The earliest exchange between TAMU and the College of Physical and Environmental Oceanography can be traced to 1994, when teacher Liu Qinyu visited teacher Zhang Ping of TAMU, beginning nearly 20 years of joint cooperation. In 2006, OUC and TAMU began considering creatinga training model for postgraduate students different from the joint training model, currently referred to as the Joint Program. This model will award postgraduates a Joint Degree instead of two degrees, reflecting joint training and educational cooperation. Supported by the National Scholarship Fund, the first group of Joint Program students went to study at TAMU in 2008. By the end of 2013, there were nearly 30 students from OUC participating in the Joint Program.

On December 9-11, 2012, OUC & TAMU held a Collaborative Workshop at TAMU to celebrate the first Joint Program student graduation. Wu Lixin, Physical Oceanography Laboratory Professor at the Ocean University of China, (Ministry of Education),Fu Gang, Executive Vice-President of the Graduate School, and 10 teachers from Physical Oceanography, Marine Meteorology, Marine Chemistry, Marine Geology, Marine Biology and other related majors attended the meeting.

The workshop was hosted by Texas A & M University. Kate Miller, Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, Texas A & M University and Piers Chapman, Dean of Physical Oceanography attended the meeting and addressed the audience. Kate Dean expressed her affirmation of cooperation between the two universities and the successful accomplishment of the first phase of a joint training project of doctoral students, which she believes is of great importance to healthy long-term cooperation and development between the two universities. Dean Miller also congratulated the graduating students from OUC who successfully defended their thesis.

During the workshop, participants in this workshop, including teachers and graduates from both universitie sheld discussions and presented numerous the matic reports that were a benefit to all.