The College of Horticulture Science and Engineering boasts a distinguished educational heritage. Its origins trace back to the Department of Horticulture of the College of Agriculture, Shandong University (Qingdao) founded in 1946 and the Department of Horticulture of Shandong Agricultural College (Jinan) established in 1947. During the national higher education institutional restructuring in 1952, the Pomology Group of the Department of Horticulture from Jinling University and Nanjing University was incorporated into Shandong Agricultural College to form a brand-new Department of Horticulture. The department relocated with the university from Jinan to Tai’an in 1958. It was renamed the College of Horticulture in December 2000, and formally adjusted to the College of Horticulture Science and Engineering in March 2004.

Over more than 70 years of construction and development, the college has evolved into a leading multi-level faculty offering undergraduate education as the foundation, alongside well-scaled postgraduate programs for masters and doctors, and postdoctoral training. It currently consists of six divisions: Pomology, Vegetable Science, Protected Horticulture, Tea Science, Ornamental Horticulture, and the Horticulture Experimental Teaching Center.

The college has 1,083 full-time undergraduates and 804 doctoral and master’s postgraduates. There are 146 faculty and staff members on duty, including 45 professors and 61 associate professors, 52 doctoral supervisors and 111 master’s supervisors. The faculty boasts 1 Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 2 Distinguished Professors under the Yangtze Scholars Program of the Ministry of Education, 1 recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 3 Young Top-notch Talents under the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, and 3 recipients of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars (including 1 overseas recipient). Other high-caliber talents include 1 Shennong Young Talent, 2 Taishan Scholar Climbing Experts, 4 Taishan Scholar Distinguished Experts, 19 Young Taishan Scholars, 1 Taishan Industrial Leading Talent, 3 recipients of Shandong Provincial Outstanding Youth Fund, 3 recipients of Shandong Provincial Excellent Youth Fund, and 4 experts enjoying special government allowances from the State Council.

In addition, the college has 7 Position Scientists of the National Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System, 1 National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation, 2 winners of the Huo Yingdong Education Foundation Teaching Award, 1 Distinguished Agricultural Research Talent of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 1 Most Beautiful Teacher of Qilu, 2 Top Ten Excellent Teachers of Shandong Province, 3 Provincial Distinguished Teachers of Shandong, 2 Distinguished Young and Middle-aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions in Shandong Province, and 5 team experts of Shandong Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System Innovation Teams. It hosts a Yangtze Scholars Innovation Team accredited by the Ministry of Education and an Excellent Provincial Innovation Team of Shandong, as well as a Model Party Branch for Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation in universities recognized by the Ministry of Education. Many faculty members have been awarded the First and Second Class Prizes of the University Excellent Teaching Quality Award and the honor of Top Ten Favorite Teachers among students.

Three undergraduate majors are available: Horticulture, Protected Agriculture Science and Engineering, and Tea Science. Horticulture is a National First-Class Undergraduate Major, rated A++ nationwide from 2002 to 2005, and designated one of the second batch of National Featured Majors of Higher Education in 2007. The teaching team for the Horticulture undergraduate program is a Provincial Excellent Teaching Team. The course General Horticulture is honored as both a National Quality Course and a National Quality Resource Sharing Course. The college independently developed and launched China’s first MOOC platform for Pomology among agricultural and forestry universities nationwide.

The college runs a Postdoctoral Research Station. Horticulture is authorized as a first-level discipline for doctoral degree conferral, covering five second-level disciplines offering doctoral and master’s programs: Pomology, Vegetable Science, Tea Science, Ornamental Horticulture, and Protected Horticulture. Horticulture is a Provincial First-Class Discipline, a Provincial Advantage & Characteristic Discipline, and a Category B Potential Discipline under Shandong’s Provincial First-Class Discipline Development Program “811”. It was graded B+ in the 5th Round of China’s Discipline Evaluation organized by the Ministry of Education and selected into the Ministry’s key support plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Pomology is a National Key Discipline, and Vegetable Science a Provincial Key Discipline.

The college operates a full array of national, ministerial and provincial research platforms: National Engineering Research Center for Apple Industry; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crop Biology and Germplasm Creation in Huanghuai Region of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Scientific Observation and Experiment Station for Protected Agricultural Engineering in Huanghuaihai Plain of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Shandong Apple Technology Innovation Center; Provincial Key Laboratory of Pomology Biology of Shandong; Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for High-quality and Efficient Production of Fruits and Vegetables; Shandong Sino-Japanese Joint Research Center for Protected Horticulture; Shandong Sino-Japanese-Korean Joint Research Center for Chrysanthemums; Shandong University Laboratory for Stress and Quality Biology of Horticultural Crops; Yellow River Basin Collaborative Innovation Center for Protected Horticulture; Shandong Engineering Research Center for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops; and Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Fruits and Vegetables.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, faculty of the college have undertaken over 300 research projects above provincial and ministerial levels, including the National Key R&D Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shandong Provincial Key R&D Program and Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, with total approved funding exceeding 300 million RMB. Major research awards include 1 Second Prize of the National Technological Invention Award, 3 First Prizes and 3 Second Prizes of Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 National Innovation Pioneer Award. Faculty have compiled and participated in compiling 14 national unified textbooks and textbooks for the 21st Century series, claimed 3 teaching achievement awards including the Special Prize of Shandong Provincial Teaching Achievement Award, obtained 86 authorized patents, and approved 7 new horticultural crop varieties. More than 764 academic papers have been published, among which 5 appear in top journals including Nature, Science and Cell. Seven technological achievements have been listed in the Recommended Technologies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The commercialization of research outcomes has generated remarkable social and economic benefits and made tremendous contributions to the development of horticultural industry in Shandong Province and the whole country.

Supported by Shandong’s Provincial First-Class Discipline Development Program “811”, the professional matching program for transformation of old and new growth drivers, provincial advantage & characteristic discipline funds, discount interest loans and equipment renewal projects, the Horticulture Experimental Teaching Center has purchased a large number of world-class instruments and equipment. The center now holds 5,756 sets of instruments and equipment with a total value of 130 million RMB. Its teaching facilities have been continuously upgraded with sophisticated equipment and expanded functional capacity, greatly elevating the quality and standard of practical teaching. In 2024, it was officially accredited as a Shandong Provincial Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for General Institutions of Higher Education.

The center has assembled a cohort of core experimental teaching instructors and administrators with advanced educational concepts, strong teaching and research capabilities and rich practical experience. It has 127 full-time and part-time staff. Outstanding faculty represented by 35 high-level talents including Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Yangtze Scholars and national/provincial distinguished talents actively engage in experimental teaching, advancing the reform of a practical teaching system that feeds frontline instruction with top-tier scientific research achievements, and contributing horticultural expertise to the comprehensive improvement of talent cultivation quality. The Horticulture Teaching and Experimental Station covers an area of around 150 mu, with 30 solar greenhouses and nearly 400 rare germplasm resources of fruits, vegetables, flowers and tea plants, providing excellent conditions for teaching and scientific research.

The college maintains close cooperative ties with numerous overseas institutions: in the U.S., University of Kentucky, Cornell University, University of Wisconsin, Oregon State University; in Japan, Chiba University, Osaka Prefecture University, Shizuoka University, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science; Angers Institute of Agriculture in France; Potato Research Center of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; in South Korea, Seoul National University, Kongju National University, Gyeongsang National University; and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited. Such extensive international exchanges have elevated research standards and talent training quality, driving sound and rapid development of the horticulture discipline.