Overview - Master of Social Sciences in the field of Social Data Analytics

Programme Design

Social Data Analytics (SDA) combines the analysis of large or complex data that arise from human and social interactions with social sciences theories and concepts. In the private, public and academic sectors, there is a strong demand for social scientists who are also trained in data science and computationally intensive methods.

MSocSc(SDA) pools computational and quantitative research expertise across the Faculty of Social Sciences to offer students the data analytical skills and prepare them for further doctoral training and to work as data sciences professionals in NGO and governmental agency, business, advertising, marketing, and other jobs across the knowledge economy that require integrating social sciences domain expertise with large datasets in computational systems.

Uniqueness of Social Data Analytics

The unique emphasis in Social Data Analytics is on the computational use of formal social sciences theories. This has two specific ends:

a) Simulating the behaviour of formal theories in computational contexts to generate largescale predictions. Social Data Analytics often requires agent-based simulations to predict the behaviours and the interactions among complex social systems and networks.

b) Interpreting large-scale naturalistic data through the lens of these formal theories to improve generalisation, prediction, and explainability. Social Data Analytics has disciplinary origins in the social sciences, which are traditionally interested in understanding the mechanism and the causes and identifying the modifiable components in the system to infer policy and interventions, guided by social theories.

Programme Aims

1. Provide students with the theory, skills and techniques they need to undertake data analytics in a social sciences context, enabling critical thinking and preparing them to work as data science professionals and for further doctoral training.

2. Engender in students an awareness of both the possibilities and limitations of a range of methodological approaches and techniques used across the social sciences in identifying and researching real-world problems.

3. Use teaching informed by research to provide a stimulating culture of learning, the development of high-level research skills, and enthusiasm for applying these within

Programme Schedule

The HKU MSocSc(SDA) Programme is a 1-year full-time Programme that consists of a mandatory boot camp and three different categories of courses: (i) compulsory courses, (ii) elective courses, and (iii) capstone project.