In October 2002, in response to the national trends in marine science and technology development, the University strategically established the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In June 2017, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was renamed the School of Materials Science and Engineering, comprising the Department of Inorganic Materials and the Department of Polymer Materials. In August 2024, the Department of New Energy Materials and Devices was established, while the Department of Inorganic Materials was renamed the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Polymer Materials became the Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering.

The College boasts over 70 faculty and staff members, including more than 50 full-time teachers, 20 professors, and 20 doctoral supervisors. Notable among them are academicians from prestigious institutions such as the European Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy of Engineering, and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials Sciences. Additionally, the faculty includes one recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Science Fund, two state-level candidates of the New Century Millions of Talents Project, four Ministry of Education New Century Outstanding Talents, one young top talent under the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee's Ten Thousand Talent Plan, one expert of Shandong Province's Mount Tai Scholars Climbing Plan, thirteen young experts of Shandong Province's Mount Tai Scholars, one winner of the Shandong Provincial Outstanding Youth Fund, twelve winners of the Shandong Provincial Outstanding Youth Fund, and two candidates of the China Association for Science and Technology Young Talent Lift Project. The College also has two participants in its Construction Peak Talent Project and twenty-four participants in its Young Talents Project. The student body comprises over 900 students, with an undergraduate-to-postgraduate ratio of approximately 1:1.

The College pioneered the interdisciplinary research field of Marine Materials in China, establishing it as a key characteristic and development direction. Currently, the main research areas focus on Marine Materials and New Energy Materials. In 2012, the College's Materials Science discipline ranked within the top 1% of global ESI research institutions. It offers three undergraduate majors: Polymer Materials and Engineering (national first-class major), Materials Science and Engineering (provincial first-class major), and New Energy Materials and Devices (Qingdao Demonstration major for integration of production and education). The College provides master's degrees in Materials Science and Engineering and Materials and Chemical Engineering, as well as part-time professional master's degrees in Engineering Management. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Marine Materials Science and Engineering, the first of its kind in China, and recruits professional doctoral students in the Resources and Environment doctoral program, forming a comprehensive talent training system from bachelor's to doctoral levels, both full-time and part-time.

The College adheres to the fundamental task of moral education and people-oriented teaching, embracing the philosophy of student-centered, teacher-led, integrating classroom theory with practical education. It houses a national first-class major and is part of the Ministry of Education's Excellent Engineer Training pilot program. The College has compiled the first series of Marine Materials textbooks in China, which were selected as Eleventh Five-Year Plan and Twelfth Five-Year Plan national planning textbooks for undergraduate students of general higher education. It has achieved significant milestones, including one provincial first-class course, five excellent courses, one demonstration course on curriculum Ideology and politics, one teaching achievement award from Shandong Province, and seven provincial teaching and research projects. Over the past five years, it has won thirteen outstanding graduate theses and sixteen outstanding scientific research achievement awards in Shandong Province.

The college adheres to the principle of educating students for the Party and the nation, focusing on talent cultivation as its core objective. It promotes comprehensive student development through initiatives such as the Six-One Project, which leverages the undergraduate mentorship system and the Material Heart Companion program where party members engage with freshmen dormitories. This ensures that teachers, party members, and senior students are actively involved in the entire educational process, fostering an excellent academic atmosphere. The college has cultivated over 20 university-level Red Flag League branches, Lei Feng League branches, advanced class collectives, and league branches, as well as an Excellent Youth Volunteer Service Team. It has also established signature brand activities such as the Shandong 3D Printing Design Competition, Qingdao University's Low-Carbon Future Innovation and Creativity Contest, and the Campus Safety Culture Festival. In various competitions, including the Internet+ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, metallographic skills competition, failure analysis grand prix, and mathematical modeling contest, students have won more than 80 provincial and ministerial-level awards, including first prizes, the Chinese College Student of the Year finalist award, and Shandong Province's Ten Outstanding Students. The college continuously expands employment channels, improves the employment and entrepreneurship service system, achieving remarkable results in employment work, with an employment rate ranking among the top in the school. Over the years, it has cultivated a large number of high-quality outstanding students for the country and society.

In response to core material issues and key technical challenges in the fields of marine and energy both domestically and internationally, the college strives to enhance its capabilities in original and collaborative innovation. Research is conducted in areas such as high-energy beam processing and additive manufacturing of offshore equipment, marine material damage and protection technology, marine energy storage and conversion materials, and material genetic engineering and high-throughput technology. As the first unit in China to conduct field material research and establish stations in polar regions, the college performs material failure studies in extreme environments at two Antarctic scientific research stations. It has built numerous national-level, Ministry of Education, Shandong Province, and Qingdao research and development platforms, hosted nearly 200 national and provincial scientific research projects, and four individuals have received national science and technology awards. The college has won over 10 provincial science and technology achievement awards and published more than 700 SCI papers in the past five years, including over 500 papers in top and authoritative journals such as JACS, Angew, AM, NC, and AFM. Additionally, it has authorized more than 100 invention patents, forming a series of original, leading, and breakthrough scientific and technological achievements with significant influence. The college invites academicians and other renowned scholars to conduct a series of academic activities in the fields of advanced materials and marine pollution protection.

The school gives full play to the characteristics and advantages of disciplines and continuously deepens the cooperation between industry, university and research. With Quanwei Technology to build a joint research center for Marine photovoltaic technology, the enterprise invested 10 million yuan. Jointly build a joint laboratory with Shandong Iron and Steel Co., LTD., Shandong Tianhan New Energy Technology Co., LTD., Qingdao Huagao Ink Technology Co., Ltd. and other enterprises to jointly carry out technical research on key technical issues in various industries. Signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Shandong Energy Group New Materials Co., LTD., Shandong Guoporcelain Functional Materials Co., LTD., Qingdao Steel Yanak Detection and Protection Technology Co., LTD., Hisense Home Appliance Group R & D Center, Qingdao Longdi Carbon Material Technology Co., LTD. The new materials and equipment developed are widely used in Marine engineering, chemical industry, rail transit, mechanical engineering, Marine wind power, polar and far-reaching sea exploration and other fields, and have produced good economic and social benefits.

The college places great emphasis on international exchanges and cooperation, adopting a strategy of bringing in and going out , gradually enhancing its level of internationalization. In recent years, numerous faculty members have pursued further studies abroad, while many foreign experts have been invited to participate in daily teaching activities. The college has also engaged in cooperative graduate training programs with renowned universities in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and other countries. Approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology under the High-End Foreign Experts Introduction Plan, a group of overseas experts has visited for academic exchanges, and many students have pursued degrees at foreign universities.

Looking forward to the future, the college will adhere to the motto of Mingde learning, integration of knowledge and practice, consciously assume the mission of building moral education, scientific and technological self-reliance, and strive to write a new chapter in the construction of first-class disciplines with distinctive characteristics!