A university in Sichuan, China, is set to welcome prospective students for the country's first college dedicated to the study of giant pandas.

Human students, that is, not pandas.

50 to be trained as giant panda protection professionals

According to Chinese media, the Giant Panda College in China West Normal University will train undergraduate students in wildlife and nature reserve management majors to become professionals specialising in the protection of giant pandas.

Based in the university's College of Life Sciences, the panda college was set up last September in a joint effort by the university and Sichuan authorities.

Liao Wenbo, dean of the College of Life Sciences, said that students who pass through the panda college can go on to work in the Giant Panda National Park based in Sichuan, or in other nature reserves, as cited by China Daily.

The Giant Panda National Park connects 67 existing panda reserves in the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu and is home to 80 per cent of the country's wild pandas.

Of the 50 students enrolling for the upcoming academic year, 35 are from Sichuan, while the rest are from other parts of China.

Specialised courses, hands-on opportunities for students

Wei Wei, an institute director at the university and teacher at the Giant Panda College, told China Daily that the college will offer professional courses such as conservation biology, and invite experts from well-known domestic universities and research institutions to provide guest lectures.

22 experts from institutions like China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding will sit on the college's expert committee, she added.

Huang Yan, director of the university's forestry department and another teacher at the college told state news outlet CCTV that students will be provided hands-on opportunities to interact with giant pandas.

"We will bring them for internships and practical sessions at giant panda reserves such as Liziping and Tangjiahe, as well as research institutes and zoos, so as to better understand the habitats of giant pandas, what they are like in the wild, as well as domestication and breeding processes," Huang said.

Giant pandas are widely considered a cultural symbol of Sichuan.

Beloved panda cub Le Le, the first giant panda cub to be born in Singapore, made its first public appearance at the Dujiangyan Panda Base in Sichuan since returning to China in January.

Related articles:

Top image from Weibo