparative themes for other
developing countries in Africa, and Latin America:
Deconstructing the China model of rapid economic growth and marketisation,
Implementing fiscal federalism in provision of public goods and regional development strategies, Moving from resource
exploitation toward sustainable development,
Managing export-orientation, foreign direct investment, and neomercantilist trade strategies, Tying economic and
administrative reforms to gradual political and media liberalisation, Balancing ideology and
pragmatism in foreign policies, Encouraging regional integration
with multilateral frameworks, Challenging US hegemony in
international forums.
3. A third core module providing students with case studies in quantitative and qualitative techniques of data analysis. The module draws mainly from established political science and economics methodologies, 4. Students may choose up to 60
credits of optional modules. They include programme specific modules on contemporary Chinese politics, Chinese Entrepreneurship and Chinese Business in the Global Market. Additional options are offered by the departments of War Studies, History, Public Policy, Management, Theology and Religious Studies, Geography, etc. with an eye toward drawing structured comparisons of the Chinese experience to other developing and advanced industrial societies.
5. To achieve a didactic coherence for each individual student, the optional modules are “bundled” into four thematic strands of International Relations, Governance Strategies,
Comparative Development, and Changing Values and Beliefs. The academic tutor will guide students in choosing modules that develop focused intellectual interests and practical skills.
6. Students also write a 12,000-word research dissertation based on primary and secondary sources on a topic of their choice, focusing on social scientific explanations for empirical outcomes in
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Assessment:
All learning outcomes related to knowledge and understanding are assessed. Assessment methods are specific in each module outline, combining continuous/formative assessment through verbal feedback from instructors and diagnostic feedback on coursework assessments, and summary assessment through formal grades on coursework
assignments and unseen examinations. Internships and dissertations are assessed uniquely.
Skills and other attributes Intellectual skills:
Students are expected to demonstrate: 1. The ability to analyse and critically evaluate a range of current issues of micro- and macro-level governance including identity formation, corporate management, state-society relations, government-business relations, and international cooperation in contemporary China.
2. The ability to engage critically with a wide body of comparative social scientific and area studies literaturesand humanities scholarship and critical analysis, including familiarity with common social scientific and humanities concepts applied to China studies (i.e. civil society) and sensitivity to sophisticated interactions and current debates among various disciplinary approaches to issues in China studies. To demonstrate, through the above process, independence of mind and thought in exercising informed and critical judgment. 3. The ability to differentiate and interpret local manifestations of the myriad forces
These are achieved through the
following teaching/learning methods and strategies:
All individual modules require students to utilise one or more elements of these intellectual skills in preparing material for seminar discussions, coursework assignments, and in answering
examination questions. In designing the internship (optional), students will work with the internship coordinator (Dr Ralph Parfect) in explicitly achieving and measuring progress in some elements of these skills. These guided student-centred learning activities, in conjunction with formal and informal diagnostic feedback from lecturers, academic tutors and internship supervisors, are therefore the primary channel through which intellectual skills are developed and embedded. Assessment:
Analytical skill development is
formally assessed through coursework and examinations. Successful
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 7 of globalisation, including the capacity to empirically characterise and theorise on the causes of their particularistic and general features. The ability to apply ideas and knowledge gained in the study of contemporary China to a range of developmental situations and in an international context.
4. A critical acceptance of methodological eclecticism, to address practical issues of doing advanced graduate research and working in China.
5. The confidence in conducting original research into policy-relevant issues, such as long-term health care provision, industrial and enterprise reform, financial market liberalisation, administrative and political reform at the local levels, urban-rural divide, institutionalisation of taxation and property rights, nationalism, and Sino-European relations.
and examinations requires students to demonstrate their abilities in one or more elements of these analytical skills as part of the explicit grading
requirements of specific coursework and examination questions. In the course of a term, instructors and tutors provide informal continuous assessment of the students’ performance to help identify areas for improvement before the later phase of modules.
