Module: 01 Academics · Sub‑file: Signature Discipline Profiles (Rehabilitation Sciences + APSS) This piece supplements the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences overview with a close look at two departments: Rehabilitation Sciences (Physiotherapy / Occupational Therapy / Prosthetics & Orthotics) and Applied Social Sciences (social‑work education). Although PolyU has no medical school and no teaching hospital (see 11 Medicine & Hospitals), it has long been one of Hong Kong’s principal training grounds for these “non‑doctor” health and social‑care professions. Information is drawn chiefly from the official websites of PolyU’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Department of Applied Social Sciences, the SWRB list of recognised qualifications, and academic papers; all data points include year and source.

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# Part One: Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

# 1. At a Glance

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# 2. Rehabilitation Sciences: Beginnings in 1978

According to the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences official page^※, the department has been running professional training programmes for occupational therapists and physiotherapists since 1978. That date matters: in 1978 PolyU was still the Hong Kong Polytechnic (it would not gain university status until sixteen years later, in 1994), yet it had already taken on the role of supplying Hong Kong with qualified rehabilitation professionals.

Physiotherapy and occupational therapy were still emerging fields in 1970s Hong Kong. Physiotherapy focuses on functional rehabilitation of the musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiopulmonary systems; Occupational Therapy uses purposeful activity to help people whose function has been impaired by illness, injury or disability rebuild their daily living and work skills. The Polytechnic’s decision to host these two professional streams fitted its long‑standing emphasis on applied, professional, employment‑facing education. It was a different path from the “comprehensive research university starts a medical school, which later spins off allied health programmes” model — PolyU entered the health domain directly through professional training.

According to the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, the Tam Wing Fan Rehabilitation Service Centre (Occupational Therapy) is the first‑ever university‑based OT clinic in Hong Kong. These university clinics, where teaching and service are integrated, let students train in an authentic clinical environment while delivering rehabilitation services to the community — an embodiment of PolyU’s “learn by doing” professional‑education model.

Source strength: The 1978 starting date and the “first university OT clinic” claim both come from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences official page, a reliable primary source.

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# 3. Undergraduate Programmes and Admissions Pathways

Most undergraduate programmes in the health disciplines recruit through a BSc (Hons) Scheme structure. For example, according to PolyU’s programme pages: JS3636 — BSc (Hons) Scheme in Rehabilitation Sciences (Physiotherapy)^※ admits via JUPAS (the HKDSE route); JS3624 — BSc (Hons) Scheme in Rehabilitation Sciences (Occupational Therapy)^※ is the admission pathway for occupational therapy.

Health‑professional programmes (particularly physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing and optometry) have historically been among PolyU’s higher‑scoring and consistently sought‑after disciplines — a pattern directly linked to Hong Kong’s ageing population and the long‑standing structural shortage of healthcare and rehabilitation personnel. (Contextual analysis only; for specific admissions scores, refer to official figures for each academic year.)

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# 4. The Teaching‑Clinic Network: University‑Run Clinical Training Grounds

PolyU operates several teaching clinics on and near campus that serve simultaneously as clinical training sites for students and as service providers to the public. According to the Campus Facilities Office clinics page^※, they typically include a physiotherapy clinic, an occupational therapy / rehabilitation service centre (such as the Tam Wing Fan Centre mentioned above), an optometry clinic (offering refraction and eye‑health examinations), and other health services such as podiatry.

This on‑campus teaching‑clinic network is a distinctive feature of PolyU’s health‑science education: students accumulate experience in a supervised, real‑world clinical setting, while the community gains access to affordable professional care — a tripartite “teaching–learning–service” model.

Source strength: Clinic types and their “university‑run” nature are documented on the Campus Facilities Office page; for the current clinic directory and services, consult the latest official pages.

