Ocean University of China (OUC) is a key comprehensive university under direct administration of the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE), with a complete range of academic and research programs, and distinctive strengths in marine science and fisheries. We are part of the country’s Project 211 and Project 985. Since 2017, we have been included in China’s plan of building world-class universities. Upholding our motto “ocean embraces all streams; exploring promises reaching far”, we aim at becoming a world-class comprehensive university with a strong emphasis on ocean sciences by 2030, and a world-class university with distinctive characteristics by the middle of this century. 

Founded in 1924, the university has undergone various periods of development under different names, including Private Qingdao University, National Qingdao University, National Shandong University, and Shandong University. In 1959, it became Shandong Oceanographic College. It was renamed Qingdao Ocean University in 1988 and Ocean University of China in 2002.

We have four campuses. Laoshan, Yushan, and Fushan campuses cover a total of 160 hectares. The West Coast Campus is planned to cover around 187 hectares. In 2022, its first phase of construction was completed and put into use. We have 1 faculty, 20 colleges/schools, and a Teaching Center of Fundamental Courses. Currently, there are 36,500 students enrolled, including 17,720 undergraduate students, 14,730 master’s students, 3,790 doctoral students, and 320 international students. We have 4,220 faculty and staff members.

We have established a comprehensive system of marine-oriented disciplines with distinctive Chinese characteristics, fostering the integration and mutual support of academic clusters in marine science and technology, life sciences and technology, engineering, humanities and social sciences, and fundamental sciences. 

We are deeply committed to cultivating outstanding talent with a strong commitment to the marine field. Among our 370,000 proud graduates, a significant number have emerged as leading figures in marine science and technology and administrative leadership—represented by 16 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 4 directors of the State Oceanic Administration. Our alumni are active across diverse sectors, contributing to social progress and public well-being while earning OUC widespread recognition and acclaim.

We are dedicated to strengthening national strategic capacity in science and technology. We actively supported the building of the Laoshan Laboratory, which was officially inaugurated in 2022, creating an integrated development framework between universities and national laboratories. We spearheaded the establishment of the Frontier Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, China’s first frontier science center in geosciences under the MOE. We have also led the “Coupled Multi-Field, Multi-Body, Multi-Scale Interactions and Impact Mechanisms on the Performance and Safety of Offshore Engineering Equipment”, the first fundamental science center project in oceanography under the Natural Science Foundation of China.

We host more than 50 provincial/ministerial-level or higher research platforms, including national key laboratories and national engineering technology research centers. We operate three research vessels, represented by Dong Fang Hong 3, a 5,600 DWT vessel with a Silent-R certificate. We have put forward major scientific initiatives such as the “Transparent Ocean”, the “Blue Granary”, and the “Blue Drug Storage”. We have led projects that won 1 First Prize and 3 Second Prizes for National Technological Invention, 2 Second Prizes for National Natural Science, and 12 Second Prizes for National Science and Technology Progress. We have received the Highest Award for Science and Technology in Shandong Province 4 times and the Highest Award for Science and Technology in Qingdao 6 times. 

We have proposed a new theory on the role of oceanic heat transport in driving global climate change, developed a dynamic framework for understanding air–sea interactions across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, and built the world’s largest integrated “sea–land–air–space” regional ocean observation system. We have established the world’s first whole-genome selection breeding platform for aquatic animals, developed a precision nutrition database covering China’s major aquaculture species, and bred a series of new aquaculture varieties. These efforts have spearheaded and driven five waves of development in China’s mariculture industry: kelp, shrimp, scallop, turbot, and sea cucumber and abalone farming. We have also created the world’s largest marine ciliate DNA database, earning the reputation of a “global research hub for marine ciliates”.

We developed and brought to market a series of marine polysaccharide drugs, represented by Propylene glycol sodium alginate sodium sulfate (PSS), China’s first modern marine drug, and co-developed GV-971, a first-in-class drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, which has been approved for clinical use. We have also addressed a range of technical challenges in ocean engineering design, safe construction, and operation and maintenance, and we have advanced a comprehensive system for ocean engineering safety and disaster prevention technologies.

We remain firmly committed to global engagement, having established partnerships with over 300 universities and research institutes across more than 50 countries and regions. We jointly founded Haide College, a Sino-foreign cooperative education institution, with Adelaide University, and have launched joint education programs and research centers in collaboration with top universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. We have led the establishment of the International Alliance of Marine-Related Institutions and China-Norway Marine University Consortium Alliance. We host the International Climate and Ocean: Variability, Predictability and Change (CLIVAR) Project Office and have taken the lead in major international scientific initiatives such as the 2nd Cooperative Study of the Kuroshio and its Adjacent Regions (CSK-2). Together with leading global marine research and educational institutions, we have spearheaded the release of the Qingdao Consensus on Sustainable Development of Future Ocean 2024.