Introduction

The College of Plant Science, formerly known as the Department of Agricultural and Sideline Production of Quartermaster University of PLA, was established in 2004. With the resources of Jilin University as a comprehensive university, the College has formed a talent cultivation model distinctive to the region and the industry through years of practice in the revitalization of Northeast China and the rural areas. Keeping abreast of the development of new agricultural sciences, the College practices the philosophy of “enriching students cultural literacy, broadening their horizons, providing them with a solid foundation of agricultural sciences, improving their practical skills, and cultivating their innovation ability”. As a result, it has achieved a series of tangible results in talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, cultural inheritance and poverty alleviation by science and technology, and has become an important base for cultivating high-level innovators and entrepreneurs in the field of agriculture.

Disciplines and Programs

The College offers four undergraduate programs under the Discipline of Plant Production, namely Agronomy, Plant Protection, Horticulture, and Agricultural Resources and Environment. It offers doctoral programs in the first-level discipline of Crop Science and the second-level discipline of Botany, master’s programs in the first-level disciplines of Crop Science and Plant Protection, as well as master’s programs in the second-level discipline of Botany. It also offers postdoctoral programs in Biology. The discipline of Crop Science has been listed as a key discipline of Jilin Province during the “11th Five-Year Plan” and “12th Five-Year Plan”, and a “high-ground discipline” in Jilin University’s “Double First-Class” development plan. This discipline was included as a class-B first-class discipline of Jilin Province during the “13th Five-Year Plan” in 2018. In the discipline group of Crop Science, the ESIs of 9 disciplines rank among the world’s top 1%, including Plant & Animal Sciences, and Agricultural Sciences. The undergraduate program Plant Protection was one of the first pilot projects to reform the talent development model under the Outstanding Agriculture and Forestry Talent Training Program of the Ministry of Education, and was established as a distinctive undergraduate program during the “12th Five-Year Plan” in Jilin Province as well as a class-A high-level discipline development project in the “13th Five-Year Plan” in Jilin Province. In 2019, this program was rated as a first-class undergraduate program by the Ministry of Education.

Faculty

Currently, there are 76 full-time teachers and lab technicians in the College, including 21 professors, 27 associate professors, 1 senior engineer, 4 senior technicians, 16 doctoral supervisors, 45 master’s supervisors, 3 Tang Aoqing chair professors, 2 high-level leading innovative talents, 1 winner of special government allowances from the State Council, 1 provincial outstanding teacher, 5 top innovative talents of Jilin Province, 1 senior expert of Jilin Province, 3 young and mid-age experts with outstanding contributions in Jilin province, as well as 3 members and 2 vice-directors of the Teaching Committee of the Ministry of Education.

Teaching and Research Facilities

The College has an Experiment & Teaching Center of Plant Science, a provincial demonstration center with 13 undergraduate teaching laboratories including the genetics and breeding lab and digital interactive microscope lab, etc. It boasts an agricultural teaching and research center covering an area of 700,000 square meters. In addition, the College is also home to Jilin Functional Agricultural Engineering Research Center, Jilin Resource and Microbial Engineering Research Center, Jilin Plant Genetic Improvement Engineering Laboratory, and a provincial key laboratory in crop genetic engineering. The College has contributed to the construction of the National Engineering Laboratory for Corn, and has established an international scientific and technological cooperation center to promote modern agriculture in Jilin Province. The center has been listed as Jilin University’s demonstration base for talent recruitment and promotion of modern agriculture.

Teaching and Research Outcomes

In line with China’s food security policies, the College has chosen a distinctive research emphasis to address China’s needs in the strategic planning of the “Belt and Road” initiative and regional agricultural development. In recent years, the College has undertaken over 200 National Science and Technology Support Programs, National Key Research and Development Programs during the “13th Five-Year Plan”, major projects on crop genetic modification, as well as programs under the National Natural Science Foundation of China and under the Department of Science and Technology of Jilin Province, with funding of accumulatively 50 million yuan; it has won 1 first prize and 6 second prizes for Scientific and Technological Progress of Jilin Province; it has cultivated 23 nationally or provincially approved new crop varieties; it has published more than 200 papers in SCI journals such as Science and PNAS, and obtained over 60 nationally-authorized patents and 5 rights in new crop variety.

