Shandong Agricultural University

Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU) was first founded in Jinan in 1906, and in 1958 it moved to Tai'an, located at the foot of the world-famous Mt. Tai. With its picturesque scenery and evergreen foliage, the university boasts a lovely campus, and it was named an excellent university by the National Evaluation of Undergraduate Teaching in China. SDAU is a multi-disciplinary university which offers courses in agriculture, science, engineering, management, economics, humanities, law, medicine and education.

SDAU currently has a fulltime enrollment of 30,000 students, of which more than 2,000 are postgraduates and Ph.D. students. It has 19 colleges and 65 majors for undergraduates, two scholars of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, four scholars of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, more than 290 professors, 820 associate professors, nine specially engaged "Taishan Scholar" professors, seven experts selected as members of the "National Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talent Project" of China, four teachers with the title of Young and Middle-Aged State-Ranking Experts with Outstanding Contributions issued by the State Ministry of Personnel, and one innovative team supported by the "Supporting Plan for Cheung Kong Scholars and Innovative Teams" of the Ministry of Education.

The university has seven mobile postdoctoral stations, six doctorate-conferring programs in first-level disciplines, 42 doctorate-conferring programs in second-level disciplines, 59 master’s degree-conferring programs, two national key disciplines, two ministerial key disciplines, 16 provincial key disciplines, one national key laboratory, one ministerial key laboratory, 10 provincial key laboratories, one center for humanities and social sciences research appraised by Shandong Province, one national engineering science branch center, one Center of Cereal Quality Control and Test of Ministry of Agriculture, and four provincial engineering and technological research centers.

SDAU covers an area of 5,145 mu, with 1,120,000 square meters of building area. The total value of instruments and facilities for teaching and scientific research amounts to 260 million yuan (RMB). The library has a collection of 1.98 million books. There are two gymnasiums, one natatorium and three plastic cement track fields. While strengthening its facilities, the university has built a neat and refined educational environment with a strong academic and cultural atmosphere. This comprehensive and modern university has a distinct campus culture with a harmonious balance between human and academic atmospheres. Organizations include the Shandong Agricultural University Journal, Shandong Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, and SDAU Electronic & Audiovisual Press.

SDAU attaches great importance to teaching research and teaching reform. In recent years, it has earned 50 national and provincial achievement awards in teaching research, of which one is a special national award and two are first-class awards. Ever since its founding, SDAU has cultivated and supplied society with more than 120,000 diverse and qualified graduates, including two scholars of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and four scholars of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Scholar Li Zhen-sheng won the National Top Science and Technology Award. Since 1996, SDAU has obtained all kinds of scientific research items of all levels, totaling more than 1,400, of which 430 are of Ministry-rank and province-rank. In recent years, it has earned 335 national and provincial achievement awards in scientific and technological research, of which one is a National Technological Invention Prize and another 20 are national awards. Moreover, SDAU has greatly enhanced the development and application of scientific achievements, gaining 61 national patents, discovering nine new plant species, earning 158 awards for extension and dissemination, and obtaining social and economic profits of more than 46 billion yuan (RMB).

SDAU places great emphasis on students, offers a platform for students to practice and innovate, and provides an excellent environment for cultivating multitalented people. Adhering to an "opening up" policy in management and stressing international exchange and cooperation with universities in other countries, SDAU has established academic exchanges with universities in as many as 30 countries and areas, such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Korea, etc., and it also has collaborative relationships with 21 overseas universities and scientific institutions. Every year, more than 300 foreign officials and professors visit the university, give lectures, or hold academic exchanges. The College of International Exchanges is a joint-training unit, which has been accredited by Shandong province. It has been recruiting students for 5 years. It currently has 1,350 full-time students, of which 260 enrolled in 2004, who went to study to Germany in 2007.

In accordance with changing educational regulations, SDAU has proposed a three-step development plan, and it has already achieved the first two steps. At present, SDAU is making great progress toward becoming a high quality and comprehensive university with agricultural science as its primary strength and life science as one of its distinguishing fields.