In recent years, the School of Environmental Science and Engineering has responded to the strategic needs of the national coastal development and regional environmental protection industry development. Relying on the tidal flat resources of Jiangsu's coastal area, and combining the interdisciplinary integration of environment, chemistry, and biology with regional and industrial advantages, the school has gradually formed a distinctive discipline focus on the study of pollutant behavior in coastal environments. It strives to serve, support, and lead the development needs of the local environmental protection industry, achieving the goal of establishing a doctoral program in Resources and Environment as soon as possible.
The Environmental Engineering major began enrolling undergraduate students in 2000, and the School of Environmental Science and Engineering was established in 2010. Currently, it offers a first-level master's degree in Environmental Science and Engineering, and a professional master's degree in Resources and Environment. It has three undergraduate programs: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, and Environmental Protection Equipment Engineering. The project Key Technologies and Applications for Health Risk Detection, Control, and Emergency Response of Environmental Pollution won the National Science and Technology Progress Second Prize in 2023. The school's Environment and Ecology discipline has entered the global top 1% in ESI rankings, gaining considerable influence both domestically and internationally. The school also includes the Institute of Excellent Environmental Protection, which operates jointly with the School of Environmental Science and Engineering.
The school has established five university-level research institutes: Institute of Water Environment and Pollution Control, Institute of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, Institute of Soil Environment and Pollution Control, Institute of Coastal Wetland Ecology and Environment, and Institute of Ecological Environment Big Data Innovation. It has jointly established the National Engineering Laboratory for Flue Gas Multi-pollutant Control Technology and Equipment with Tsinghua University, and is a council member of the National Engineering Laboratory for High-concentration Refractory Organic Wastewater Treatment Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences. The school possesses various research platforms including the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Center for Intelligent Environmental Protection Equipment, Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Research Center for Biochar Carbonization and Application, Jiangsu Provincial International Joint Laboratory for Coastal Wetland Ecology and Environment in Higher Education Institutions, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Coastal Wetland Ecology and Pollution Control in Environmental Protection, Jiangsu Provincial Key Construction Laboratory for Multi-pollutant Control, and Jiangsu Provincial Higher Education Engineering Practice Education Center for Coastal Ecological Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control. The school currently has 4,280 square meters of professional laboratory space, with equipment valued at over 20 million yuan.
The school has 66 faculty and staff members, including 59 full-time teachers, 29 with senior professional titles, and 28 master's supervisors. 92% of the full-time teachers hold doctoral degrees. There are 15 provincial-level talent program recipients, including those in the Provincial Double Innovation Talent Plan and the Provincial Blue Project, and 22 provincial science and technology deputy directors. The school has also employed 18 senior managers and engineers from well-known environmental protection enterprises as corporate teachers from the Yancheng Environmental Engineering R&D Center of Tsinghua University and the Yancheng R&D Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Ecological Environment Research Center. Several teachers hold academic part-time positions such as Deputy Secretary-General of the China Branch of the IWA International Water Association Digital Water Professional Committee and council member of the Jiangsu Indoor Environmental Pollution Prevention and Control Society. One faculty member was included in the 2023 global list of top 2% scientists and the lifetime scientific impact ranking.
The school has established a complete training system for master's and undergraduate students, with over 900 students currently enrolled. The Environmental Science and Engineering discipline was a key provincial discipline during the 13th Five-Year Plan period（2026-2020）. The Environmental Engineering major was approved as a key program in Jiangsu higher education institutions in 2012, a pilot program for the Ministry of Education's Excellence Engineers Training Plan in 2013, a Jiangsu Provincial First-class Undergraduate Program in 2020, a National First-class Undergraduate Program and Jiangsu Provincial Brand Program in 2021, and a Jiangsu Provincial Industry-Education Integration Brand Program in 2022. It passed and verified in two rounds of China Engineering Education Professional Certification in 2016 and 2019. The Environmental Protection Equipment Engineering program was approved as a Jiangsu Provincial First-class Undergraduate Program in 2021. According to the Alumni Association Network, a third-party university evaluation agency in China, the Environmental Engineering program ranks first among applied Environmental Engineering programs nationwide.
The school has undertaken over 30 research projects, including National Key R&D Programs and National Natural Science Foundation projects. Some research results have reached leading levels domestically, winning over 10 provincial and higher-level research awards, and publishing over 10 textbooks. The school's annual research funding is about 15 million yuan, with over 100 high-level research papers published and over 20 invention patents granted annually.
In the past three years, students have been approved for over 100 College Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program projects. They have won 7 national awards and over 60 provincial awards in influential competitions such as the National College Students' Energy-saving and Emission-reduction Social Practice and Science and Technology Competition, the National College Students' Life Sciences Competition, and the Challenge Cup series competitions. Students have also won more than 200 awards in various other disciplinary competitions at different levels and have published academic papers or applied for over 60 patents.
The School of Environmental Science and Engineering website: https://hjxy.ycit.edu.cn/
