Ocean University of China 2026/2027 Chinese Government Scholarship High-Level Postgraduate Program Guide.pdf

About the university

Ocean University of China (OUC), located in Qingdao, Shandong Province, is a comprehensive national key university directly under the Ministry of Education, featuring a full range of disciplines and distinctive strengths in marine and fisheries sciences. It is jointly established by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the People's Government of Shandong Province, and the Qingdao Municipal Government. OUC is a member of the national "Double First-Class" initiative, "Project 985," and "Project 211." It has been selected for the "2011 Plan," "111 Plan," "Strengthening Basic Disciplines Plan," the Excellence Engineer Education and Training Program, the Excellence Agriculture and Forestry Talent Education and Training Program, the National College Students' Innovative Experimental Program, the National High-Level University Graduate Scholarship Program, and is a host institution for Chinese Government Scholarship international students. OUC is a member of the Sino-European Elite University Alliance, the University of the Arctic, the International Antarctic Institute, and the International Association of Marine-Related Universities. The university was founded in 1924 and has undergone several stages: Private Qingdao University, National Qingdao University, National Shandong University, and Shandong University. In 1959, it became Shandong College of Oceanography, and in 1960 it was designated by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China as one of the 13 key comprehensive universities in the country. It was renamed Qingdao Ocean University in 1988 and Ocean University of China in 2002. In 2017, it was selected as a national "World-Class University Construction University" (Category A). OUC is among the first batch of institutions authorized by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council to confer doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees. As of June 2025, the university has four campuses: Laoshan, Yushan, and Fushan campuses covering over 2,400 mu, and the West Coast campus planned to cover approximately 2,800 mu. It comprises one faculty, 20 schools, and one basic teaching center, offering 74 undergraduate programs. It has 17 first-level doctoral degree authorization disciplines, 4 professional doctoral degree categories, 34 first-level master's degree authorization disciplines, 25 professional master's degree categories, and 16 postdoctoral research stations. The university has 4,114 faculty and staff, including 2,175 full-time teachers, and over 35,400 enrolled students, including more than 17,200 undergraduates, over 14,500 master's students, and over 3,400 doctoral students. In 1924, Private Qingdao University was established, the first modern university in the Qilu region to offer undergraduate programs. The university adopted a board system, with Gao Enhong, the Superintendent of the Jiaozhou Bay Commercial Port, serving as concurrent president, and appointed renowned domestic scholars such as Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Boling, and Huang Yanpei as honorary board members. The university clearly defined its mission from the start. In its early years, the disciplines were set as follows: in 1924, engineering and commerce were established; in 1925, civil engineering, railway management, mining engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering were added. Students who completed their studies and passed experiments were awarded bachelor's degrees. After the war, the Ministry of Education of the National Government decided to establish National Qingdao University on the site of the former Private Qingdao University. In 1929, National Qingdao University was founded, with Yang Zhensheng, a writer and educator, as its president. In terms of discipline development, Yang Zhensheng proposed gradually adding marine-related disciplines such as coastal biology, oceanography, and meteorology, and focusing on coastal biology within the Department of Biology, with the aim of building the university into China's marine biology research center. This marked the first origin of Ocean University of China's distinctive disciplines. In 1930, the School of Liberal Arts of National Qingdao University established departments of Chinese Literature, Foreign Literature, and Education; the School of Science established departments of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. In 1931, the Department of Education was expanded into the School of Education, comprising the Department of Educational Administration and the Department of Rural Education. In September 1932, National Qingdao University was renamed National Shandong University, with Zhao Taimou, a dramatist and educator, as its president. In 1937, due to the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, National Shandong University was forced to relocate to Wanxian County, Sichuan. In the spring of 1946, National Shandong University was reestablished in Qingdao, with Zhao Taimou again serving as president. After reestablishment, the university founded the Institute of Oceanography, the Department of Fisheries, and the Institute of Fisheries, which marked the second origin of Ocean University of China's distinctive disciplines and initiated the cultivation of high-level fisheries talent in China. On June 2, 1949, Qingdao was liberated, and National Shandong University was reborn.