The College of Agronomy shares the same origin and development trajectory with Shandong Agricultural University, tracing its roots back to 1906 with a history of 118 years. In 1952, the national restructuring of higher education institutions led to the founding of Shandong Agricultural College, which established the Department of Agronomy. On December 12, 2000, the College of Agronomy of Shandong Agricultural University was founded on the basis of the original Department of Agronomy. The college now comprises three departments, two centers and one experimental station: the Department of Plant Science and Information, the Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, the Department of Seed Science and Engineering, the Crop Science Research Laboratory Center, the Crop Science Teaching Experiment Center, and the Agronomy Experimental Station.

Faculty Team

The college has 143 faculty and staff members, including 110 full-time teachers (46 professors, 49 associate professors and 15 lecturers). It boasts 13 national-level talents such as Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, recipients of the National Ten-Thousand Talents Program, Distinguished Yangtze River Scholars, Young Yangtze River Scholars and Outstanding Young Scientists of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, as well as 45 provincial and ministerial-level talents including Taishan Scholars and Outstanding Young Scientists of Shandong Province. In addition, 13 foreign academicians and domestic and overseas leading experts have been signed as distinguished researchers. The college has been awarded the Huang Danian-style Teacher Team at both national and provincial university levels and the Collective Medal of the China May 4th Youth Medal. It has formed a well-structured faculty echelon led by academicians with clear talent tiers.

Teaching & Research Platforms

The college runs 19 national, ministerial and provincial-level research and teaching platforms, including the National Key Laboratory of Wheat Breeding, the Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Farming under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory for Efficient Production of Food Crops. It has jointly built industrial research institutes for wheat, corn and soybean with local governments and enterprises such as Denghai Seeds to continuously upgrade its scientific and technological innovation platforms. More than 40 teaching, research and practice bases have been established across Shandong Province. Crop Science has been designated a Peak Discipline of Shandong Province, rated A- in the 5th round of China Discipline Evaluation, marking a breakthrough as the first A-class discipline among provincial universities. It was listed as a key discipline under the 14th Five-Year Plan by the Ministry of Education in 2023 and a Class A discipline with great potential under Shandong’s Top Discipline Development Program 811. As of March 2025, Agricultural Science ranks among the top 0.795‰ globally in the ESI rankings. In the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject, Agriculture & Forestry ranks 82nd worldwide. The discipline of Agronomy was ranked 30th in the 2023 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects and 5th nationwide in the 2024 Chinese University Discipline Strength Ranking by the Chinese Alumni Association Network.

Scientific & Technological Innovation and Social Services

Over the past five years, faculty have presided over 263 national, provincial and ministerial research projects including National Key R&D Programs and Key Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, with total research funding reaching nearly 300 million RMB. They have won 2 Second Prizes of the National Award for Progress in Science and Technology and 10 provincial and ministerial awards including the First Prize of Shandong Natural Science Award and Shandong Science and Technology Progress Award. A total of 670 papers have been published in top international journals including Science, among which 491 are indexed by SCI. Researchers have obtained 73 authorized invention patents, registered and approved 67 new crop varieties, formulated 41 industrial and local standards, and developed 17 core promoted technologies. 221 contracts for achievement transformation, technology development and technical services have been signed, worth a total of 52.418 million RMB, including 69 licensing contracts for new crop varieties (38.12 million RMB) and 10 patent transformation contracts (3.745 million RMB). Since the reform and opening-up, the college has claimed 14 national-level teaching and research achievement awards. Sixty-seven faculty members have received honorary titles such as the Commemorative Medal for the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China, National Outstanding Agricultural Scientists for Food Production, National Excellent Communist Party Member, Model Figures of Qilu, Most Outstanding Scientific Workers of Qilu and Most Excellent Teachers of Qilu.

Talent Cultivation

The college hosts a Postdoctoral Research Station for Crop Science, a First-Class Discipline Doctoral Program in Crop Science, a Professional Doctoral Program in Agriculture (Crops and Seed Industry), a First-Class Discipline Master’s Program in Crop Science, and a Professional Master’s Program in Agronomy and Seed Industry. Four undergraduate majors are offered: Agronomy, Plant Science and Technology, Seed Science and Engineering, and Chinese Medicinal Resources Development. Among them, Agronomy and Plant Science and Technology are national characteristic majors; Agronomy and Seed Science and Engineering are national first-class undergraduate majors under construction, while Plant Science and Technology is a provincial first-class undergraduate major under construction. Four elite innovative talent training models have been developed: the integrated undergraduate-postgraduate Outstanding Engineer Program for Biological Breeding, industrial research institutes, the Revitalization Elite Program, and Science & Technology Backyards. Two teaching research achievements pioneered by the college — Building a Three-in-One Teaching System Integrating Teaching, Research and Production to Meet the Needs of Economic Construction and Research and Practice on the Talent Training Program for Plant Production Disciplines — won the Special Prize and First Prize of the National Teaching Achievement Award respectively. The college currently has 1,994 full-time students: 127 doctoral students, 502 master’s students and 1,365 undergraduates. It has cultivated more than 17,000 outstanding alumni, including seven academicians represented by Li Zhensheng, recipient of the Medal of the Republic and the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award. Nearly 30% of graduates work at the grassroots level to safeguard national food security and advance rural revitalization. In the past five years, the college has been awarded one Most Beautiful Science & Technology Backyard by the China Agro-Technology Extension Association, 10 outstanding practice teams in the National Joint Practice Program for Agricultural Students, 29 National Scholarship recipients, and one outstanding micro-video in the Ministry of Education’s 2024 Understanding China campaign. The undergraduate further study rate exceeds 60%, and students have won five national gold awards in competitions including Chuang Youth, Internet+ and the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition.

International Cooperation and Exchange

The college jointly established the CIMMYT-Shandong Wheat and Maize Research Center with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). It has built cooperative ties with more than 30 overseas universities, research institutes and organizations including the University of California, Davis, Washington State University and Murdoch University. Regular international exchanges for faculty and students have continuously lifted the college’s global reputation and influence.