The school is among the first group approved to award doctoral degrees in Biology (first-level discipline) in China, and it belongs to the First-level Beijing Municipal Key Disciplines. The school now possesses nine doctoral programs of first level disciplines and fourteen master’s programs. Among these programs, there are two national key disciplines (Cell Biology and Ecology), one Beijing municipal key discipline (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), one key discipline of Beijing Normal University (Development Biology) and one Post-doctoral station in Biology. So far, a four-level key discipline group concerning Molecule, Cell, Ontogeny and Phylogeny has been built, which achieves the goal of interdisciplinary research in first level disciplines.

The College of Life Sciences meets major needs for the sustainable development of the national economy, such as human beings’ living and health. The school possesses an influential discipline group concerning several key disciplines, such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology and Ecology. Depending on the discipline group, a distinctive research and talent training system is formed, with reasonable structure and complementary advantages. The system focuses on research on Molecular Mechanism of Cell Proliferation and Regulation, Biodiversity and Ecological Security Mechanisms, Molecular Mechanism of Heredity and Development of Animals and Plants, Pharmacology of Genetic Engineering, and Product Development in Biotechnology.