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# 5. Rehabilitation Research: Ageing and Assistive Technology

As Hong Kong’s society ages rapidly, FHSS’s research agenda closely mirrors that trend. In geriatric care, chronic‑disease management for older adults (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment) is a major research theme of the School of Nursing. In dementia, the Department of Applied Social Sciences collaborates with the School of Nursing on non‑pharmacological interventions (such as reminiscence therapy and cognitive training) and carer support. In rehabilitation technology, according to the PolyU Department of Rehabilitation Sciences website^※, research teams have designed an “upper‑limb rehabilitation robot” and a “gait‑training robot,” working across disciplines with the Faculty of Engineering to integrate precision‑engineering technology into clinical rehabilitation devices; wearable sensors monitor gait, electromyography and limb coordination in real time, giving therapists objective, quantitative data; the intelligent prosthetics and orthotics stream explores frontier areas such as microprocessor‑controlled knee joints (the C‑Leg class) and brain–computer interfaces (BCI) for upper‑limb prostheses.

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# 6. Relevance to the “Third Medical School” Bid

PolyU’s deep foundation in the health disciplines is precisely what underpinned its bid to host Hong Kong’s third medical school in 2024–2025. A university that already trains large numbers of rehabilitation therapists, nurses, optometrists and other health professionals — and runs multiple teaching clinics — can argue it possesses the health‑sciences base needed to start a medical school. The full story of that competition is told in 11 Medicine & Hospitals · The Third Medical School Bid; the point here is simply that the rehabilitation and health disciplines are the central pillar of PolyU’s “no medical school, but deep in health” narrative.

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# Part Two: Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS)

# 7. Where Did APSS Come From? A Fifty‑Year Timeline

The Department of Applied Social Sciences did not begin on a university campus, but inside a government agency. According to the APSS official history page^※, the department’s forerunner was an Institute of Social Work Training established by the Hong Kong Government in 1973. In 1977 it was brought under the Hong Kong Polytechnic and renamed the School of Social Work, offering its first three programmes: a two‑year full‑time Diploma in Social Work, a one‑year full‑time Certificate in Child Care, and a one‑year part‑time Certificate for Teachers of Mentally Handicapped Children. In 1983 it introduced a 2+2 top‑up degree model that allowed diploma holders to earn credits toward a bachelor’s degree. Renamed the Department of Applied Social Studies in 1986, it adopted its current name, the Department of Applied Social Sciences (APSS), in 2000. The department marked its 50th anniversary in 2023, the same year it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Warsaw.

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# 8. What Does APSS Offer? A Full Spectrum from Bachelor’s to DSW

# Undergraduate: Four Streams

According to the APSS programmes page^※, the department currently offers four BA (Hons) programmes:

According to the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB) list of recognised qualifications^※, PolyU’s BA (Hons) in Social Work programme (four‑year full‑time; first cohort 2012/13 academic year) is recognised by the SWRB until a review in 2029/30. Graduates may apply for registration as a Registered Social Worker (RSW) in Hong Kong — the essential statutory gateway to practice.

# Master’s: Seven Advanced Pathways

APSS’s taught postgraduate programmes now span seven directions, covering social work practice, family therapy, counselling, mental health, school and community psychology, and applied psychology. Among them, the part‑time Master of Social Work (MSW) programme (three years) has been SWRB‑recognised since its first intake in 2005/06, with recognition running until 2031/32^※. According to the MSW programme page^※, the programme requires 37 credits (including 8 fieldwork credits) and carries a total tuition fee of HK$382,000, charged at HK$8,300 per taught credit and HK$18,700 per fieldwork credit.

# Doctor of Social Work (DSW): A First for Hong Kong

According to the DSW programme page^※, the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) was introduced in 2008 — Hong Kong’s first doctoral programme in social work. It runs over three years full‑time or four years part‑time (including summer terms), requires 49 credits, and comprises coursework, an AI‑enabled educational technology component and a DSW thesis. The programme positions itself as high‑level “practitioner–researcher–educator” training, uses a blended online, classroom and skills‑lab delivery, and focuses on a “critical local–global dialogue.”

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# 9. PolyU and Peking University: A 35‑Year Partnership That Reshaped Mainland Social‑Work Education

The social‑work education collaboration between PolyU’s APSS and Peking University is one of the longest‑running and most consequential cross‑border professional‑education partnerships involving a Hong Kong university. According to a 2020 academic paper in Tandfonline^※, the cooperation began in 1988: Peking University and the Asia Pacific Association for Social Work Education (APASWE) jointly organised a symposium, and the secretariat was housed at APSS — at a time when “social work” was virtually an unknown term in mainland China.

