The Xiamen University (XMU) located in Xiamen in southern China has established a new Department of Geological Oceanography as part of the College of Ocean and Earth Sciences (http://coe.xmu.edu.cn/) that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The college is one of the top oceanography programs in China, and recently moved into new research and teaching facilities. We are also building a 3600-ton (78 m) research vessel and a marine station for cutting-edge education and research in oceanography. XMU envisions the development of a world-class program in Geological Oceanography with focus on interdisciplinary studies of sedimentary processes and the sedimentary record in China’s unique marginal seas.