Most coursework and examination questions are designed to provide students with scope to demonstrate their analytical abilities, with attentiveness to their diverse intellectual needs and practical interests. For example, instructors will guide students in creatively and appropriately applying methodological approaches and data gathering techniques to specific subject areas.
Practical skills:
Students are expected to demonstrate: 1. Identify empirical research questions on contemporary China, use evidence-based theories and appropriate quantitative (e.g. macroeconomic data analysis) and/or qualitative skills (case studies) to assist in hypothesis testing. Students would be able to apply these skills to advance studies in political science, economics, history, sociology, and public policy, etc.
2. Familiarity with a range of disciplinary approaches to understand phenomena and formulate policy solutions, including dealing with complexity and uncertainty, and the requirements of different cultures and systems. Options on public policy analysis and comparative religion, philosophy and ethics, management and literary analysis support this skill set.
These are achieved through the
following teaching/learning methods and strategies:
All individual modules require students to utilise one or more elements of these intellectual skills in preparing material for seminar discussions, coursework assignments, and in answering
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 8 3. The application of general social
scientific and humanities concepts to concrete problems in country and issue area studies, including the capability to identify assumptions, define concepts with sufficient contextualisation, evaluate arguments in terms of comparative
evidence, and generalise research findings appropriately.
4. The gathering and critical evaluation of information from a wide variety of
sources, including discriminating use of web-based information for research. Training in detecting systematic biases in conventional data sources (e.g. published data by Chinese officials and firms) and devising means to triangulate data to improve validity and reliability in data analysis.
5. Use effectively the interpersonal skills of persuasion and presentation in cross-cultural setting, starting with the ability to participate actively and productively in group discussions and presentations that involve classmates with diverse
backgrounds and levels of understanding of China.
Non-native Chinese speakers have the option to undertake language training offered by the Modern Language Centre.
Assessment:
Adequate development of practical skills is assessed partially indirectly and partially directly through successful performance in coursework,
examinations, dissertation, and internship. Many coursework
assignments and examination questions require students to utilise some of these practical skills explicitly, while the acquisition of adequate knowledge, and the development of sufficient
understanding, in many modules will necessitate students utilising several of these key practical skills. The
dissertation brings together and further develops these skills with an eye toward the students’ future interests.
Generic/transferable skills: Students should demonstrate:
1. The capacity to argue in a structured and effective manner in both written and oral contexts, using a wide-range range of media.
2. The capacity to work independently, to organise their time and manage long-term deadlines. Consistency in responding to feedback in a self-critical manner in order to manage individual learning processes. 3. The ability to contribute effectively to group discussion, and to collaborate in a team project. Performance in leadership,
These are achieved through the
following teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The development and utilisation of these generic/transferable skills are elements of every module in the degree programme. For example, active
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 9 team building, influencing other people, and project management skills.
4. An orientation of learning to learn with a sophisticated awareness of the different applications of area studies knowledge for academic and practical (i.e. policymaking, professional reporting, creative writing, and business strategic) purposes.
5. Cross-cultural openness and sensitivity through interactions between home and overseas students, and an intellectual grasp of historical, political institutional, cultures and management contexts relevant to contemporary China and the local manifestations of globalisation. 6. The capacity for social scientific logical inference and research skills applicable across different contexts, including country studies, developmental stages, historical periods, management fields, and issue and policy areas.
compliance with the QA mechanisms of the programme.
The dissertation involving independent research under supervision develops a unique mix of these generic/transferable skills for each student.
The optional internship will provide a challenging context for students to apply skills and achieve individual initiatives and self-management under the dual mechanisms of external and internal expectations and supervisions. Assessment:
Passing the assessment, including coursework, examinations and thesis, requires students to utilise effectively generic/transferable skills 1, 2, 3 and 6. Exposure to the multicultural learning environment and range of learning activities which will be experienced by all students successfully completing the degree programme develops skills 3 and 5.
Contributions of modules from various departments/programmes provide additional breadth in skills 4 and 6. Specialised knowledge toward career preparation accumulates from skill 4, 5 and 6. Each student works closely with a personal and academic tutor to design a set of generic/transferable skills tailored for her intellectual interests and career developmental objectives.
