The College of Forestry, Shandong Agricultural University boasts a century-long educational history, tracing its origins back to the Forestry and Sericulture Sections of Shandong Higher Agricultural School founded in 1906. The Department of Forestry of Shandong Agricultural College was formally established in 1947. During the national institutional restructuring of higher education in 1952, the Department of Forestry of Shandong Agricultural College was founded. In 1993, the department was upgraded to a college, officially inaugurating the College of Forestry of Shandong Agricultural University.

Over the past century, the college has evolved into a specialized training base for forestry talents featuring a complete education system, well-structured disciplines and majors, extensive innovation platforms and robust research capacity. At present, the college has 1,745 full-time students on campus, including 1,368 undergraduates and 377 postgraduates. It comprises five departments: Forestry, Sericulture, Landscape Architecture, Soil and Water Conservation, and Landscape Design. The college offers eight undergraduate majors, two postdoctoral research stations, two first-level discipline doctoral programs, three first-level academic master’s programs and two professional master’s programs.

Its resources cover one national-level teaching team, one National First-Class Undergraduate Major, one Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Major, one National Featured Major, one Key Discipline designated by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, three Provincial Key Disciplines, one undergraduate experimental teaching center, one comprehensive forestry experimental base, one off-campus practical education base for university students accredited by the Ministry of Education, one national-level agriculture-science-education collaborative talent training base, and 22 off-campus teaching and research bases. Three courses are listed as Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Courses and seven as Provincial Quality Courses. Multiple research platforms have been built, including the Taishan Forest Ecosystem Research Station of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in the Lower Yellow River under the State Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Sericulture is a National Featured Major, and the teaching team for silkworm pathology is a national-level teaching team. Forestry is recognized as a Key Discipline of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, while Forest Cultivation, Ornamental Plants and Horticulture, and Soil and Water Conservation & Desertification Combating are three Provincial Key Disciplines.

As of 2025, the college has 124 faculty and staff members, among whom 102 are full-time teachers, including 23 professors, 42 associate professors and 19 doctoral supervisors as well as 63 master’s supervisors; 89 teachers hold doctoral degrees. The faculty includes 5 visiting professors and 6 adjunct (guest) professors. High-level talents include 1 Young Top-notch Talent under the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, 2 Young Taishan Scholars, 2 Scientific and Technological Innovation Leading Talents and 1 Young Top-notch Talent of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, 2 National Distinguished Teachers in Forestry Education, 3 experts entitled to special government allowances from the State Council, and 1 Distinguished Young and Middle-aged Expert of Shandong Province.

The college prioritizes scientific research and has achieved steady improvements in innovation capacity. It has won 1 National Science Conference Award, 2 Second Prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and 1 Third Prize of the National Technological Invention Award. In the past five years, faculty have undertaken 212 research projects at all levels, including 20 national projects and 69 provincial and ministerial projects, with total approved funding reaching 75.1868 million RMB. The college independently secured 2 research awards such as the Second Prize of the Liang Xi Forestry Science and Technology Progress Award, and participated in winning 14 honors including the First Prize of the Higher Education Science and Technology Progress Award from the Ministry of Education. Researchers have published 701 papers, 280 of which are SCI-indexed, compiled 25 monographs, and obtained 46 authorized patents. A total of 36 new plant varieties and improved strains have been authorized or bred, alongside the formulation of 27 standards at various administrative levels.

Ten research achievements, patents and new plant varieties have been commercialized, represented by the silkworm variety Qingfeng × Zhengguang and its matched artificial feed production technology, generating a total transformation revenue of 6.23 million RMB, with a single highest transaction value of 3 million RMB.

Upholding an open-running strategy, the college’s academic influence keeps expanding. It has actively coordinated with the university to facilitate the joint construction of Shandong Agricultural University by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and Shandong Provincial Government. Long-term exchanges have been maintained with the University of Cumbria in the United Kingdom to advance joint student training programs. Outstanding faculty members are sent overseas for academic visits and further studies. Meanwhile, the college deepens exchanges and cooperation with domestic peer universities, administrative authorities and research institutions. By drawing on advanced experience from world-class universities, the college strives to boost its internationalization, advance disciplinary and major development, and create further study opportunities for its students.

Adhering to the educational philosophy of Studying Forestry, Loving Forestry; Cultivating Trees, Cultivating Talents, the college attaches great importance to fostering students’ comprehensive quality including ideological literacy, innovative capability, practical and applied skills. By 2025, the college has cultivated more than 10,000 outstanding professionals including junior college students, undergraduates and postgraduates. Its alumni are actively engaged in national teaching and research institutions, technology extension agencies, enterprises, Party and government administrative departments and other sectors, making remarkable contributions to China’s economic and social development as well as forestry and ecological environmental construction.