After the Tiananmen Square events of 1989, all other prospective partners withdrew — PolyU was the only institution that stayed the course. That decision laid the foundation for a deep mutual trust. Following more than a decade of steady work, the two universities jointly launched mainland China’s first Master of Social Work (MSW) programme in 2000, funded by the Keswick Foundation. In 2010 they further established the China Social Work Research Centre, institutionalising a joint research platform. In the crucial years when mainland social‑work education was being built from scratch, APSS acted as a “seed‑sower,” and its influence can be traced through the curriculum design and faculty training at dozens of mainland universities’ social‑work departments.

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# 10. How Strong Is APSS in Research? Rankings and Output Data

# THE World Ranking: 52nd Globally

According to an APSS news release dated 21 January 2026^※, in the THE World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for “Social Sciences,” PolyU placed 52nd globally, a rise of 16 spots from 68th in 2025, and ranked first in Hong Kong for research quality within that category. The official wording stated the result was “reflecting our continued growth and strong international standing in teaching and research across diverse social science disciplines.” Using a different metric, PolyU placed 19th globally in the US News Global Universities rankings 2026–27 for Social Sciences and Public Health.

# Research Output and Funding

According to PolyU Scholars Hub^※, APSS has accumulated 3,879 research outputs: 2,086 journal articles, 719 book chapters, 508 conference papers, and 174 monographs; total citations stand at 89,861, with an h‑index of 99; the department has 71 researchers. According to the APSS newsletter for January 2025^※, 11 colleagues secured Research Grants Council (RGC) funding in 2024/25, totalling HK$9,069,165. According to the March 2026 newsletter^※, Prof. Hok Bun KU received a Keswick Foundation grant of HK$9,856,300 for social‑work research in China, and Prof. Angel LAI received over HK$3.6 million from Save the Children Hong Kong for a child‑wellbeing research project.

# Five Research Centres

According to the APSS research centres page^※, the department currently houses five research centres:

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# 11. Where Do Graduates Go? Social‑Work Practice Pathways and the Employment Landscape

Graduates who hold an SWRB‑recognised qualification and complete registration can practise in the following settings. According to the SWRB^※, registration is not automatic — graduates must actively apply to the Board to obtain Registered Social Worker (RSW) status.

Holders of an MSW or DSW can go on to become social‑work supervisors, agency managers, or social‑work educators. According to the APSS January 2025 newsletter^※, the 2024 graduation ceremony alone saw 475‑plus undergraduate and taught‑postgraduate students graduate.

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# 12. How Extensive Is APSS’s International Network?

According to the APSS January 2025 newsletter^※, recent MoU partners include Goldsmiths, University of London, Durham University, Shandong University and Al‑Farabi Kazakh National University; longstanding partners include Peking University and the University of Chicago. According to PolyU Scholars Hub^※, APSS’s “global collaboration network” connects research institutions including UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago. In December 2024, APSS co‑hosted Winter Institute 2024 with Peking University and the University of Chicago, receiving 24 postgraduate students and four faculty members in Hong Kong and Hanoi, Vietnam, for a cross‑cultural policy‑research exchange.

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# 13. Two Departments Side by Side: The Health–Social Care Continuum

Placing the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Department of Applied Social Sciences in the same in‑depth profile reveals a hidden logic of PolyU’s Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. Both departments trace their origins to roughly the same era (rehabilitation training began in 1978; APSS’s forerunner in 1973), and both were created in response to specific gaps in Hong Kong’s social and public services at particular historical moments — rehabilitation sciences to fill the shortage of “non‑doctor” health professionals, APSS to fill the government’s need for a professionalised social‑work workforce. Their subsequent development paths are also similar: both evolved from “industry training bodies” into degree‑granting programmes, then into postgraduate education, and finally to the highest academic qualification (internationally recognised pathways in prosthetics and orthotics / the DSW), illustrating PolyU’s consistent institutional pattern of solving a real‑world manpower need first and academically upgrading later, rather than designing disciplines top‑down from the starting point of a “comprehensive research university.”

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