Talent Cultivation

The College has been deepening teaching reforms to cultivate competent innovative talents. The faculty of Plant Protection and Plant Pathology have been awarded “Outstanding Faculty of Jilin Province”. In recent years, we have applied for 213 college student innovation and entrepreneurship training projects, among which 45 are of the national level. Among the over 210 major awards won by our students in national and provincial contests, there are 11 first prizes and 7 second prizes won by undergraduates in Biology Experiment Skill Contest, 1 third prize in the National Popular Science Writing Contest and 1 regional first prize in Northeast China region, 5 provincial first prizes and 4 second prizes in the First Microbial Culture Contest, 2 provincial second prizes in the Life Science Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest, 4 provincial silver medals in the “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest, 1 provincial first prize in the Innovation and Technology Contest, a national championship in the G-Ideals National College Student Creative Gene Application Contest, 3 second prizes in the National Agricultural Science Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest, as well as 2 third prizes in the National Plant Protection Contest. The College offers a “2+2” joint undergraduate training program with University of Alberta in Canada, providing many opportunities for our students. Over 13% of our undergraduates have been recommended to be exempted from the entrance examination of graduate study, and over 40% chose to pursue further study. The College has established the Kesheng Group Scholarship and Xingpu Scholarship, and built “Sanwei Bookstore” for scholarly exchanges and “7G Coffee” as an innovation center. 3 classes of the College have been rated as “Top 10 Classes” by Jilin University, and 9 students including Zhang Jiayan have been rated as “Top 10 Students” and “Models for Self-Independence” by Jilin University.

International Exchanges and Cooperation

The College has established extensive academic exchanges and cooperation with universities and research institutes from over 10 countries including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea. Its partners include Cornell University, University of California Los Angeles, Miami University in the U.S., University of Bristol, Lausanne Institute in the U.K., University of Hamburg in Germany, University of Alberta in Canada, University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and Max Planck Institute in Germany, etc. Every year, over 16% of students go to the U.S., the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, etc. for joint training or for a PhD degree, and over 20% go to Japan and the U.S. for short-term exchanges or international conferences. Funded by international scholarships such as Japan’s JASSO and the special fund of the university’s International Student Competitiveness Improvement Program, the College sends 30 undergraduates on short-term exchanges to the world’s top 100 universities every year. The College also employs well-known foreign experts and scholars as part-time professors, and invites prestigious experts and scholars from home and abroad to give lectures every year.

Poverty Alleviation Through Science and Technology

The College, through innovative thinking and overall planning, has given full play to its advantages in academic disciplines and resources to carry out fixed-point poverty alleviation campaigns in places such as Tongyu County in Jilin Province, contributing greatly to the poverty alleviation work of Jilin University. It has promoted new crop varieties of rice, corn, soybeans, etc. as well as new cultivation techniques, and explored new ways to promote functional agriculture to increase yield and farmers’ income. It has also built the Functional Agriculture Base of Jilin University and the Center for Teaching and Research of the College of Plant Science of Jilin University in Tongyu County, which opened up a new chapter of rural revitalization and poverty alleviation through science and technology.

Teaching Programs

The College cultivates talents through lectures, cultural trainings, contests and hands-on practices, and puts emphasis on the three-level curriculum system as well as knowledge on new agriculture. Thereby, we teach in a variety of methods, and endeavor to manage, monitor and guarantee the teaching quality. Within the interdisciplinary context, a training model for innovative undergraduate talents is established, which centers on quality education, and aims to cultivate competent talents who can address the needs in future development, promote agricultural development and human progress. This model ensures that students have a solid foundation of theory and practice, excel at innovation and overall quality, possess an international perspective, develop a sound character and high ambitions, and know how to be an innovative pioneer and entrepreneur.

The Discipline of Plant Production offers four programs: Agronomy, Plant Protection, Horticulture, and Agricultural Resources and Environment.

Agronomy

Introduction

This program aims to cultivate competent specialized and innovative talents equipped with a solid understanding of agronomy, research skills and managerial skills. Students are required to master and apply basic theories of traditional/modern crop genetics, crop breeding, crop cultivation, farming, plant physiology, plant biochemistry, molecular biology, etc. to fields such as crop production, selection and breeding of new crop varieties, seed production, and processing and inspection.

