The Party Committee and administrative authorities of Shandong Agricultural University have always attached great importance to the research and education of Marxist theory.The Marxist-Leninist Teaching and Research Section was established in October 1952, which was restructured into the Department of Social Sciences in March 1988. In August 1999, the department was abolished and the College of Arts and Law was founded. In July 2000, the Department of Social Sciences of Shandong Hydraulic Engineering College was incorporated into the College of Arts and Law. In July 2007, the Political Teaching and Research Section under the Basic Courses Department of the College of Science and Technology of Shandong Agricultural University (formerly Shandong Forestry School) merged into it, forming a new College of Arts and Law. In accordance with the spirit of relevant documents issued by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Education, the university issued an official document to set up the College of Marxism in March 2011. In June of the same year, relying on the Teaching Division of Marxist Theory and the Teaching Division of Ideological and Political Education of the College of Arts and Law, the College of Marxism was officially inaugurated. The College of Marxism takes charge of uniformly offering ideological and political theory courses for the whole university, administering all teachers of such courses, and overseeing the disciplinary development of Marxist theory.The college was authorized to grant secondary master’s degrees in Basic Principles of Marxism in 2006, and first-tier master’s degrees in Marxist Theory in 2011. It was successively accredited as a Key College of Marxism of Shandong Province in 2016 and 2023.In 2024, the undergraduate major in Marxist Theory was filed with and approved by the Ministry of Education and opened for student enrollment.

The College of Marxism has 106 faculty members, including 98 full-time teachers. Among full-time teachers, there are 9 professors, 4 university-appointed professors and 41 associate professors; 53 teachers hold master’s degrees and 44 hold doctoral degrees; 21 are master’s supervisors.

The college consists of seven Teaching and Research Divisions: Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Basic Principles of Marxism, Morality and the Rule of Law, A Brief History of Modern and Contemporary China, An Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Current Affairs and Policies, and Postgraduate Ideological and Political Courses. It boasts three research teams: the Research Team on Marxism and Agricultural Ecological Civilization, the Research Team on Theories and Practical Innovation of Ideological and Political Education, and the Research Team on Socialist Rural Culture with Chinese Characteristics. The college hosts two research bases: the Tai’an Social Science Research Base for Agricultural Ecological Civilization and the Theoretical Research Base for United Front Work of Shandong Universities (co-built by the university and the college).

The college holds the first-tier master’s degree authorization discipline of Marxist Theory, covering four secondary disciplines: Basic Principles of Marxism, Sinicization of Marxism, Ideological and Political Education, and Basic Issues in Modern and Contemporary Chinese History.

On the one hand, the College of Marxism undertakes teaching ideological and political theory courses and some elective humanities courses for all undergraduates and postgraduates across the university, and participates in mental health education and counseling for college students, serving as an ideological guide and spiritual pillar for the university’s talent cultivation. On the other hand, it cultivates high-quality professional talents with systematic expertise and practical capabilities, global vision and public awareness of serving society, who can apply Marxist theory to the modernization practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The college earnestly implements the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important statements on education, integrates Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the whole process of teaching and research, and translates it into clear theoretical awareness, firm political convictions and scientific thinking methods. It further refines disciplinary and academic research orientations, innovates talent training models, and improves the teaching effectiveness of ideological and political theory courses, staying true to its original aspiration and forging ahead amid leapfrog development!