School of Marxism
Contact details
Phone numbers and addresses below are compiled from public pages of the university / colleges. Numbers may change; verify on the official website before you go.
Note
This page was contributed by Xiao Gong, Class of 2023, Ideological & Political Education major, School of Marxism (Oct 2026).
About the school
The School of Marxism at Qingdao University is an independent, university-administered secondary teaching and research unit, and one of the first batch of key-built Schools of Marxism in Shandong Province. It delivers ideological and political theory courses to all undergraduate, master's and doctoral students across the university, and is responsible for developing the Marxist theory discipline and training majors in ideological & political education.
The school currently has two master's degree program sites:
| Degree site | Direction / notes |
|---|---|
| Marxist Theory (first-level discipline, academic) | Four secondary disciplines: Basic Principles of Marxism, Sinicization of Marxism, Ideological & Political Education, and Basic Issues of Modern & Contemporary Chinese History |
| Subject Teaching (Ideological & Political) (professional master's) | Trains backbone teachers for the "Morality & Rule of Law" course in primary and secondary schools; forms a bachelor's–professional-master's integrated path with the undergraduate I&P Education major |
- School website: https://szhb.qdu.edu.cn
- WeChat official account: 青岛大学马克思主义学院 (Qingdao University School of Marxism)
- Office phone: 0532-85953829
Programs
At the undergraduate level there is only one major: Ideological & Political Education (teacher-training track).
| Major | Notes |
|---|---|
| Ideological & Political Education (teacher-training) | Admitted only within the jurisdiction of Qingdao city, with very few seats. Coursework covers Marxist theory, teacher-training theory and practice, plus humanities and social sciences such as law and political science. No job assignment upon graduation. |
Campus & locations
- The school stays on the Fushan campus for all four years.
- Students mainly live in the Hongyuan dorms and attend classes in the Deyin Building (varies by year; roughly this as of this year). No cross-campus commuting.
- The school office has two parts: one on the 11th floor of Building A of the Twin Towers, one on the 3rd floor of the West Campus Archives (next to the Fushan Academy).
- The dorm-closest entrances should be the Northeast Gate of the East Campus and West 4th Gate / East 3rd Gate.
Distinctive training & platforms
Platforms
The Duxing lecture group can almost be treated as under the school's student union (see "Marxism-school specifics" below); personally I gained nothing from it. Think-Tank Big Classroom, the Liberal-Arts Supervision post, and the library are the university-level organizations where Marxism students go most. What you get out of it depends on the person — personally I think sleeping in the dorm is more useful.
Competitions
New Liberal Arts, the Tian Jiabing Cup, the Student Professional Skills Contest for teacher-training majors, Challenge Cup (big and small tracks), Internet+, and so on — quite a few competitions reach the school. But the school does not organize training; you have to actively ask advisors and fully exercise your own initiative.
Observations & internships
An educational observation trip is organized in year one or two; the internship is in the first semester of senior year. Locations are basically middle and high schools in Qingdao.
Mentor system
There used to be a mentor system… it seems to have been abolished since. Even those who went through it tend to feel it wasn't that useful.
Study & exam advice
Curriculum
Previously the school did not take public courses together with the rest of the university, but following a certain department chair (the author does not think highly of this teacher), the school is gradually merging into the university-wide public course system.
For major courses, there is no unified "Principles of Marxism" course; instead it is split into Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy, and scientific socialism, taught in the two semesters of freshman year respectively. Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought is in the second semester of freshman year; there is no separate course on Xi Jinping Thought (already covered with the public courses). Situation & Policy runs from the second semester of freshman year to the second semester of junior year, four sessions in total.
How exams work
Courses are divided into exam courses and assessment-only courses. Exam courses, as the name implies, have exams that directly affect your final grade (final grade = comprehensive assessment score, exam score, and overall study score). Exam courses are roughly split 60/40 (daily performance 60%, exam 40%), with relatively strict exam rules. Assessment-only courses do not count an exam score; end-of-term assessment varies (class presentations, group assignments, term papers, exams, etc.). If you want to pursue postgraduate recommendation, focus on exam courses — assessment-only courses do not count toward GPA.
