On May 14, Clarivate released the latest ESI (Essential Science Indicators) data, covering the period from January 2016 to February 2026. Ocean University of China (OUC)’s disciplines, Geosciences and Environment/Ecology, entered the top 1‰ of the ESI global rankings for the first time. Since the beginning of 2026, three OUC disciplines have newly entered the top 1‰ of ESI global rankings in succession, reflecting the continuous improvement of the university’s overall disciplinary strength. In this update, 486 disciplines of 141 universities in the Chinese mainland were ranked among the ESI global top 1‰. OUC now has five disciplines in this category, ranking 20th among all higher education institutions nationwide.
Geosciences and Environment/Ecology are key disciplines supporting OUC’s efforts to serve major national strategic needs, including enhancing China’s strength in the marine sector and advancing the Beautiful China Initiative. In recent years, these disciplines have continued to produce original research outcomes with international influence. The simultaneous entry of the two disciplines into the top 1‰ of ESI global rankings demonstrates the notable progress OUC has made in deeply implementing its “Blue Dream” Peak Discipline Initiative, strengthening its leading disciplines, and further consolidating its broader disciplinary foundation.
As of now, five OUC disciplines—Plant & Animal Science, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Geosciences, and Environment/Ecology—ranked among the global top 1‰ in the ESI data. In addition, another eight disciplines rank among the global top 1%: Chemistry, Biology & Biochemistry, Materials Science, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Microbiology, Computer Science, Social Sciences, General, and Clinical Medicine. They bring the total number of OUC disciplines in this category to 13.
OUC will stay firmly to its goal of becoming a world-class comprehensive university with a strong emphasis on ocean sciences by the end of the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. The university will continue to improve the adjustment mechanism for discipline setting under the guidance of scientific and technological progress and national strategic needs. It will further strengthen its distinctive strengths while enhancing its overall disciplinary capacity, integrate these strengths into mainstream disciplinary development, and reinforce them through broader disciplinary development. OUC will implement targeted strategies for each discipline, comprehensively improve the quality and competitiveness of its discipline development, and make greater contributions to advancing Chinese modernization.
