The specialty of tea science of Southwest University originated from Fudan University's tea major in Beibei during the Anti-Japanese war. In 1951, this major was established as one of the specialties of Southwest University under the care of Wu Juenong, the contemporary “tea saint” who was then Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2000, it was authorized as doctorate awarding unit on tea science. Among the colleges and universities which set up the specialty of tea science in the whole country, the major in SWU is one of the disciplines which has the longest running history and the most complete education levels. It is the model major of the Ministry of Education and the characteristic major of Chongqing.
Supported by applied biology, agricultural science, food science, business management, and other sciences, this major focuses on the theory, technology and application of efficient tea production, processing, deep processing, comprehensive utilization and commercialization engineering, tea and human health, as well as tea culture. The science of tea aims at training scientific and technological workers and high-level professionals of the tea industry. Graduates are mainly employed in the research fields of tea science and technology, and also in management, trade, culture and service functions in the tea industry.