The tutor also monitors the cumulative assessment process, providing advice for improvement by taking into account the formal and informal feedback from modules instructors as well as
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Intellectual, Practical and Generic skills.
17. Statement of how the programme has been informed by the relevant subject benchmark statement(s)/professional, statutory and regulatory body guidelines There is no subject benchmark for this MSc degree: whilst the School of Global Affairs, in which the King’s China Institute sits, is part of the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, currently has an inter-school status in the college, and the MSc draws its optional modules from several departments and programmes. Nevertheless, the programme is designed with reference to the benchmark document’s description of competencies that students might be expected to have attained at the end of an undergraduate programme in relevant departments including Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) and History. For the modules on Chinese Entrepreneurship and Chinese Business in the Global Market, the 2007 subject benchmark statement for Masters Awards in Business and Management that relates to type 1 (career entry) specialist Masters Degrees has been used to inform the knowledge, understanding and skills outcomes for this programme. Taken together, the programme’s compulsory modules cover the broad knowledge requirements of the reference benchmark statements. Optional modules then provide greater depth in selected areas, enabling students to determine their own balance between different elements of benchmark requirements.
18. In cases of joint honours programmes please provide a rationale for the particular subject combination, either educational or academic
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 11 19. Programme structure
See Programme Handbook for modules to be taken.
If a Masters programme, are level 6 credit levels permitted within the programme? No
Maximum number of credits permitted with a condoned fail (core modules excluded) 30
Are students permitted to take any additional credits, as per regulation A3? No Are students permitted to take a substitute module, as per regulation A3?No
Are there are any exceptions to the regulations regarding credits, progression or award requirements? (where relevant the information should also differentiate the particular requirements of pathways within a programme or nested/exit awards) No, standard
Other relevant information to explain the programme structure
Please note that new students enrolling on the information provided on this section of the PAF will have these regulations stipulated throughout their programme of study. The only exception to this will be if there are changes made by Professional, Regulatory or Statutory Bodies that are noted to this programme.
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 12 20. Marking criteria
The assessment criteria follow the College’s general criteria for the assessment of MSc/MA programmes.
21. Will this Programme Board of Examiners report to an existing Board, and if so which one ? If a new Programme Board of examiners is to be set up please make a note of the Board here:
Programme and associated module results will be ratified by the School of Global Affairs PGT Assessment Sub-Board and Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy PGT Assessment Board.
22. Please confirm that the process for nominating External Examiners has commenced, and if known, note whom the External Examiners may be
The External Examiner, appointed in December 2014, is Dr Daniel Hammond of the University of Edinburgh.
23. Particular features of the programme which help to reduce the barriers experienced by disabled students and ensure that the programme is accessible to all students who meet the entry requirements
Structure:
The programme is offered both as a full-time and part-time course Programme Handbook:
This will clearly communicate the key skills that will be required during the programme, the content of each module, the intended teaching methods to be used and the module’s status
(core/compulsory/optional). Teaching Methods:
A range of teaching methods will be used, as indicated in box 16. Assessment:
1. The programme will include formative/continuous and summative assessment.
2. The College’s Special Examination Arrangements Committee (SEAC) considers requests for adjustments to assessment to take account of learning and/or physical disabilities. Module outlines specify the assessment methods that will be used and explain that SEAC will need to be notified about requests for alternative assessment methods.
Feedback:
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PROGRAMME APPROVAL FORM
SECTION 3 – SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Not all of the information in this section will be relevant for all programmes and for some programmes this section will not be relevant at all
1. Programme name
MSc in China and Globalisation
2. Is this programme involved in collaborative activity?
Yes No
If yes what type of Collaborative Provision is it (tick appropriate box)? Does the programme have an access/feeder
Programme for entry into it?
Does the programme have an articulation/ progression agreement for entry into it?