Objectives

Under the discipline of agronomy, this program aims to solve key problems in agricultural development. Four modules of courses are offered, including liberal education, disciplinary courses，specialized courses, and experimental teaching. Courses are properly arranged for students, with emphasis given to both the basic and the frontier science courses. The former includes botany, plant biochemistry, plant physiology, genetics, etc., and the latter includes molecular biology, plant molecular breeding, seminars on frontier biotechnologies, agricultural Internet of Things, theory and practice of entrepreneurship, etc. Experimental courses are also offered to improve students’ specialized and innovative skills. These courses include experimental skill training, experiment of plant molecular breeding, high-tech agricultural practice, etc.

Major courses

Botany, basic biochemistry, plant physiology, genetics, microbiology, biostatistics, molecular biology, crop breeding, crop cultivation, soil science, etc.

Career Prospects

Graduates can teach or research in universities and research institutes, or do managerial and technology promotion work in agricultural management departments. They can also serve as seed operation managers at seed companies of all levels, engage in the trade of agricultural products at domestic and foreign trade companies, and popularize knowledge on agricultural technology through press coverage. Students with excellent academic performance can be recommended to pursue graduate studies exam-free , sign up for graduate studies in this or a similar field, or go abroad for further study. They can also start their own business.

Plant Protection

(A national first-class undergraduate program, and a program under the Outstanding Agricultural and Forestry Talent Training Project)

Introduction

Guided by Jilin University’s talent cultivation objectives, the Plant Protection program (a national first-class undergraduate program, and a program under the Outstanding Agricultural and Forestry Talent Training Project) gives full play to the university's multidisciplinary advantages, especially in biology, and aims to cultivate high-level interdisciplinary talents in plant protection who have a wide knowledge of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, as well as an open mind. These talents should suit the needs of China’s agricultural development and modernization, dedicate themselves to the development of “Three Rurals” with passion and responsibility, master the basic theories and practical skills of plant protection, develop an international perspective, excellent team spirit and innovation ability, and obtain good language skills, communication skills, learning skills and adaptability. They should possess a certain knowledge of economy and management, have the potential to engage in international competition and scientific research, master modern biotechnology, know how to innovate, and apply their international perspective and interdisciplinary skills to pest management in agricultural and forest production. In a word, this program aims to cultivate versatile professional who can secure the sustainable development of agriculture and forestry.

Research emphasis include plant pathology, agricultural entomology and pest control, and pesticide science.

Features

The Plant Protection program was approved by the Ministry of Education as one of the first national class-II distinctive programs in 2008, as a program with Jilin characteristics in 2011, and as a flagship program of Jilin Province as well as a pilot reform program under the Outstanding Plant Protection Talent Training Project of the Ministry of Education in 2014. It was also approved by the Education Department of Jilin Province as a class-A high-level discipline development project during the “13th Five-Year Plan” in Jilin Province in 2017, and as a national first-class undergraduate program of plant protection in 2019. In 2006, Plant Pathology was rated as a provincial key program during the “11th Five-Year Plan”. In 2012, Plant Protection was listed as a key program with Jilin University’s characteristics during the “12th Five-Year Plan”. The Faculty of Plant Protection and Plant Pathology were successively awarded “Outstanding Faculties of Jilin Province”. In 2015, the research team of Plant Protection was included in the Development Program for Innovation Teams of Universities in Jilin Province, and that of Plant Pathology was granted as one of first teams under the Support Program for Major Scientific and Technological Project Research and Development Talents and Teams in Jilin Province.

Major courses

Botany, basic biochemistry, plant physiology, genetics, general plant pathology, agricultural plant pathology, general entomology, agricultural entomology, and chemical plant protection.

Career Prospects

Graduates can teach in universities, engage in foreign and domestic plant quarantine at national entry-exit quarantine departments, do scientific research and management at plant protection research institutes at all levels, or engage in the monitoring, warning and sustainable control of diseases and pests at agricultural and forestry departments. They can also be employed in fields like environmental protection, commerce and trade, food safety, biotechnology, pesticide, and plant protection for scientific research, technology promotion, R&D, operation and management. Students with excellent academic performance can be recommended to pursue graduate studies exam-free , sign up for graduate studies in this or a similar field, or go abroad for further study.

