The mission of School of Earth Sciences (SES) is to understand the behavior of the Earth system, including the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, and its interaction with human activities from local to global scales. We also aim to educate the next generation of Earth scientists and provide decision-relevant insights that benefit the society.

The history of SES can be traced back to 1936 when the prominent Chinese meteorolo­gist, geographer, and educator Chu Kochen founded the Department of History and Geography within National Chekiang University (the predecessor of Zhejiang University). The Department of Earth Sciences was established in 1999, which was expanded to School of Earth Sciences in 2015. After about 90 years of development, Earth Sciences in ZJU has grown into a highly interdisciplinary academic program.

SES encompasses a broad range of Earth sciences disciplines. SES currently has three Departments, i.e. Geology, Geography, and Atmospheric Sciences, offering three undergraduate programs (Geology, Geographical Information Science, and Atmospheric Sciences) and a variety of post-graduate student programs related to Earth sciences.

Currently, SES has more than 100 faculty members. Our student body includes approximately 300 undergraduate students and 300 graduate students. We strive to solve the global challenges of the Earth's evolution and habitability, climate and environmental change, human interactions with the Earth, and sustainable development.