College of Ocean and Earth Science

The College of Ocean and Earth Science, originating from the Department of Ocean and Earth Science founded in 1975, was established in 2002. After resumption of the academic degree system in 1982, it was one of the first colleges that was authorized to confer the Master degree ill Marine Geology. In 1983 the College set up tile first and only doctoral program ill Marine Geology in China. In 1992 the previous State Education Commission approved the laboratory of this college to be an open laboratory, making it China's first and only key laboratory of Ocean Geology under the authority of Ministry or the State Department. Through the national assessment? in 1996, the laboratory became the only open laboratory of earth science in a university under the State Ministry of Education to be funded from the Ministry of Science and Technology. In the nationwide evaluation of laboratories in 2000, the laboratory enjoyed continued success and remained the only open laboratory of earth science supported by the Ministry of Space Science and Technology.

In the year 2000 the marine geology program of the college was recognized as a "Program of the Utmost Importance" in Shanghai, and in 2002 as the State Key Program. Consequently it gets support from the 211 Project and the 985 Project of the State Ministry of Education. In 1999 the college successfully carried out 184 offshore drillings in the South China Sea, enabling China to rank among the world's most advanced countries in deep sea research. Currently, the College is undertaking many important research projects under the state 937 Project, 863 Project and the Funding Commission. The College offers three Bachelor degree programs, three Master degree programs, two Doctoral programs and has one postdoctoral mobile station. In the College there are two members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 24 professors (11 are supervisors for doctoral candidates) and an excellent team of young researchers. In 2003, the college's research team that consists of a most ingenious young staff, obtained support from the "Innovation Research Group" Plan of the State Natural Science Foundation, becoming the first innovation community in China.

Taking research in the environment and resources of the ocean and its surrounding continents as the general target of academic development, the College will stick to and further develop its characteristics of integrating ocean study with land study, ancient study with modern study, geology with geophysics and geochemistry, and observation and experiment with simulation. By exploring the new ideas and methods for quantitative research in the environment and the resources of the ocean and its surrounding continents, the College will continue to establish as a high-level training base featuring a combination of ocean and land, and close linkage with the most advanced discipline of marine geology in the world and will become one of the centers for comprehensive geophysical research as well as for the study of ancient marine environment in the China Sea and the West Pacific Rim.