Programme Overview

Double-Degree Programme

Graduates receive two master’s degrees: one from Lingnan University (LU) and one from Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU).

In-Depth Study of Gerontology

Provides comprehensive knowledge of gerontology from physical, social, psychological, policy, and technological perspectives.

Ageing and Technology

Focuses on gerontechnology, combining the latest technologies with ageing studies to promote active ageing.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Offers multidisciplinary perspectives on gerontology and active ageing.

Practical Experience Opportunities

Includes internships and exchange programs for hands-on experience.

State-of-the-Art Facilities

Features advanced laboratories, including the LU Jockey Club Gerontech-X Lab and HKMU’s physical science labs.

Experienced Teaching Team

Taught by a multidisciplinary team with extensive international experience in ageing and gerontology.

(For AY2026/27 Intake)

Core Courses offered by LU (3 credits each)

• Ageing Policies in Greater China

  This course examines how governments in Greater China respond to ageing issues and the effectiveness of their interventions. It will firstly discuss ageing problems from a theoretical and international perspective. Then, it describes the extent of ageing problems in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Finally, it critically analyses how the four societies tackle the financial and long term care needs of older people.

• Research in Health and Social Services

  The module will focus on qualitative and quantitative approaches to researching health and social care management. It will involve theoretical and practical approaches to gathering and analysing data for health and social services. Students will be taken through research design, data collection, data management and data analysis of qualitative and quantitative research methods. They will be introduced to essential software for analysing data including NVivo and SPSS. Students will be introduced to relevant secondary data to gain hands-on experience. Also, students will be introduced to skills in the research proposal and academic writing. In collaboration with the Fong Sum Wood Library (Lingnan University), students will also be taken through methods in the literature review and managing literature in health and social care.

• Positive Gerontology

  This course is to develop students’ ability to understand physiological, cognitive, psychological and social changes as people grow older, which is an inevitable course of life. This course helps students to embrace ageing with a positive attitude and empower them with knowledge to improve the quality of life of the ageing population. This raises students’ awareness and understanding of issues of ageing as well as their impacts in social services across the world.

• Data Analytics in Health and Health Services

  The recent advances in information technology have made it more convenient and efficient to collect and analyse various kinds of big data to support decisions on health policies and predictions of human diseases. This course focuses on key technologies and tools that support data-driven smart health service delivery. The course will introduce students to different sources of big data (e.g., surveillance infrastructure and wearable sensors). It will provide multiple cases and examples in real-world to help students better understand conceptual and practical issues related to data structure, how to create and collect data, data storage, data management, and techniques for data descriptions and analyses for health and healthcare. Students will be engaged in statistical programming and health and healthcare data analytics through hands-on activities. In addition, the course will cover the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) to help students answer the question of "where" in health services delivery. GIS has been used extensively in epidemiology study (e.g., disease surveillance) and the healthcare industry (e.g., resource planning). Hands-on GIS tutorials and spatial application examples in public health and healthcare will be introduced and discussed.

Core Courses offered by HKMU (3 credits each)

• Smart Ageing

• Human Genomics: Implications for Health

• Building Resilience in the Smart Era

• Frailty in Older Adults

Capstone Projects (6 credits)

• Smart Ageing and Gerontology Project

  Smart ageing and gerontology are the intersections of ageing and technology, generating social science insights and offering new opportunities for a competitive advantage. New digital technologies have fundamentally changed our everyday world in the ageing society over the past years and have led to a dramatic shift in various fields, including health care, social service, and family and living. This course invites students to independently undertake a project in the field of smart ageing and gerontology. This course is in the form of a capstone project where students are expected to put the theoretical and experiential knowledge, they have obtained from the programme to use. Students are expected to produce a research report that meets the standard academic project. The project can be undertaken either individually or as a group or 2-3 students. It can be undertaken in three ways as follows: i. Case study approach: Students opting for this approach will be expected to address a clearly stated research question. Aside from engaging critically with the theoretical debatesand empirical literature on the selected topic, students must support their arguments with a case study from activities involving relevant agencies or institutions involved in ageing research or service provision. Students can report their experiences and lessons learned as part of experiential field trips in the course. They can also present cases from their own workplaces or experiences/observations from other experiential courses in this programme. ii. An empirical study: Based on skills obtained in data analytics and other methodological lessons, students can embark on a manageable study involving primary or secondary data. iii. A critical literature review: In this option, students are expected to produce a body of work aimed at addressing specific research question(s) using existing literature as the primary source of information.

Study Mode and Duration 

Full-Time: 1 Year

Part-Time: 2 years

Medium of Instruction

English

To qualify for the award of the Master of Science in Smart Ageing and Gerontology, student is required to:

- Complete a total of 9 courses and obtain a minimum of 30 credits

•         with 12 credits to be transferred from HKMU (for students admitted by LU) 

•        or with 18 credits to be transferred from HKMU (for students admitted by HKMU).

- Achieve a minimum CGPA requirement of 

•        2.67 for all courses offered by LU and 

•        2.7 for all courses offered by HKMU.

-Fulfil the University exit requirement on English language competency, if applicable; and fulfil all University/programme requirements.

A student who has fulfilled all the requirements for graduation will be awarded a Master of Science in Smart Ageing and Gerontology (SAG) degree with one of the following classifications (applicable to the LU degree only)