The third feature story of the series Guides on UIC's Faculties and Schools is the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS).
Introduction from Dean
Prof Tze-ki Hon
Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
FHSS is a combination of the essence of humanities and social science, teaching a wide range of subjects with knowledge at all times with endless vitality. Its faculty members come from all over the world, providing students with specialised expertise. As a result, its students are equipped with solid academic skills, an international mindset and a humanistic spirit, becoming top-notch talents in different areas of expertise.
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Prof Zhao Xiaobin Associate Dean for Research and Student Affairs | Prof John Blair Corbett Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning |
Introduction from Department Heads
Dr Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman
Head of Department of Communication
In Dr Hearns-Branaman mind, integrating the three programmes (Chinese Culture and Global Communication, Media and Communication Studies, and Public Relations and Advertising) into one department provides students with a rich choice of courses and diversified learning resources through sharing resources among majors and the cooperation of faculty members.
He pointed out that the faculty members are from various regions and nations, all of them have international study or work experience, enabling them to give students broader eyesight, and they also invite well-known scholars to lecture at UIC and communicate with students.
Dr Charles Lowe
Head of Department of Languages and Cultures
According to Dr Lowe, the intertwining of the two programmes (Applied Translation Studies and English Language and Literature Studies) of the Department trains students to be effective communicators and creative writers, who can acquire a variety of skills during their four-year study when surrounded by arts and culture.
Dr Lowe said that regarding the rapid development of AI nowadays, students have to adapt to the fast-changing environment in the workplace and creativity and imagination will be attached with more importance. He believed the way of thinking and skills students learned from the Department is professional, specific and lifelong, and would be helpful in any career they choose.
Dr Edoardo Monaco
Acting Head of Department of Social Sciences
Considering the undergraduate programmes setting of social sciences, Dr Monaco said that UIC's curriculum is uniquely designed to cultivate students’ international perspectives, global citizenship and interdisciplinary knowledge skills, shaping them to become useful contributors to society.
He added that digitalisation is a core feature of the two programmes, Digital Social Science and Globalisation and Development. Students of the two programmes need to master skills like Python, programming, data analysis and more, and they also participate in various internships and extracurricular activities to practice.
He said that the faculty of the Department are international and high-quality, and they are deeply concerned about student development. Students are involved in research together with their professors, in some cases they are not only research assistants but also become authors.
Student development
In recent years, over 70% of FHSS's graduates have chosen to pursue further studies, and nearly 88% of them have entered QS top 100 universities and colleges in 2022. Most of them have been employed by established companies and well-known institutes, including Xinhuanet, Tencent, ByteDance, Edelman and BlueFocus.
From MPRO
Reporter: Cecilia Yu
Photographer: Cecilia Yu, Covee Wang
Editor: Deen He
