Founded on January 10, 1997, Guangdong Ocean University (GDOU) is a comprehensive, teaching and research university strongly supported as a keystone by the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the People's Republic of China. It has a relatively long history, during which the former 63-year-old Fisheries College and the 39-year-old Agricultural Academy of Zhanjiang were substantially combined into Zhanjiang Ocean University which, in December 2001, incorporated Zhanjiang Meteorology School and was renamed Guangdong Ocean University on June 15, 2005 on the authority of the Education Ministry of the People's Republic of China. On further retrospection, the university began to operate as a higher vocational school of fisheries established by Guangdong Province in Shantou in 1935, which is known as the cradle of Guangdong Province's marine fisheries education. After several metastases, the school developed into Zhanjiang Fisheries College directly affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture.

    After the incorporations, the university has taken the golden chance to carry out various reforms and innovations which have resulted in its rapid development. In 1998, it gained the authority to grant master degrees and to enroll international students. In 1999, it passed the Undergraduate Programs Quality Evaluation by the Education Ministry of China. In 2000, it became a university with over 10,000 current native and international students. In 2003, it went through the examination and authentication of the National Maritime Bureau on the nautical education and training quality system. Now it has developed into a comprehensive ocean university with 22,600 full-time students. Featured by ocean sciences, the multi-disciplinary university boasts liberal arts, science, engineering, agriculture, economics, management, law, teacher training, and other academic disciplines. It aims to chiefly develop undergraduate education and actively expand graduate education, highlighting applied sciences and properly promoting theoretical studies.

    Located in Zhanjiang, one of the 14 inshore cities which initiated reform and opening to the outside world in 1984, GDOU consists of four campuses, which covers a total area of approximately 345 hectares. The main campus stands by the Huguangyan Resort, a world famous global geological park in the western suburb of the city. It is scenic and evergreen, with hills behind and the sea far ahead. The other campuses are Xiashan Campus, Haibin Campus and Cunjin Campus, which are situated in the urban city.

    GDOU has 18 faculties including Fisheries, Agriculture, Engineering, Foodstuff Technology, Economic Management, Navigation, Information Technology, Software Technology, Science, Liberal Arts, Law, Art, Foreign Studies, Politics and Executive Studies, Continuous Education, Professional Education, and Independent Cunjin College. The university runs 56 undergraduate (bachelor) programs, 29 certificate or diploma programs, and 14 graduate (master) programs. There are 4 key disciplines provincially supported and sponsored, and 5 big name specialties of Guangdong Province.

    The teaching, scientific research and living conditions of the university have been improving continuously. Now it has all the necessary facilities like lecture buildings, science buildings, libraries, museums, dormitories, air-conditioning dining halls, cultural plaza, playgrounds, swimming pools and others. It has a building area of 720,000 square meters, and a library collection of 1.5 million volumes. The value of facilities for teaching and research is approaching 135 million RMB, and the worth of fixed assets is about 1,000 million RMB. There are over 40 laboratories, of which the modern biochemistry lab, the marine medication research and development lab, the computer network technique lab (IT lab), the etiology and epidemiology lab for aquatic economic animals, and the computer control and communication lab are key provincial-level labs. It has an aquatic museum and other inside and outside bases for teaching, research, fieldwork and practice. There are 34 scientific research organizations, including the marine life institute, the agricultural biotechnology institute, the ocean economy institute, the marine culture institute, the electromechanical engineering institute, the information technology institute, the marine foodstuff institute, the WTO center, and the pearl institute which is the only one among universities in China. There are also research institutes and training bases set up in the university by Guangdong Province, such as the marine development research center, the leaders training base for the coastal towns and counties of Guangdong Province, and the provincial model base for ocean development through science and technology.

    The university has a total staff of 2,121, of which 1,137 are full-time teachers, among which over 500 are professors or associate professors, over 450 are lecturers, and more than 500 have a doctorial degree or a master degree. After a long operation, the university has developed a good tradition of “diligence, practical-mindedness, devotion and innovation”, emphasizing applied studies and scientific popularization.

    The university is always centered upon teaching, taking the update of educational philosophy as the top priority, and simultaneously engaging itself in teaching promotion and reform. Meanwhile, it has been working hard to optimize the discipline structure, strengthen the program design and development, and execute quality education. Thus the quality of its education is still getting higher steadily, despite a rapid increase in enrollment scale. In the past 70 years, the university has graduated more than 66,000 students of all levels. Last year, the employment ratio for the undergraduates was 97.4%, higher than the average of the Province.

    Much progress has been made in scientific research, and the academic level continues to rise.  At present, the university has successfully applied for 450 research projects of all kinds, of which 20 are state-level programs funded by the National Ocean Plan 863 or the National Natural Science Fund, 81 are funded by the province or ministry. In addition, the university has its own enterprises like the shipping company, the pearl company, the fishing net factory, the purified water plant, the poultry breeding center, etc. The combination of research and production has given rise to a world of scientific and technological achievements, gaining tremendous economic and social interest.

    GDOU has respectively signed a joint education agreement with the other two ocean universities in China—China Ocean University and Taiwan Marine University. It has also established academic relationships with the universities in Europe, the United States, Japan, Australia, and other countries or regions. And the university has engaged a large number of famous scholars at home and abroad as honorary, visiting or part-time professors.