Horticulture

Introduction

This program aims to cultivate competent, innovative and inter-disciplinary talents who are well-developed in ethics, intelligence, physique, aesthetics and social skills. These talents should possess political awareness, social responsibility and the awareness for sustainable development to suit the needs of contemporary horticulture. After specialized training, students are required to have good language and communication skills, an international perspective and outstanding team spirit. They should have established the habit of active and life-long learning, mastered the basic theories and expertise of horticultural science from the perspective of new agricultural sciences, and learned skills regarding the innovation and production of horticultural crop germplasm resources, variety selection and breeding, production and cultivation management, disease, pest and weed control, post-harvest storage and processing, and marketing. Students should also understand the basic theories of chemistry, mathematics, computer, biotechnology, food science, bionics as well as other interdisciplinary knowledge relevant to smart horticulture, and explore how to apply smart horticulture while taking consideration of the regions, seasons, as well as the diversity, periodicity, and freshness of plants.

Features

This program cultivates horticultural professionals guided by the philosophy of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and the Three Guidelines of New Agricultural Sciences including “Anji Consensus”, “Beidacang Action”, and “Beijing Guide”. It actively carries out ideological and political education, and apply professional knowledge to carry out poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, ecological conservation and the construction of a beautiful China. This program keeps pace with the times and explores how to use big data to train talents in smart horticulture. It also pays attention to people’s overall physical and mental well-being, and carries out teaching and research on the quality and safety of horticultural products as well as horticultural therapy. It leads the development in the industry, and conducts interdisciplinary teaching and research from the perspective of new agricultural sciences. It strengthens experimental teaching and builds a distinctive base for innovation and entrepreneurship in Jilin and beyond to effectively improve students’ practical skills. And in the end, it strives to develop first-class disciplines, and carry out exchanges and cooperation with domestically and internationally well-known horticultural research institutes.

Major courses

Botany; basic biochemistry; plant physiology; genetics; horticultural plant breeding; vegetable cultivation; fruit cultivation; ornamental horticulture; storage, transportation and sales of horticultural products; facility horticulture; landscape dendrology; landscape planning and design, etc.

Career Prospects

Graduates mainly engage in scientific research, production and development, technology promotion, entrepreneurship, business management, decision-making and planning in fields relevant to horticultural science. Students with excellent academic performance can be recommended to pursue graduate studies exam-free , sign up for graduate studies in this or a similar field, or go abroad for further study. Employers of our graduates include scientific research institutes such as Jilin University, government agencies such as provincial, municipal and county people’s governments, online fresh-food sellers such as Alibaba, and real-estate companies such as Evergrande Gardening, etc.

Agriculture Resources and Environment

Introduction

This program aims to cultivate competent specialized and innovative talents who know the basic theories, expertise and skills to effectively use agricultural resources, and monitor, evaluate and protect the agroecological environment. These talents can engage in agricultural production, land management, environmental protection, effective use of agricultural resources, and other teaching, research, technology promotion and development, and operation and management activities relevant to agricultural resources and environment.

Features

The program bases itself on the current situation of China’s and world agriculture, and the frontier research of agricultural resources and environment, and looks to the commonly held ideas of “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “organic”, and “healthy”. It aims to solve the existing problems on agricultural resources and environment in the sustainable development of China’s agriculture and rural areas. Making full use of Jilin University's interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary resources, the program works to build a scientific and technological platform for agricultural environmental protection, agricultural resources and their efficient use, conduct theoretic and innovative researches on plant physiology under stress and molecular biology, soil degradation and water and soil environmental effects, efficient use of crop nutrients and its coordination mechanism, pattern distribution and transformation of agricultural environmental pollutants, functions of soil microbes and wastewater resource utilization, ecological evaluation of river and lake water, and evaluation and restoration of soil pollution etc. In this way, it is hoped that this program could help secure China's agroecological and food security, and provide theoretical guidance and technological support for the effective and sustainable use of agricultural resources.

Major courses

Botany, soil science, basic biochemistry, plant physiology, genetics, microbiology, biostatistics, agricultural meteorology, agroecology, plant nutrition, comprehensive management of nutrient resources, investigation and evaluation of soil resources, environmental instrument analysis, environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessment, resource and environmental analysis technology, etc.

Career Prospects

Graduates can work as researchers or research managers in research institutes relevant to soil science, plant nutrition, environmental science, ecology, etc., or as teachers or researchers in universities. They can also engage in technology development and promotion, as well as management and planning at managerial agencies of agriculture, agricultural materials, environmental protection and land at all levels, or major agricultural materials or environmental protection enterprises. Students with excellent academic performance can be recommended to pursue graduate studies exam-free, sign up for graduate studies in this or a similar field, or go abroad for further study.