Dalian Ocean University (DOU) originated from the Northeastern Fishery Technology School which was first founded in 1952, evolved into Dalian Fisheries Academy in 1958 and Dalian Fisheries University in 1978. DOU was transferred from the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture to the direct administration of Liaoning Province in 2000. In 2010, the present name, Dalian Ocean University, was approved by the Ministry of Education. After successful passing of the Qualified Assessment of Undergraduate Teaching conducted by the Ministry of Education in 1998, in 2008, DOU passed the Quality Assessment of Undergraduate Teaching with 'Excellence'.
　　Located in the beautiful coastal city of Dalian, DOU has developed into the most exclusive university with a wide diversity of disciplines in northern China which features aquaculture, oceanic science and technology. The disciplines include agriculture, engineering, science, management, arts, law, and economics, among others.
　　 Currently DOU has the Yellow Sea Campus, the Bohai Sea Campus and the Wafangdian Campus, with a combined total of 800,000 square meters of land area, 670,000 square meters of sea area and 400,000 square meters of construction area. There are eighteen schools and two education departments in the university. DOU owns four key disciplines at the provincial and ministerial level, including one provincial high-level key discipline, Fisheries, and two provincial characteristic sub-disciplines, Hydrobiology/Animal Genetics and Breeding/Reproduction, with one provincial Philosophy/ Social Science key discipline. DOU has eleven disciplines and thirty sub-disciplines which are authorized to confer Master’s degrees. As well DOU has forty-seven undergraduate programs and thirty-two senior diploma programs. These include one state-level innovational experimental program for practical skills training. The University has one state level and three provincial level experiment/ teaching demonstration centers, three state-level characteristic specialties, four provincial characteristic/demonstration undergraduate specialties, plus one provincial practical skills training program. DOU owns one state-level processing center, one ministerial level key open laboratory, seven provincial level key laboratories, four provincial level engineering and technology research centers, two provincial level technology service centers as well as four provincial level key laboratory schools.
　　DOU has a total student population of over 15,000. The full-time faculty members number more than 800, including 114 professors and 279 associate professors. Also included is one dually employed academician, one qualified person selected for the 'New Century National Talents Project', five provincial and ministerial level academic leaders, one candidate for the 'Ministerial Level New Century Excellent Specialists Supporting Project', three provincial level distinguished professors, sixteen candidates for the 'Provincial Excellent Specialists Supporting Project'. In support are fifty-one winners of special allowance for government at all levels, fourteen provincial and municipal excellence experts, eleven are 'Liaoning province famous teachers', seven are provincial level school specialty leaders. Another twenty-six are attached to the 'Provincial Talents Project' with twenty-nine awarded the 'Liaoning Province Excellent Young Teachers' status, one for a 'State Level Excellent Teaching Team', nine for 'Provincial Level Excellent Teaching Teams' and two for 'Provincial Level Innovation Teams'.
　　The university focuses precisely on the task of a continuous widening educational reform and actively undertakes state and provincial level educational reform projects. For example, the project 'Giving Full Scope to The Multidisciplinary Advantages to Build a Characteristic Fresh Water Fisheries Teaching System' won a first for National Awards for Achievements in the Teaching Profession. As well, the project 'The Research and Practice on The Reform of Teaching Content, Teaching System and Practical Skills Training Mode in Aquiculture (undergraduate)' received the same award. In the recent two appraisals of Achievements in the Teaching Profession, DOU won twenty-four provincial awards, including five exceptional firsts. It also contains one state level quality course and twenty-two provincial level quality courses that have been created in the past few years.
　　Since 2005, the university has undertaken 815 scientific research projects, including 97 at state level and 288 at the provincial and ministerial levels. Of these, thirty-three projects got at least municipal-level awards with four state awards and twenty-two provincial or ministerial awards. The projects 'Polyploid breeding and sex control Technology Of Main mariculture animals'  won second prize of the 2005 National Awards for Technological Invention, 'Research and Utilization of Introduction, Artificial Breeding And Culture In Pacific White Leg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)' won second prize of the 2008 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, 'The Establishment And Application Of Modern Aqua-industry Technology System For Manila Clam Ruditapes philippinarum' won second prize of the 2009 National Science and Technology Progress Awards. Also of particular note, the project 'Research And Application On Clean And Effective Breeding Technology In Seawater Ponds' won second prize of the 2012 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, 'Genetic Breeding And Seeds Production Of The Scallop Chlamys farreri' and 'The Key Processing Techniques For The Series Products Of Kelp Utilization' both won first prizes of the 2005 and 2008 Liaoning Province Science and Technology Progress Awards in 1978. Also that year the project 'The Simplified Method for Celestial Navigation on the China Sea' by Wen Gan and 'Artificial Breeding and Aquaculture of Scallops' by Wang Zichen together won the Awards of the National Scientific Conference. Lastly, the project 'Development of Characteristic Fresh Water Fisheries Teaching System with the Advantage of Multi-Disciplines' won first in the Award of the National Level Excellent Teaching Achievements.
　　Dalian Ocean University takes "God Rewards Strenuous More, Ocean Embraces Streams All" as our university tradition, promotes "like oceans, delve deep into knowledge; like the earth, commit more to the society" as our university motto, and advocates "Morality, Erudition, Literacy, Paragon" as the teaching model. The intention is to cultivate students with 'excellent morals and ample knowledge with strong ambitions'. The university has always been intensifying the teaching quality of classroom activities and enriching the scientific and cultural spirit with extracurricular activities, while greatly enhancing the students' comprehensive qualities. The results of this focus have born fruit with DOU students garnishing over 800 provincial awards in a variety of academic competitions since 2005.
　　The University has made public-approved progress on international cooperation and communication. It has established long-term academic collaboration with more than forty universities and research institutes from foreign countries and regions including the USA, Australia, Japan, Norway, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, among others. This interaction has greatly promoted the international impact and reputation of DOU.
 　　During the long term building and developing process, the University shaped its most striking feature, that is, 'inherit the spirit of water, and persevere in oceans to incubate hardworking, specializing, devoting and creating talents'.  Standing on a new historical starting point, DOU will proceed to carry forward the spirit of water 'pushing forward despite frustrations, self-improving and forging ahead, actualizing and innovating, unselfish dedicating'. The university is determined to make a persistent effort and strive to build itself into a characteristic ocean university with reputation and influence in the aquaculture and marine science and technology fields at home and abroad, and to make better contributions to Dalian and Liaoning regional economic and social development and the construction of national oceanic and aquaculture enterprise.