The College of Resources and Environment is one of the earliest-established faculties of Shandong Agricultural University. Its origin dates back to the Soil and Fertilizer Program launched by Shandong Provincial Jinan Vocational School of Agriculture in 1946. In 1948, the school merged into Shandong Provincial College of Agriculture, which founded the Department of Agrochemistry and began enrolling undergraduate students majoring in agrochemistry. The Department of Agrochemistry was dissolved in October 1994, and the College of Resources and Environment was formally established. Over more than 70 years of inheritance and development, the college has grown into a comprehensive faculty boasting a first-class discipline doctoral program, a postdoctoral research station, national-level engineering laboratories, national engineering technology research centers, and national first-class undergraduate majors. It covers multiple disciplines including agronomy, science, management and engineering, and delivers a multi-tiered talent training system spanning undergraduate, master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral education.

The college hosts a Postdoctoral Research Station in Agricultural Resources and Environment, a first-level discipline doctoral program in Agricultural Resources and Environment, and three second-level discipline doctoral programs in Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Science, and Land Resource Science. It offers four first-level academic master’s programs: Agricultural Resources and Environment, Environmental Science and Engineering, Public Administration (Land Resource Management), and Surveying and Mapping Science and Technology. Four professional master’s programs are also available: Resource Utilization and Plant Protection, Agricultural Engineering and Information Technology, Resources and Environment (Environmental Engineering), and Public Administration. In the Discipline Evaluation organized by the China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Development Center, Agricultural Resources and Environment ranks among the top tier of its kind nationwide.

Seven regular undergraduate programs and one Sino-British cooperative undergraduate program are offered: Agricultural Resources and Environment, Land Resource Management, Geographic Information Science, Land Consolidation Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Ecological Engineering, and Sino-British Land Resource Management. Among them, Agricultural Resources and Environment is a National Featured Major, National First-Class Undergraduate Major and Shandong Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Major; Land Resource Management is a Shandong Provincial and National First-Class Undergraduate Major. The Sino-British Land Resource Management Program is the only Sino-foreign cooperative program at Shandong Agricultural University that awards dual Chinese and British degrees. All other undergraduate programs are university-level featured majors.

The undergraduate employment rate of the college has consistently exceeded 95% over the years, with the postgraduate admission rate above 40%. More than 16,000 professionals have been cultivated for society. Graduates are recruited by national, provincial, municipal and county administrative authorities, ministries, departments and bureaus of agriculture and rural affairs, natural resources, ecology and environment, agricultural and environmental research institutes at all levels, as well as large and medium-sized enterprises, serving as core backbones in administrative management and technical posts.

The college houses the National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, National Engineering Research Center for Slow and Controlled Release Fertilizers, one of China’s first National Demonstration Bases for Postgraduate Practical Education of Agricultural Professional Masters, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment in Universities, Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Agricultural Pollution Control, and Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Controlled Release Fertilizers.

The college currently has 103 faculty and staff members, including 79 full-time teachers, 11 laboratory technicians, and 13 administrative and student management staff. Among full-time teachers are 25 professors, 37 associate professors and 17 lecturers, 73 of whom hold doctoral degrees. The faculty includes 3 national-level talents selected into the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, 5 provincial-level talents such as Taishan Scholars Distinguished Professors, Industrial Leading Talents and Young Taishan Scholars, 1 member of the National Teaching Steering Committee, and 4 members of Provincial Teaching Steering Committees. Many faculty members have been honored as National Model Workers, Distinguished Young and Middle-aged Experts of Shandong Province, Outstanding Inventors of Shandong Province and other prestigious titles.

In the past five years, the college has undertaken 245 research projects with a total funding of 123 million RMB. Research achievements include 1 Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 First Prize and 3 Third Prizes of Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. Faculty have published over 700 academic papers, more than 270 of which are indexed in SCI, alongside 39 monographs. Researchers have formulated 3 national industrial standards, 22 Shandong provincial local standards, and led the formulation of 1 ISO international standard, and obtained over 60 national invention patents.

