It is my pleasure to introduce the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education (SSPE) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The mission of the Department and the philosophy underlying the degree in SSPE reflect the belief that physical activity is good for one's mental and physical health. The Department has been highly successful in offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, in achieving a high level of research, and in providing outstanding service to the community.

The four-year B.Ed Programme in Physical Education & Sports Science leads to a Bachelor of Education Honours Degree and an equivalent of a Postgraduate Diploma in Education qualification. The programme attracts excellent students through a limited quota system which enables only the most successful high school students to apply. Students attending the degree courses offered by the Department enjoy low student-professor ratios thus enabling the staff to provide individual attention to student needs in an interactive and cooperative atmosphere. The SSPE programme provides a multi-disciplinary approach involving biological and behavioural sciences and is devoted to providing students with a sound basis to develop health-related physical education. The graduates from this programme have attracted the attention of Hong Kong school principals who have appointed our students as physical education specialist teachers in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. In addition, a smaller number have pursued post-graduate education at the Master's and Doctoral level, while some have chosen prominent universities in the UK and USA for their graduate and post-graduate studies.

Except for the PhD and MPhil programmes that are research-oriented degree programmes, the Department offers several non research-oriented post-graduate programmes to provide in-service personnel with the opportunity to continue their studies in order to obtain further training and to gain greater understanding of the field.

The Post-Graduate Diploma in Exercise Science and Physical Education (PG.Dip.) provides students with the opportunity to resume their studies while continuing to maintain their career responsibilities. The diploma is also an invitation to upgrade one's existing knowledge and to further one's studies at the Master's level. The Department also invites in-service teachers to apply for the Master of Education in Sports Science and Physical Education (M.Ed.) programme so that they can enrich their professional career by updating and familiarizing themselves with current educational thought. In addition, the Master's of Science in Exercise Science (M.Sc.) invites in-service personnel from a wide range of helping professions to study exercise science with a view to incorporating exercise into their professional programmes. Finally, the Master of Arts in Sport Studies (M.A.) has been added to the wide range of course offerings. This course provides a deeper understanding and knowledge of the provision and practice of sports at the professional, recreational, and elite levels and will serve the specific needs of sports administrators, promoters, or high-performance coaches. All post-graduate courses of study are organized to provide maximum flexibility and to optimize course content to meet the individual needs of professional men and women in the sport, exercise, and physical education teaching fields.

In order to continuously upgrade the quality of our teaching, all staff members are engaged in research projects that investigate issues specifically related to physical activity and its influence on health. All staff are committed to producing evidence-based papers that are published in seminal journals in the fields associated with physical education, exercise, sport, and health. Consequently, our research serves to ensure that learning experiences will reflect current theories and applications particularly as they affect the changing needs of the Hong Kong society.

I am delighted to be a member of a dedicated team of sport scientists and physical educators who provide a continuum of learning that promotes the principles of lifelong learning and sound professional preparation. The students who are presently attending the programmes and those who have graduated have definitely contributed to the development of the Department that makes a significant and unique contribution for the betterment of Hong Kong.

Prof Youlian HONG, Ph.D.

Chairman,
Department of Sports Science and Physical Education,
Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.