Dalian Maritime University (DMU) is the key maritime institution under the Ministry of Transport, People’s Republic of China. DMU is one of the key universities in the national “Project 211” and first-class disciplines. The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Education, China’s State Oceanic Administration, Peoples’ Government of Liaoning Province and Dalian Municipal Government agree to make joint effort in the development of the University. The University is regarded as “the Cradle of Navigators” and is a famous higher maritime institution in China. DMU enjoys a high reputation internationally as an excellent center of maritime education and training as recognized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The long history of the University represents the development of China’s higher maritime education, which can be traced back to 1909, when the Nanyang Institute in Shanghai established a Shipping Management Section. In 1960, the University was designated a national key university. In 1963, the semi-military management started in the ocean-going majors as authorized by the State Council. In 1983, the Asia-Pacific Region Maritime Training Center was established at DMU by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the IMO. In 1985, a branch of the World Maritime University (WMU) was established. In 1997, DMU became one of the member universities of “Project 211”, a plan to build one hundred national-level universities in China. In 1998, it was the first maritime university in China to receive the ISO9001 Certificate. In 2017, the University was selected as one of the key universities which will participate in the country’s construction plan of world-class universities and first-class disciplines. Through continuous construction and development, the scale and the level of running school of the University have been prior to other maritime institutions in the world.
The University owns full functional teaching and laboratory buildings, Marine Training and Engineering Practice Center, Survival Training Center, teaching port, libraries, natatorium and planetarium, etc. Besides, the University has over 100 teaching and research laboratories like Ship-handling Simulator Lab and Marine Engine Simulation Lab. Also, DMU also owns and operates two ocean-going training vessels.
The University consists of 21 teaching and research units. The current student population has risen to approximately 25,000. Additionally, the university enrolls overseas students for bachelor, master and doctoral Degrees. Presently DMU has 52 undergraduate programs, 7 primary doctor programs, 20 primary graduate programs, and 7 post-doctoral centers (R&D base). DMU also confers professional master degrees in 14 fields including Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Administration (MPA), Juris Master (J.M), Master of Translation and Interpretation (MTI), Master of Engineering Management (MEM), Master of International Business (MIB), Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Engineering (ME). Besides, DMU owns 2 national key disciplines, 14 key disciplines of provincial and ministerial level, 2 provincial key disciplines (nurture) and the engineering disciplines rank in 1% in ESI. DMU has 1 National Engineering Research Center and 2 national Science and Technology Cooperation Bases.
DMU boasts a group of excellent faculty members from a range of academic disciplines and devotion to teaching. Currently there are 1170 full-time teachers in total, including 297 professors, 132 full-time doctoral supervisors, 25 senior professors, 62 distinguished professors and a large team of promising young lectures. In addition, the University engages 8 sharing academicians, 8 Chang Jiang Scholars and 110 chair professors.
The University has an international vision regarding academic cooperation and exchange. Up to present, DMU has established cooperative relations with 134 international renowned maritime institutions in 35 countries and regions. The academic relationships with these sister universities are maintained through mutual visits, faculty staff and student exchanges, joint collaborative programs and joint research projects. In March 2005, the master’s program of Maritime Safety and Environmental Management started to enroll students. It is a cooperative program between DMU and World Maritime University. The University has an overseas campus in Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College, Sri Lanka and began to admit students in 2007 which realized the first export of China’s higher maritime education. Moreover, the University has established long-term cooperative relationships with international organizations and institutions, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), the Global Maritime Education and Training Association (GLOBALMET), the International Maritime Lecturers Association (IMLA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the International Shipping Federation (ISF), the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), Lloyd’s Register, NYK, as well as some world famous shipping companies. Furthermore, the University develops creative education actively, establishes more educational channels and introduces educational sources.
