As a comprehensive oceanic university which coordinates well in the multi-disciplinary development, GDOU boasts 5 key disciplines under the project Guangdong Province High-level Universities, including Fisheries Science, Marine Science, Food Science and Engineering, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering and Crop Science, 3 first-class disciplines for doctoral degree (Fisheries, Marine Science, and Food Science and Engineering), 11 first-class disciplines for master’s degree, and 12 professional master’s programs.

Among all these, Botany and Zoology have ranked among the top 1% of Essential Science Indicators (ESI) globally, and Veterinary Medicine has been  ranked in the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) in 3 straight years.