The university consists of 14 colleges and offers degree programs at undergraduate and graduate levels in some 44 disciplines.

The university takes the nationwide lead in such academic fields as Ichthyology, Aquatic Animal Proliferation and Breeding, Fish Diseases Prevention, Fish Nutrition and Feeds, Fish Species and Quality Resources, Seaweed Cells Engineering, Fishing Gear and Methodology, Fishery Machinery, Preservation and Management of Fishery Resources, Fishery Regulations and Policy, Fishery Economics, Biological Technology, Marine Ecology, Food Science and Engineering, Refrigeration and Cryogenics.

1 nationwide in "Marine fisheries science and technology" in the recognized Best Chinese Universities Ranking.

[12] Shanghai Ocean University has made agreeable advances in international cooperation and communication.

Up to now, the university has established long-term academic cooperation with more than 40 foreign institutions of higher education and research.