According to the professional catalogue of the Ministry of Education, the specialty of applied chemistry is a combination of science and technology which can be awarded the degree of science or engineering. It is a major of applied research on which the chemical theories are applied in related fields, emphasizing on the application of chemical theories and knowledge. Therefore, this specialty which was awarded as provincial characteristics in 2007, has been established with the needs of economic construction and development nationwide. Facing the future and internationalization, and for more than 10 years of construction, it has formed distinctive characteristics in the synthesis of macromolecule and fine chemicals, production and application of functional materials and waste resourcing, etc., Currently, there are more than 30 teachers, among whom there are 2 distinguished professors, 5 doctoral supervisors, 18 full professors , more than 55 percent of teachers with doctoral degrees, and nearly 80 percent of teachers with master's degrees. All of these have guaranteed a teaching team with rational knowledge structure, stabilized personnel, high-qualified and effective education. Keeping the virtue of rigorous scholarship and strict coaching, a batch of excellent teachers and advanced education workers have emerged in the first line of teaching.

Construction mentality

The general idea is: "one location, two transitions, three integrations, four intensities". One location means laying equal stress both on research and application talents cultivating.  two transitions are from traditional test-oriented education to comprehensive quality-oriented education, from successive education to innovative education. Three integrations include the integrations of teaching resources, curriculum structures and teaching contents. Four intensities, namely, are intensifying student ability on professional foundation, practical ability, innovation consciousness and comprehensive quality.  

Specialized curriculum system construction

According to the target of talents cultivating and plan of professional construction, taking “optimizing structures, paying attention to qualities, raising levels and highlighting features” as basic ideas, to deepen educational reform, and build the curriculum construction supported by “elaborate and high-qualified courses ”.

Taking experimental teaching system as priority, strengthening and innovating practical link teaching

Experimental teaching is the fundamental way to train students' practical ability, innovation ability and independent working ability, and it is an important symbol of the quality of talents training and the level of running a school. Experimental teaching system construction, according to general requirements of professional personnel training, is to reach the goal on scientific literacy, practical and innovative abilities after the students surely accepted all the experimental courses or one certain experimental course during the school period. Around this goal, a whole system is to be established by elaborately planning all the experimental curriculum and contents. In order to cultivate high-quality comprehensive talents and on the basis of full investigation, the traditional experimental teaching system is reformed. On the experimental teaching reform principle of “thickening foundation, widening caliber and seeking innovation”, to implement the “integrated and three-leveled” experimental teaching system, namely, the independent experimental teaching is divided by three levels of fundamental, comprehensive and researching experiments.

Major achievements during construction period

After the reform and practice on schemes of talent cultivating, contents of curriculum teaching and practical teaching in construction period, scientific curriculum system that adapting the characteristics of economic and social development has been formed. And its driving and demonstrating effects come into play through accumulating experiences, summarizing and refining to form teaching results, providing beneficial experiences to similar specialties insider and outside the province while applying in this specialty.

· Formulated a talent cultivating scheme laying equal stress on research and application chemical talents with approach-interesting, aptitude-oriented and vigorous systematic science.

· Satisfied a set of “thickening foundation, strengthening ability, high quality and widening caliber” talent cultivating needs to improve curriculum system and teaching contents on professional knowledge grade, humanistic spirit and comprehensive quality.  

· Established practical education system mainly on experimental teaching, curricular practice, education practice, teaching practical training and probation which could remarkably improve the teaching skills and innovation abilities of the students.  

· Composing a discipline teaching team with personnel of dedication, well-trained, rational structured, practical-oriented, innovation-oriented, good at teaching and diligent in educating, competent professional skills and profound knowledge attainments.

· Written and published 30 characteristic specialty textbooks, constructed 1 provincial elaborate course and 3 elaborate courses of university, established 1 teaching skill practical training Lab and 6 teaching practice bases, produced the corpora of main course test questions and multimedia courseware.

· During the construction period, taking 28 projects of teaching reform among which 18 have win awards, published more than 100 pieces of teaching research papers.

Through systematic and scientific plan and construction, this specialty will become a major with distinctive characteristics, higher teaching level and quality in the central plain area, and also can play the modeling and leading roles among equivalent universities and majors to make chemistry specialty be a first-rated major in our province, even into the national advanced level and become the critical base of training high-qualified applied chemical personnel in central plain area.