Abstract: It is urgent and essential to develop and evaluate the index system of the university teachers’ scientific competency in Tianjin city. In the present study, the teachers from 4 universities（Tianjin University, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin Medical University and Tianjin Commercial University）were recruited in the investigation. A scale on the teachers’ scientific competency was developed. A multistage sampling involving stratified and cluster sampling method was performed in the study. Moreover, quantitative models were used to perform the empirical analysis. The self-designed scale consists of 5 dimensions: cooperation ability, communication ability, problem solving ability, development ability and analysis ability. Both the validity and sensitivity of the scale were proved to be preferable. The cooperation ability showed the best performance among the 5 domains. Additionally, school, gender, degrees, motivation and self-efficacy were correlates of scientific research competency of the university teachers in Tianjin city.

Key words: university teacher, scientific competency, evaluation scale, correlates