Chapter 1d - General Guidelines for Offering Undergraduate Double Degree Programmes with Both Degrees Awarded by Lingnan University

1.	Programme Proposal and Approval

2.	Curriculum Design

3.	Provisions for Double Degree Programmes in Academic Regulations

Note : A double degree programme usually is a collaborative programme involving two or more Faculties/Schools/departments/academic units of the University.

Programme Proposal and Approval

1.1

A double degree programme proposal shall go through procedures as a new undergraduate programme detailed in Chapter 1a of the AQA Manual.

1.2

As two or more Faculties/Schools/departments/academic units are involved, the proposal has to seek endorsement of committees at the department/programme and Faculty/School levels of the collaborating parties before it is submitted to the University-level committees.

1.3

Details about the contents of an initial programme proposal and a full programme proposal for a double degree programme are respectively given in Appendix A and Appendix B. Any deviations from the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Programmes and this Guidelines are to be highlighted for necessary endorsement and approval.

1.4

At the initial programme proposal stage, the funding mode has to be proposed, viz. the first four years are UGC-funded and the last year is self-financed, or self-financed for all years, for consideration and decision of the University Administrative and Planning Committee or the Task Force responsible for the triennium planning exercise (TPE) in case the proposal is initiated during the TPE. For a programme which is UGC-funded for its first four years, the Programme Planning Committee should plan the presentation of the full submission for validation in such a way that it will fit in with the University’s planning cycle (Refer to Appendix D of Chapter 1a of the AQA Manual).

Curriculum Design

2.1

The curriculum of a double degree programme shall be well-structured and integrated, designed for students aspiring to obtain two degrees, normally in 5 years. In designing the curriculum, the following rules are to be observed:

The programme shall consist of courses of 150 or more credits and students are required to fulfil the curriculum requirements within a normal study period of 5 years.

The curriculum shall specify

i) the University-wide required courses, including 27 credits for the Core Curriculum, 12 credits for English Language and 6 credits for Chinese Language courses;

ii) the courses and credit numbers required for both Major disciplines;

iii) the courses and credit numbers required for each of the two Major disciplines; and

iv) the number of credits for free elective courses.

To align with the general curriculum framework for the 4-year degree curriculum of the University, the courses for ii) and iii) shall be at least 48 credits for each of the two Major disciplines.

For iv), to make room for having at least 48 credits in each of the two Major disciplines, which already expose students to two Major disciplines, the credits for free electives can be reduced. However, to align with the liberal arts mission, provide adequate flexibility for students’ choice, and facilitate student exchange, it is desirable to allocate sufficient credits to free electives. For assigning fewer than 15 credits to free electives (which is already 12 credits less than the 27 credits for free electives in the general curriculum framework), justifications must be provided.

Any deviation from the credit requirements stipulated above shall be specified in the programme proposal with justifications given for seeking endorsement of relevant committees and approval of the Senate.

An indicative framework is given below for reference (the distribution of credits in the Major disciplines and free electives are not meant to be followed strictly):

Components	Number of Courses	Number of Credits
Core Curriculum Common Core Cluster	5 4	15 12
English Language	4	12
Chinese Language	2	6
Major Disciplines for both degrees Major Discipline for Degree 1 Major Discipline for Degree 2	4 13 13	12 39 39
Free Electives	5	15
Total:	50	150

2.2

When designing the curriculum, attention should be given to the specific rules of taking some courses, including:

sequence/study year of taking Common Core courses (i.e. students are normally assigned to take CCC8011, CCC8012 and CCC8015 in the first year, and CCC8013 and CCC8014 in the second year);

sequence/study year of taking English Language Enhancement (ELE) courses available at https://www.ln.edu.hk/reg/undergraduate-programmes/english-language-enhancement-ele-curriculum; and

study year of taking capstone course(s) (which are commonly taken in the final year).

Should any adjustments be made, consultation should be made with relevant units concerning Core Curriculum, English and Chinese Language courses.

Provisions for Double Degree Programmes in Academic Regulations

3.1

Provisions specifically for double degree programmes are included in the Academic Regulations for Undergraduate Programmes. Some key points (not mentioned above) are recapped below for easy reference:

Students on a double degree programme shall not be granted any credit transfer except for those associated with an approved student exchange programme of the University (but course exemption may be granted) and no students shall be admitted directly to Year 2 or Year 3 (Sections 9.2, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, and 9.8 of the Academic Regulations);

A double degree programme will not accept student transfer from any other programmes (Section 11.1 of the Academic Regulations);

The normal and minimum study period of a double degree student is ten terms (5 years) and the maximum study period is sixteen terms (8 years) from his/her first registration (Section 13.2 of the Academic Regulations); and

One degree classification will be given based on the student’s Cumulative G.P.A. (Section 22.1 of the Academic Regulations).

General Guidelines for Offering Undergraduate Double Degree Programmes with Both Degrees Awarded by Lingnan University (PDF)