School of Environment and Ecology (SEE) of Hunan Agricultural University was established in January, 2023, which can be traced back to the Agricultural Environmental Protection Specialty established by the Basic Courses Department of Hunan Agricultural College and the Rice Eco-physiology Laboratory of the former Department of Agronomy. It has a history of more than 50 years.

SEE boasts 86 faculty members, 65 full-time teachers, 61 doctoral degree holders, 19 professors, 26 associate professors, 27 doctoral supervisors and 71 master’s supervisors. Among the teachers, there is 1 recipient of National Outstanding Teachers, 2 recipients of the Special Allowance from the State Council, 1 recipient of the Professional Teaching Steering Committee of Environmental Ecology of the Ministry of Education, 1 leading talent of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, 1 senior expert of the Ministry of Agriculture, 1 lecture professor of Xiangjiang Scholars Program, 1 national post-doctoral innovative talent, 1 expert of Hunan Academician Expert Advisory Committee, 1 Hunan Province Outstanding Teacher, 4 recipients of “Hunan 121 Talents Project”, 2 recipients of Hunan Province Hundred Talents Program, 1 recipient of Hunan Young Talents Nurturing Program, 3 Furong Scholars, 2 recipients of Huxiang Youth Talents, 1 post expert in Hunan agricultural industry technology system, 1 recipient of the Hunan Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 1 recipient of the Hunan Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, 3 provincial-level discipline leaders and 8 recipients of the Youth Backbone Teachers in Provincial Colleges and Universities.

The school has appointed 16 renowned experts and scholars as visiting professors or part-time professors, such as Gu Jidong from the University of Hong Kong and Sato Tsutomu of Hokkaido University in Japan.

The school has 1 teaching demonstration center of Hunan Province, 2 laboratories for basic courses and distinctive disciplines co-constructed by Central and Local authorities: agricultural environmental protection laboratory and agricultural ecology laboratory, 1 agricultural environmental engineering training center co-constructed by Central and Local authorities, and 1 virtual simulation laboratory for environmental science and engineering. There are 35 off-campus teaching and practice bases such as Dongting Lake Wetland Observatory.

SEE has a total enrollment of 1,580 full-time students, including 1,232 undergraduates，298 master candidates and 50 PhD candidates.

Discipline and Degree

Ecology and Environmental Science & Engineering are key disciplines in Hunan Province, and Ecology is discipline included in the “double first-class program” in Hunan Province. Environment/Ecology is listed the top 1% in the global ESI rankings of universities and research institutions.

Postdoctoral Station

Ecology (2012)

Doctoral Programs

First-category PhD Degree Program

Ecology (2011)

Master Programs

First-category Master Degree Program

Ecology (1999)

Environmental Science & Engineering (2005)

Professional Master Degree Program:

Resource Utilization and Plants Protection (2000)

Resources & Environment (2005)

Bachelor Program

Environmental Engineering (Engineering)

Environmental Science (Science)

Environmental Science (Sino-foreign cooperation)

Security Engineering (Engineering)

Ecology (Science)

Scientific Research and Social Service

Scientific Research Platform

The School boasts 8 provincial and ministerial-level research and innovation platforms.

1.National Engineering and Technology Research Center for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources;

2. Hunan International Cooperation Key Laboratory for Ecological Restoration of Typical Agricultural Pollution and Wetland Conservation;

3. Hunan Key Laboratory for Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake District; 

4.Key Laboratory of Southern Farmland Pollution Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs);

5. Hunan Engineering Research Center for Safe and Efficient Utilization of Heavy Metal Polluted Farmland;

6. Hunan Engineering Research Center for Purification of Irrigation Water Source Pollution;

7.Hunan Engineering Technology Center for Environmental Protection on Livestock and Poultry Breeding and Pollution Control in Agricultural Planting;

8. Pesticide Registration Residue Test Center (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs).

Scientific Research

In recent years, SEE has conducted more than 70 national and provincial-level scientific research projects, including 25 projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, 3 projects joint- supported by the National and Regional Fund, 2 programs and 7 projects supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China during the 13th Five-Year Plan of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. Also, SEE has undertaken 2 sub-projects of the National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project, 2 sub-projects of the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program), and 3 projects supported by the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s Public Welfare Fund. The annual average of scientific research funding is nearly 30 million Yuan.

More than 1,000 academic papers have been published, including more than 250 papers indexed in SCI, EI, and other source journals. 23 books have been authored with chief or associate editors for 14 textbooks, including 1 excellent textbook for national agricultural colleges and universities, 61 patents have been granted, and over 10 local and industry standards have been formulated.

Social Service

The school has engaged in extensive cooperation with various provincial departments, including the Department of Ecology and Environment, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Water Resources. Additionally, collaborations have been established with relevant research institutes, enterprises and organizations of cities and prefectures. Moreover, the school has engaged in continuous innovative research and application in beautiful rural construction, modern agriculture and rural regional development planning, modern ecological farm planning, pollution control in livestock and poultry breeding, circular agriculture, combination of planting and breeding, soil pollution remediation, watershed environmental pollution control, pesticide residue registration test, and solid waste treatment and resource utilization.