[Photo/shmtu.edu.cn]

Founded in 1909, Shanghai Maritime University (SMU) concentrates on shipping, logistics, oceanography but covers other disciplines as well, including engineering, law, management and literature.

The university was jointly built by the Ministry of Transport and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. In 2008, the main body of SMU was moved to the Lin-gang Special Area.

Dubbed as the cradle of senior shipping personnel, SMU has provided over 160,000 graduates for port and shipping-related enterprises and government agencies.

There are about 24,000 students, including 16,500 undergrads, 6,000 graduate students, and 800 international students, studying at the university.

SMU has nearly 1,200 full-time teachers, including 190 professors. About 69 percent of the teachers have doctorate degrees.

It has 48 undergraduate programs and offers preparatory courses for exchange students. It has opened an international class since 2010 to offer marine technology and shipping management programs for students from overseas navigation colleges.

Since 2012, it has had the approval from the Ministry of Education to enroll students with Chinese Government Scholarships. It has an Institute of International Education (Foreign Students Office) that oversees foreign student affairs and can provide Shanghai Government Scholarships for qualified foreign students.

The university has cooperative relationships with more than 100 overseas universities in teacher and student exchange, running schools and scientific research.

SMU serves the construction of Shanghai International Shipping Center, a research and counselling institution for the development of international shipping. It provides decision-making consultation and information services for enterprises and shipping agencies at home and abroad.

The Shanghai Advanced Institute of International Shipping at the university operates according to the international mode of running business schools and shares resources with excellent educational institutions around the world.

Students majoring in international transport and logistics attend their graduation ceremony at Shanghai Maritime University. [Photo/shmtu.edu.cn]