Distinctive Features of the College

1. Long-established College-running Heritage

Founded in 1948 as the Department of Agrochemistry, the college boasts a development history of over 70 years and ranks among the oldest faculties of the university. Upholding the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education, the college commits itself to cultivating high-caliber talents, innovating agricultural science and technology, serving social development and inheriting fine culture. Guided by its college motto — Uphold morality and integrity, prioritize talent cultivation, pursue rigorous scholarship, and advance through innovation, it has developed a four-in-one talent cultivation model integrating university, society, family and students. Through generations of dedicated educators, the college has nurtured more than 16,000 outstanding professionals represented by Academician Zhu Zhaoliang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Academician Tang Keli of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences.

2. Comprehensive Discipline and Major System

Centered on resources and environment disciplines, the college runs a postdoctoral station in agricultural resource utilization, a first-level doctoral program in agricultural resources and environment, three second-level doctoral programs, eight academic master’s programs and four professional master’s programs. It delivers seven regular undergraduate majors plus one Sino-British cooperative undergraduate major covering agronomy, science, engineering, management and other disciplinary categories.

3. Emphasis on Practical Teaching and Hands-on Competence Training

A 400-square-meter Qise Tu (Seven-Colored Soil) Maker Space for university students has been built. Discipline-based innovation and entrepreneurship studios and a provincial-level distinguished counselor studio have been set up, alongside over 30 on-campus and off-campus practical education bases. A tiered and categorized practical education guidance system covering innovation and entrepreneurship navigation, volunteer service guidance and social service outreach has been established to provide every student with platforms and opportunities for personal growth.

Students are encouraged to participate in the National College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, university SRT (Student Research Training) projects, innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, and faculty research programs. Professional instructors are assigned to offer systematic training on professional skills and project guidance, strengthening students’ innovative, entrepreneurial and practical capabilities.

Core Advantages of the College

1. High-caliber Faculty Team

The college employs 79 full-time teachers: 25 professors, 37 associate professors and 17 lecturers, with 73 holding doctoral degrees, accounting for over 92% of all full-time teachers. The faculty pool features abundant national and provincial high-level talents: 3 recipients of national talent schemes including the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, 5 provincial talents such as Taishan Scholars, 1 national teaching steering committee member, 4 provincial teaching steering committee members, 1 Distinguished Teacher of Shandong Province, and 3 overseas distinguished visiting professors, providing solid faculty support for student development.

2. Strong Scientific Research Capability

Over the past five years, 245 research projects have been secured with total funding of 123 million RMB. Major awards include 1 Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 First Prize and 3 Third Prizes of Shandong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 Excellence Award of China Patent Award, 1 First Prize, 1 Excellence Award and 2 Outstanding Invention Awards of Shandong Provincial Invention and Entrepreneurship Award, and 1 Gold Medal of Shandong Provincial Patent Award. Faculty have published more than 700 papers (over 270 SCI-indexed), released 39 monographs, drafted 3 national industrial standards and 22 Shandong local standards, led the formulation of 1 ISO international standard, and acquired over 60 national patents, laying a solid foundation for students to participate in high-level research projects.

3. High-level and Abundant Innovation Platforms

The college operates a suite of top-tier research platforms: the National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, National Engineering Research Center for Slow and Controlled Release Fertilizers, one of the first National Demonstration Bases for Agricultural Professional Master Practical Education, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment, Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Agricultural Pollution Control, and Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Controlled Release Fertilizers, offering high-end platforms for students’ practical innovation activities.

4. Excellent Talent Cultivation Quality and High Employment Rate

Student management work centers on student growth, takes academic ethos development as the main thread, educational administration and student counseling as dual pillars, and features gratitude education and practical education. The four-in-one collaborative education model linking university, society, family and students has been fully implemented. The college’s long-term undergraduate employment rate remains above 95%, and postgraduate admission rate exceeds 40%. A cohort of outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship role models has emerged, such as Liu Jun, champion of the Win in Jiangxi Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (whose deeds were fully covered by the Get Rich program on CCTV Agriculture Channel), and Liu Bei, a provincial model graduate entrepreneur in Jinan.

Main Research Fields

Agricultural resource management and utilization; research, development and application of novel fertilizers; monitoring and analysis of resources and environment; soil improvement and fertility building; remediation and safe utilization of contaminated soil; environmental quality assessment, planning and management; treatment of wastewater, waste gas and solid waste; planning and design of environmental ecological engineering; land resource survey and evaluation; land consolidation, planning and utilization; digital land and information technology; land asset operation and management; turf establishment and maintenance; forage production, processing and utilization.