Founded in 1979, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GSCAAS) launched academic education for master's and doctoral degrees in 1981 upon the approval of the State Council, making it one of the pioneering institutions for graduate education run by national-level scientific research organizations in China.

The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), which supports the graduate education of GSCAAS, is a national comprehensive agricultural research institution. It undertakes the historic missions of conducting basic, applied basic, applied and high-tech agricultural research across the country, strengthening national strategic scientific and technological force, and leading the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. CAAS is committed to addressing major fundamental, directional, overall, strategic and forward-looking scientific and technological issues in the development of China's agricultural and rural economy. It plays a pivotal role in advancing the agricultural scientific and technological innovation, serving economic and social development, cultivating high-level talents, and promoting international exchanges and cooperation.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, CAAS has won 38 national science and technology awards as the first completing unit, accounting for one-fourth of such awards in China's agricultural sector, secured 10,708 authorized invention patents, and bred 999 nationally approved new crop varieties. From 2021 to 2024, 21 academic papers were published in the main issues of Nature, Science and Cell, placing CAAS at the forefront of the agricultural industry in terms of scientific research achievements and strength.

The graduate education of GSCAAS leverages various vital resources of CAAS, including national-level scientific research platforms and bases, advanced scientific research facilities and equipment, major scientific research projects, stable research funding, cutting-edge interdisciplinary clusters, a first-class supervisor team, extensive international cooperation mechanisms, and abundant library and literature resources. It has formed an innovative model for graduate education run by scientific research institutions, characterized by the participation of 37 training units and a distinctive "academy-institute combination, two-phase training" approach.

This model converts CAAS's advantages in scientific research resources into strengths in discipline development, talent cultivation and distinctive school running, providing a unique and broad platform to the national team of agricultural scientific research for graduate students to complete course study, carry out academic research, participate in project practice and foster innovative capabilities.Adhering to the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education and upholding the motto of "Wisdom, Virtue, Erudition, and Discretion", GSCAAS takes "research-based, quality-oriented, agriculture revitalization through science and education" as its mission. It has cultivated a large number of innovative, application-oriented, interdisciplinary and international high-level talents with all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic and labor education, who bravely shoulder the missions of revitalizing agriculture and serving the country as well as national rejuvenation.

By the end of 2024, the total number of on-campus students reached 6,862, including 2,214 doctoral students, 4,130 master's students, 295 international students in China, and 223 doctoral students in Sino-foreign cooperative education programs. A total of 4,940 doctoral degrees and 17,633 master's degrees have been conferred to date. Among the distinguished alumni, 11 have become academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 12 have taken up provincial and ministerial leading positions, and one currently serves as the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Moving forward, increasing number of alumni have grown into outstanding experts and scholars in the scientific research field and the backbone force on the frontline of agricultural development.

Over 45 years of development, GSCAAS has built an outstanding supervisor team of 2,811 members, spearheaded successively by 38 academicians and including more than 500 national high-level talents such as recipients of the National High-Level Talents Program, winners of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars or the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, and national candidates for the National Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project, among whom 1,040 are doctoral supervisors.

GSCAAS has developed a multi-level, multi-type, international and open talent cultivation system covering master's and doctoral education, academic and professional degrees, as well as Sino-foreign cooperative education programs and education for international students in China.This system is underpinned by 69 doctoral degree authorization points and 82 master's degree authorization points spanning four major disciplines– Science, Engineering, Agriculture and Management, and supported by over 550 major scientific research platforms at the national, provincial, ministerial and institutional levels (such as National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructure, National Key Laboratories, National Technology Innovation Centers, National Engineering Technology Research Centers, National Engineering Laboratories, National Engineering Research Centers, the National Crop Genebank, Centers of National Crop and Livestock Improvement, and Stations of National Field Scientific Observation and Research) as well as a series of research tasks focusing on cutting-edge academic issues and common key technologies.

GSCAAS possesses world-class national scientific research facilities and innovation platforms, including the world's largest standalone Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory for large animals, Asia's largest cluster of BSL-3 laboratories for large animals,, the world's largest single-unit national crop genebank with the most native germplasm resources,. It also has 2 National Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructures, 18 National Key Laboratories, one National Technology Innovation Center, 5 National Engineering Technology Research Centers, and 7 National Engineering Laboratories and Engineering Research Centers. GSCAAS has also achieved remarkable results in discipline development, with 10 Class A disciplines (including professional degree categories), among which 5 are Class A+ (Crop Science, Horticulture, Plant Protection, Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine), 3 are Class A (Biology, Agricultural Resource and Environment Science, Master of Agriculture Professional Degree), and 2 are Class A- (Ecology, Food Science and Engineering), representing strong disciplinary strength and distinctive professional features.

According to the latest data from Clarivate Analytics, 2 of the disciplines rank among the top 0.01% in the ESI global rankings (Agricultural Science, Plant and Animal Science), 5 among the top 0.1% (Agricultural Science, Plant and Animal Science, Microbiology, Environment and Ecology, Pharmacology and Toxicology), and 15 among the top 1% (Agricultural Science, Plant and Animal Science, Microbiology, Environment and Ecology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biology and Biochemistry, Comprehensive and Interdisciplinary Science, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Engineering Science, Immunology, Materials Science, Social Sciences General, Clinical Medicine). Compared with domestic universities, GSCAAS ranks 4th in China in the number of disciplines entering the top 0.01% of the ESI global rankings, and tops agricultural universities in the number of disciplines entering the top 1‰.

Relying on the national strategic scientific and technological strength in agriculture, GSCAAS integrates the scientific, technological and educational resources of research institutes and universities to build a talent cultivation system featuring the integration of science and education, industry and education, and university and academy. Since 2010, GSCAAS has carried out joint doctoral training programs with China Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, Northwest A&F University, Inner Mongolia University, Northeast Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, Southwest University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Zhejiang University and other institutions, making beneficial explorations for creating a new talent cultivation model of "CAAS + University" through the integration of science and education.

GSCAAS always keeps a close eye on the frontiers of global agricultural science and technology as well as the new development of international graduate education, and actively carries out multilateral international exchanges and cooperation. It has established cooperative relations with more than 330 foreign government departments, scientific research and teaching institutions, as well as nearly 50 international organizations, foundations and multinational corporations. Moreover, it has co-built more than 120 international cooperation platforms with bilateral and multilateral cooperation institutions, including 9 international reference laboratories recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) or the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). More than 460 experts hold senior positions in international institutions, organizations, or international journals.. GSCAAS has launched joint PhD education programs with world-renowned universities such as Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands and the University of Liège in Belgium. In 2019, GSCAAS successfully passed the national first batch of the Higher General Education Accreditation for International Students in China as well as Re-accreditation for it in 2024, marking a new stage of high-quality development in the internationalization of graduate education of GSCAAS. 

Standing at a new historical starting point, GSCAAS will adhere to the guidance of President Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the Party's educational policy, focus on the "Four Orientations" and the "Double First-Class" Initiative, and practice the deep integration of agriculture, science and education, as well as production, education and research.

It will strengthen the internal capacity building, ground efforts in serving national strategic needs and fulfilling the mission of CAAS, and strive to cultivate national strategic scientific and technological forces who have deep affection for agriculture, rural areas and farmers, aspire to dedicate themselves to agriculture and serve farmers, possess the scientific spirit and innovative capabilities, and are committed to serving rural revitalization and the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. By doing so, GSCAAS will comprehensively embark on a new journey to build a high-level, research-applied, international and distinctive training base for high-level agricultural talents.