Dual Award
Franchised Provision
Joint Award
Partnership Programme
Recognition of Study or Award of Credit through off-campus study or placement
Staff and student exchange
Validated provision
Have the relevant stages and appropriate paperwork been approved and the paperwork forwarded onto QA&AA Office?
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Yes No Not applicable
3. If the programme is a joint award with an institution outwith the University of London, validated provision or franchised provision, has the necessary approval been sought from College Education Committee?
Yes No Not applicable
Please attach a copy of Part 1 of the Partner Profile and checklist submitted to the College Education Committee
4. Partnership programme - in cases where parts or all of the programme are delivered away from one of the College campuses by a body or bodies external to the College please provide the following details
See Internship module approval form.
Name and address of the off-campus location and external body
Students can opt to take an Internship module which will be arranged on a case by case basis. Various China-related organisations (public and private sector) either in China or other countries (esp the UK). It is not possible to give names and locations at this stage, as it is envisaged that host organisations will be sought in response to students’ interests, after they have enrolled. However, alumni of King’s now working in China will be approached to provide internship opportunities, contacts or advice, among other networks such as the British Chamber of Commerce in China.
Percentage/amount of the programme delivered off-campus or by external body 20 credit module : 9%
20 days minimum : 1 period of pre-approved work placement
Since this is an internship module, i.e. work-based learning, the majority of the work takes place within an external organisation (140 hours, or twenty working days minimum, plus approximately ten hours’ work on the report). Only 2 hours of preparatory lectures and 1.5 hours of tutorials will be provided at King’s. Hence around 95% of the module is delivered by an external body – but this is not quite the same as the module being ‘taught’ externally. Nature of the involvement of external body
X
ASQ Approved: 17 May 2010 15 See above.
Description of the learning resources available at the off-campus location
Internships will only be pre-approved if there is a line manager who has made a written commitment to supervise and mentor the student, and make information about the organisation available wherever possible.
What mechanisms will be put in place to ensure the ongoing monitoring of the delivery of the programme, to include monitoring of learning resources off-site or by the external body? Attendance to be verified by KCL-approved line manager in host organisation
To monitor KCL-approved line manager in host organisation
Please see the attached draft internship handbook. Internships will be pre-approved via an internship agreement form, and feedback from the student and the line manager will be required both mid-way through the placement and at the end.
In terms of the delivery of the module at King’s, this will be monitored via the usual processes of external examination and programme review.
Please attach the report of the visit to the off-campus location
5. Recognition of study or award of credit through off-campus study or placement - please indicate how the time will be spent, the length of time out, the amount of credit and whether it is a compulsory or optional part of the programme
Year abroad Year in employment Placement Other (please specify)
Time spent ………Credit amount 20……..Compulsory/optional..………
6. Please provide a rationale for any such time outside the College, other than that which is a requirement of a professional, statutory or regulatory body
The internship allows students to observe and analyse first-hand a China related organisation in the sector while gaining work experience and developing transferable skills.
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An internship offers students the opportunity to gain valuable experience, skills, knowledge and contacts relating to contemporary China.
The practical benefits for the student are:
Experience of seeking employment opportunities in a competitive job market Experience of taking on roles in China related organisations, e.g. research, project management, marketing and communications
Developing transferable skills e.g. analytical problem solving abilities, communication and language skills, social networking abilities, IT skills, the ability to work as a team
Experience of working in a challenging and dynamic environment, assuming the necessary flexibility demanded by organisations and managing workplace problems and stress.
Development of a professional attitude in all aspects of the China employment environment There are also numerous benefits to the host organisation
The student may have particular skills and experience that the organisation needs, or may develop on the job. The student can apply these skills both to special projects and to everyday work within the organisation.
The student can bring to their work as a specialised critical understanding of contemporary China, gained from the taught elements of the MSc Programme as well as their previous experience and academic background.
The student can observe and offer feedback on the organisation, helping to achieve its goals. The organisation becomes part of a network of China-related organisations offering
internships to students from King’s College London.
5. Please give details if the programme requires validation or accreditation by a professional, statutory or regulatory body
Name and address of PSB N/A