The School of Materials Science and Engineering at Yancheng Institute of Technology was established in 1979, and in 1993, its Silicate Technology major was selected as one of the first pilot programs for higher engineering education reform. The Materials Science and Engineering major began to enroll undergraduate students in 1996. In 2006, it was awarded as a "Distinctive Major of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions." In 2008, it was approved by the Ministry of National Education and the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education as a "National characteristic specialty construction site" and a "Provincial Experimental Base for Innovation of Talent Cultivation Model in Higher Education", respectively. In 2011, Materials Science and Engineering was approved by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education as a " Key Discipline in Jiangsu Province." The Materials Science and Engineering major was approved as a key profession in Jiangsu’s higher education institutions, and was included in the second batch of the "Excellent Engineer Education and Training Program" by the Ministry of Education in 2012. In 2013, it was approved as a "Comprehensive Reform Pilot” major by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, it was approved as a Jiangsu Provincial Brand project (Category A), and in 2016, it received accreditation from the China Engineering Education Professional Certification Association. In 2019, the profession was approved as a Jiangsu Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Major Construction Project. In 2020, it passed the professional certification re-evaluation of the China Engineering Education Professional Certification Association. In 2021, the Faculty was authorized to grant master's degrees in the first-level disciplines of Materials Science and Engineering and professional degrees in Transportation. The Materials Science and Engineering major was selected as a National First-Class Undergraduate Profession Construction Site and included in the second phase of the Jiangsu Higher Education Brand Program Construction Project. The discipline of Materials Science entered the global top 1% of the ESI ranking. In 2022, the discipline of Materials Science and Engineering was approved as a Key Discipline in Jiangsu Province (Category B) in the "14th Five-Year Plan". The majors of Polymer Materials and Engineering and the New Energy Materials and Device were approved as the First-Class Undergraduate Major Construction Site in Jiangsu Province and the second phase of the Jiangsu Higher Education Brand Major Construction Project (Provincial Distinctive Professions). The Polymer Materials and Engineering major was recommended to apply for the construction of a national first-class undergraduate major. In 2023, the Materials Science and Engineering major was approved as a Construction Site for the Jiangsu Province Industry-Education Integration Brand Project, and new major in Materials Chemistry was approved by the Ministry of Education. In 2023, the Materials Science and Engineering major was approved as a provincial-level Industry-Education Integration program. In 2024, the first-level discipline master's degree authorization point in Nanoscience and Engineering was approved by the Ministry of Education.
The school was selected into the Ministry of Education's "China-Africa Universities 100 Cooperation Plan" and has multiple scientific research and innovation platforms, including the Jiangsu Higher Education Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-building Materials and Environmental Protection Equipment, Solar Energy Utilization and Energy Storage Technology Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Higher Education, International Cooperation Joint Laboratory for Preparation and Application of Low-dimensional Materials, Jiangsu Provincial Public Technology Service Center for Environmental Protection Equipment, and Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Center for Straw Eco-building Materials. The school has determined the main research directions, including environmentally friendly and energy-efficient advanced building materials, functional design and performance regulation of low-dimensional materials, synthesis and processing of lightweight, efficient and long-life composite materials, and controllable preparation and engineering application of functional polymer materials. In addition, it has a provincial-level experimental teaching demonstration center - New Materials and Jiangsu Coastal Engineering Construction Experimental Teaching Center. Moreover, the school has jointly built a "National College Students’ Off-campus Practice Education Base" with China Glass Holdings Co., Ltd. Furthermore, the school has 12 provincial-level graduate workstations.
The school has eight undergraduate majors: Materials Science and Engineering, Polymer Materials and Engineering, Metal Materials Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Composite Materials and Engineering, Materials Physics, New Energy Materials and Devices, and Materials Chemistry. Currently, there are 1,928 full-time undergraduate students and 156 master's students. The school has established a comprehensive cooperation relationship with Addis Ababa University in Africa and jointly trained 9 doctoral students. At present, the school has 111 faculty members, including 17 professors, 36 associate professors, and 82 Ph.D. holders. It has one provincial-level distinguished teacher and young and middle-aged expert with outstanding contributions in Jiangsu Province, 82 participants were selected for provincial talent programs such as the "333 Talent Project", the "Six Talent Peaks", the "Blue Project", and the "Provincial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talents". There are 3 scientists ranked in the top 2% in the world, 63 master's supervisors, 4 doctoral supervisors, 2 provincial postgraduate tutor industry professors, and 3 provincial-level outstanding teaching and scientific research innovation teams. The school adheres to the fundamental task of cultivating morality and educating people. In recent years, about 33% of undergraduate students have been admitted to master’s degree programs at prestigious universities domestically and abroad. The graduates have pursued further studies at top institutions such as Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Nanjing University. The school’s enrollment rate ranks among the best in the college. The school has consistently been rated as an "Outstanding Unit for Employment" and "Advanced Unit for Postgraduate Entrance Examination". Moreover, the advanced deeds of talent cultivation were reported by various media outlets including Yangtze Evening News and Yancheng Evening News.
In the past five years, the school has undertaken 36 national-level scientific research projects, including the National Key R&D Programs, the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Zone Projects, and the National Natural Science Foundation projects. It has also conducted 43 provincial and ministerial level scientific research projects, including major carrier innovation projects from the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission, major scientific and technological research projects in the national building materials industry, Jiangsu Provincial Key R&D Programs, and Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects. The school has carried out over 300 horizontal projects with a total funding of more than 60 million yuan. It has won 9 scientific research awards at the provincial and ministerial level or above. The school published over 300 high-level SCI and EI papers, including 12 highly cited and hot papers, obtained 186 authorized invention patents, and compiled 33 monographs, compilations and textbooks. The school has obtained 2 second prizes in National Teaching Achievements, 1 special prize and 1 second prize in Jiangsu Province Teaching Achievements. According to the "2023 Best Chinese Universities Ranking" by the Higher Education Profession Evaluation Agency Ruanke, the school ranks in the top 3% among similar universities (without the right to confer doctoral degrees) in terms of comprehensive ranking (including graduates’ employment competitiveness). The China Building Materials Federation commented that our Materials Science and Engineering major has “formed a talent training model with distinctive characteristics and made significant contributions to the development of the building materials industry in Jiangsu Province and even the whole country."
(Data as of August 8, 2024)
