SDUT puts great stress on building its campus culture by raising students' self-consciousness, the sense of responsibility and mission in culture building. The University has adopted measures to reach its goal of immersing the students into different levels of the campus culture, namely, the level of spiritual, institutional, and material culture. These measures have laid a solid cultural foundation in cultivating high quality talents and building a high-level university.

The University launched the project of campus cultural building and as a result has established the motto, the anthem and the badge. SDUT has conducted various activities, including the “Six Major Topics” activities, students’ integrity education, the reading activity with a list recommended by 100 scholars and experts, lectures given by cultural celebrities, the morality education, as well as the professional ethics education for the faculty. In a sense, building the spiritual culture has become the momentum and source in enhancing the University's teaching and research level, promoting the University's features, and improving the cohesive force of the faculty.

Keeping the culture building in mind, the University continuously examines and explores institutional innovation and improvement and has amended its regulations according to the requirements of the human-oriented concept and standards of lean management. A preliminary institutional environment, which is both rigid and loose, has been established based on the human-oriented concept.

The campus infrastructure of SDUT highlights the cultural content with great efforts on the campus beautification and afforestation. So far the University has completed the construction of multiple humanistic sceneries and cultural facilities, such as the round-island man-made lake, the artificial river, the central scenic avenue, the college student art plaza, and other theme botanical gardens.A highly ecological, garden-like, digital, and humanized modern campus and a most favorable physical environment for studying and living has been established.

In its long history of teaching practice, the University has formed its education concept of “Cultivating Talents, Exploring Truth”, the university motto of “Integrity, Learning, Commitment, and Perfection”, the university spirit of “Selfless Dedication, Pursuit of Excellence”, and the study style of “Practice Learning and Integrity Equally, Never Tired of Knowing”.