Shandong University has introduced two new undergraduate majors – engineering software and sports training. The engineering software major is the first of its kind in the nation.

The engineering software major integrates engineering technology and software technology, aiming to cultivate interdisciplinary talent to support the high-quality development of engineering technology in the new era. It seeks to comprehensively enhance the technological innovation and supply capacity of critical software in the field of engineering construction.

The sports training major, which adopts a new humanities and social sciences framework, is aligned with the national strategies of promoting a Healthy China and nationwide fitness. This major innovatively incorporates three distinctive areas of training – sports training guidance, intelligent training competitions, and sports health management. It aims to cultivate sports talent by integrating physical education with training, teaching, and the sports industry.

In recent years, Shandong University has actively promoted the development of "Four News" (New Engineering, New Medical Science, New Agricultural Science, and New Humanities and Social Sciences). It has optimized and adjusted its structure by eliminating outdated majors, integrating less popular majors, transforming traditional majors, and adding strategic emerging majors.

The university has received approval for five new majors targeting cutting-edge fields, including engineering software, intelligent construction and smart transportation, cryptography science and technology, artificial intelligence, and network space security.

Furthermore, 14 strategic emerging majors have been added, including sports training, international journalism and communication, robotics engineering, and energy storage science and engineering, to develop a "high-quality undergraduate talent cultivation system" characterized by excellence, specialty, and innovation.