Undergraduates at Guangdong Ocean University fulfill general education requirements, choose among a wide variety of elective courses, and pursue departmental concentrations and interdisciplinary certificate programs.

    GDOU offers two undergraduate bachelor's degrees in general: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.S.), and eight in particular: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.S.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E), Bachelor of Arts in Management (B.A.M), Bachelor of Arts in Economics (B.A.E.), Bachelor of Arts in Law (B.A.L.), and Bachelor of Arts in Education (B.A.E). Within these degree programs, students can choose from among 56 fields of concentration (commonly called “majors”). There are also more than 15 special interdisciplinary or interdepartmental programs that offer students wide-ranging opportunities to extend their academic interests. (For instance, an aquiculture major may also earn a certificate in the English language study.) Students may also apply for an independent concentration outside existing programs. Undergraduates may also change their majors or interdepartmental programs during their freshman and sophomore years.

    Freshmen and sophomores in all the programs, as indicated above, normally complete their required and selective courses by the beginning of the junior year. In the final two years, students continue to pursue coursework but also engage seriously in independent study in a specific field or interdepartmental program.

    Independent work for undergraduates is the hallmark of a GDOU education. All Bachelor Degree students must complete a junior paper or project and a senior thesis. Almost every student completes a senior thesis or a substantial independent research project. Independent work is conducted under the mentorship of a faculty member.

    In addition, all bachelor students must satisfy the writing requirement by taking a one-semester writing seminar in the freshman year. And they must demonstrate proficiency in the English language and the Chinese language. For the B.S. degree, the courses of study encompass a broad sweep of sciences and include in its program a number of courses in the social sciences and the humanities.

 


    An academic year runs from early September to early July, consisting of two semesters (fall and spring), with exam periods in January or early February and June or early July. A normal course load is eight courses per semester, although many students take additional courses.