Because the school is tiny, skipping class is not recommended. When the teacher gives you face, they don't call roll; when they don't?
Public courses are broadly similar to exam courses: 60/40 finals, closed-book, with term-definition, short-answer, and essay questions. The chance of failing a public course is far higher than failing a school course — be careful.
Failing & make-up exams
The school has very few students, which means failing makes the failure rate look bad for everyone. So failing and retaking is a "rare experience" here that most people never have. But this isn't absolute — studying hard is encouraged either way.
Which courses are worth attending seriously
If you want to study seriously, I personally recommend Marxist philosophy, world modern & contemporary history, Chinese modern & contemporary history, principles of political science, philosophy of science & technology, psychology, pedagogy, constitutional law, Marxist jurisprudence, and introduction to international politics. These courses are substantial, taught solidly, and carry many fresh viewpoints.
Watch out for these: freshman-year Chinese modern & contemporary history, principles of political economy, Marxist political economy, and Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought; sophomore pedagogy; junior-year ethics and guided reading of Marxist classics. Grading on these can be low.
Postgraduate recommendation & entrance exams
About one-tenth of students can be recommended for postgraduate study (four in the author's cohort); destinations are usually Ocean University of China and China University of Petroleum.
For Marxist theory students, the entrance exam is somewhat advantageous. Subjects roughly include: basic theory of Marxism (Marxist philosophy, Mao Zedong Thought, Xi Jinping Thought) plus one more specialized subject that varies more (e.g. history of Marxist development, fundamentals of ideological & political education, guided reading of Marxist classics — some schools don't offer this), plus public politics (yes, we also take public politics) and a foreign language.
Employment
With the economic downturn and falling birth rate, employment in this major keeps getting worse. Apart from the public-sector establishment, it's mostly training-and-education positions and generic liberal-arts jobs such as clerical work. These are just the directly-related options — in practice, "a vast world awaits, there is much to do."
FAQ
Can I transfer in / out of the school?
Yes, transfers in and out are possible; see university policy for details.
Is a double major / minor worth it?
Double majors and minors at Qingdao University are not highly valued (but if it's a personal interest, I fully recommend it). I would rather suggest reading books in your free time.
Taking a political-cram course before the postgrad entrance exam is foolish; unnecessary.
Is it easy to join the Party here?
Each grade likely gets only one Party member slot. Competition is intense.
Marxism-school specifics
The school carries a huge public-course teaching load, so when students from other schools ask "do you know professor so-and-so from Marxism" and then badmouth them, don't be surprised and don't take it to heart.
The student body is tiny, so the student union system and the class administrative system completely overlap, and the student union dominates (thanks to a certain senior, haha). Almost every student ends up in the school student union, voluntarily or not, and under its management. Don't strategize about which departments promote faster — only ability gets seen.
Because of the size disadvantage, the school is quite vulnerable facing university-level activities, and therefore has to show surprisingly strong mobilization. In other words, even as a freshman who absolutely doesn't want to participate, you may still be pulled into several activities.
The comprehensive-assessment point system is dazzling. The core point: comprehensive assessment scores only matter to people who want recommendation, scholarships, or Party membership. As long as you accumulate enough points to graduate (note: these activities also count toward the Second Classroom), that is genuinely enough.
Closing words
This is an era of confusion. Flexibility and change are the keywords; opportunities for standing still are running out.
Don't expect to learn too much in class — sometimes doing your own thing works better.
Eat well, sleep well, live well.
The following carries strong personal color
This major, put nicely, is called Ideological & Political Education; put bluntly, we'll leave unsaid. Don't be content with being someone else's loudspeaker.
Study the foundational courses well — they help you expand horizontally. Most branch and advanced courses later are not very useful.
Pay special attention to Western economics, political science, and philosophy of science & technology. Thinking hard about these will pay off enormously.
Don't stop at being a loudspeaker — read more philosophy and politics. That beats giving a few community lectures or scoring high.
"To choose righteousness and benevolence today — let freedom's flower fill the land"
Contributing
If you know more about the School of Marxism, or spot something that should be corrected, please submit additions or open a Pull Request via the GitHub repository.