The School of Geography and Ocean Science of Minjiang University traces its origin to the Department of Geography of Fuzhou Normal College founded in 1958. During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, it proactively aligned with the development needs of Digital Fujian and launched the Surveying Engineering major. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, responding actively to the national marine power strategy, it successively established Marine Resources and Environment and Marine Technology majors. In 2021, the School was officially established to optimize disciplinary layout. After more than 60 years of development, the School has cultivated a large number of outstanding applied talents in geography, surveying and mapping, marine science and other fields, making important contributions to regional economic construction and social development.
In 2025, the School was awarded the title of Advanced Collective of Fuzhou Education System. It hosts one National Model Party Branch for Party Building Work. The School offers seven undergraduate majors: Human Geography and Urban-Rural Planning, Geographic Information Science, Surveying Engineering, Navigation Engineering, Geography (Teacher Education), Marine Resources and Environment, and Marine Technology, including three Provincial First-class Undergraduate Majors. It has built a master’s degree cultivation point in Resources and Environment and been approved as a Fujian Provincial Doctoral Degree Cultivation Discipline. The School owns four provincial and ministerial research platforms, one provincial industry-linked specialty cluster, one provincial characteristic major, one provincial university characteristic major serving local industries, two provincial comprehensive reform pilot majors for undergraduate programs, and one provincial innovative experimental zone for talent cultivation mode.
The School currently has 1,188 full-time undergraduate students and 96 full-time teachers. Among full-time faculty, teachers with senior professional titles account for 58.3%, double-qualified and double-competent teachers account for 62.5%, teachers with doctoral degrees account for 90.6%, and there are 39 postgraduate supervisors. The faculty includes 1 national-level talent, 2 provincial scientific and technological innovation teams, and 48 provincial-level talents.
Adhering to teaching as the central task, the School deepens education and teaching reform. Through innovative measures such as promoting teaching through competitions, it continuously improves teachers’ teaching ability and the quality of talent cultivation. In the past five years, faculty members have won 1 First Prize in the National University Teachers’ Teaching Innovation Competition, 1 First Prize and 2 Second Prizes in Fujian Provincial University Teachers’ Teaching Innovation Competition, and 2 First Prizes in Fujian Provincial University Young Teachers’ Teaching Competition. It has been approved for 2 Provincial First-class Courses, 2 Provincial Demonstrative Curriculum Ideological and Political Courses, and 2 Provincial Education and Teaching Reform Research Projects, and participated in applying for and winning 2 Second Prizes of National Teaching Achievement Awards.
In the past five years, students have won 84 national awards and 72 provincial awards in high-level competitions including the National University Students Life Science Competition (Scientific Inquiry Category) and National University Students Surveying and Mapping Discipline Innovation and Entrepreneurship Intelligent Competition. A total of 15 national and 23 provincial college students’ innovation and entrepreneurship training program projects have been approved. The average annual graduate employment rate exceeds 95%, and the average postgraduate admission rate reaches 14%. More than 150 graduates have pursued further studies at well-known domestic and foreign universities and research institutes including the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Tianjin University, University of Birmingham and University of Leeds. The School has jointly cultivated more than 200 master and doctoral students in total.
Closely aligning with the strategic demands of Fujian Marine Power Province and Digital Fujian, the School serves local development through scientific and technological innovation. In the past five years, it has undertaken 21 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 83 provincial projects and more than 200 horizontal projects, with total received research funds of nearly 90 million yuan. It has won 2 Fujian Provincial Scientific and Technological Progress Awards, published more than 510 scientific papers (including over 280 SCI-indexed papers) as the first or corresponding author, obtained more than 120 intellectual property rights including invention patents, utility model patents and software copyrights, published 15 academic monographs and formulated 6 standards. It has completed 48 scientific research achievement transformations, appointed 237 person-times and 32 teams of science and technology commissioners, strongly supporting local industrial development.
Adhering to the fundamental task of moral education, the School carries out the Seven-Hundred College Students Growth Plan and the Five-Education Initiative of Minjiang University, and builds distinctive youth league and student brands including the Little Blue Star Volunteer Service Project, Hundred Towns and Hundred Villages Social Practice Project, and the New Splendor of Fujian Mountains and Rivers Special Educational Activity. In the past five years, it has won 3 national awards and 7 provincial awards in social practice activities. The Little Blue Star Volunteer Service Project won the Bronze Award in Fujian Provincial Volunteer Service Competition. The Rural Planning Investigation and Hand-drawn Works of New Beautiful Countryside under the theme New Splendor of Fujian Mountains and Rivers was rated as Fujian Provincial Excellent Original Cultural Project by Fujian Provincial Department of Education in 2023, and some works were included in the 2023 Minjiang University Special Issue of People’s Pictorial. The grand ideological and political project Visiting Blessed Land of Fujian to Understand Great Changes was rated as Excellent Ideological and Political Project of the Ministry of Education and Fujian Provincial Excellent Ideological and Political Project in 2025. The School has been rated as Fuzhou May Fourth Red Flag League Committee twice, and has won the titles of Advanced Unit for Sunshine Sports, Excellent Organization Unit for Social Practice and May Fourth Red Flag League Committee of the university for six consecutive years.
