To meet the requirements of building Shanghai into Four Centers and developing modern service and advanced manufacturing sector, Shanghai Open University has set “application-oriented professionals” as its educational targets, specified the specialty construction based on the practical needs from different trades and enterprises, by laying equal importance on both undergraduate and junior college levels, and making professional and vocational education complementary to each other and graduate studies and degree programs to be carried out in a variety of collaboration so that their structures could be optimized for the balanced development.

Currently, the University offers 44 specialties, including 17 undergraduate-level and 27 junior-college-level specialties. Centering on the broad range, modularization and the possibility of options, it absorbs quality social resources to promote the resource construction of the specialty and courses. Undergraduate-level specialties, such as Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Software Engineering and Urban Public Safety Management, are constructed to develop application-oriented professionals who are not only strong in theoretical study, but highly attentive to practices with strong ability in its application.