The predecessor of CUPL is Peking College of Political Science and Law founded in 1952 by the merger of disciplines of law, politics, and sociology of Peking University , Yenching University , Furen University and Tsinghua University . Mr. Qian Duansheng, the noted jurist and expert on political science, was its first president. Later in 1983, the school was renamed China University of Political Science and Law under the directive of the Central Government to “speed up the building of China University of Political Science and Law and make it the national center of political and legal education”. Comrade Deng Xiaoping inscribed the new name of the university.

        After over 50 years of construction and development, in university there are currently 2 state key research bases of humanities and social sciences, 1 key laboratory under Ministry of Education, 1 Beijing research base of philosophy and social sciences, 1 mobile postdoctoral station, 18 doctoral programs, 45 master's programs and 17 undergraduate programs. With the approval of Ministry of Education, the university now enjoys the autonomy to establish undergraduate programs and enroll through selection undergraduate students and students with special skills in arts and sports. There are now altogether 18 schools (departments) under the university, namely, Law School, Civil, Commercial and Economical Law School, International Law School, College of Criminal Justice, Politics and the Public Administration School, Business School, Humanism School, School of Foreign Languages, School of Continuing Education, College of International Studies, School of Marxism, School of Sociology, School of Master of Law, School of American and Comparative Law, School of German and Comparative Law, School of International Confucianism, Department of Physical Education and Department of Science and Technology. Over 20000 students are currently studying in CUPL with a teaching staff of more than 1690, including about 830 full-time teachers which include 510 professors/associate professors, 126 doctorate advisors and 420 master advisors. It is notable that the teaching and research areas of its legal faculty cover almost all the second-class disciplines of law.

        The university now is in two locations, Xueyuan Road campus in Haidian District as the old one and Changping campus at the foot of the Corps Hills in Changping District as the new one, which was designated as a key project of the State's Seventh Five-Year-Plan in 1985. The university's current Secretary of the Party Committee is Professor Shi Yajun; the President is Professor Xu Xianming.

        In its 50 years' development, the university upholds its motto of “keeping integrity and law in mind and studying for the public”, embraces the ideal of “promoting China 's social and political progress” and “building a socialist country under the rule of law”, and commits itself to earnest academic efforts and the nurturing of talents. With care and support from relevant state departments and all walks of society, the University has developed its own features in teaching, academic research, discipline set-up and other various areas, enjoying a prominent and all-round advantage in the studies of law. Now it has become China 's important base of legal education and center of foreign exchange in law.

        China University of Political Science and Law is a center for fostering high-quality talents in political science and law. In the past 50 years, it has provided the society with more than 200 thousand political and legal talents of high quality, most of whom have become the mainstay in the nation's organs in public security, prosecution, judiciary, justice, government, economic entities as well as in legal education and research.

        As an important law research center of China , the university has created many of the firsts in terms of legal education in the new China since its founding. It is the first university to offer the discipline of legal history, civil commercial law, economic law, procedural law and comparative law. The first group of doctors in legal history also graduated here from CUPL. In the past 50 years, academic findings and achievements of CUPL have been constantly applied in China 's legislative and judicial practice. From the drafting of the 1954 Constitution of the People's Republic of China , to the promulgation of the Anti-Secession Law , the enactment and implementation of almost every major law of the Republic can reflect the work and efforts of CUPL people. Since 1978 when it was rehabilitated, over 1000 CUPL crew have participated in the deliberation and draft work of the nation's major legislations. At present, the university has 2 key research bases for humanity and social sciences under the Ministry of Education, 1 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Evidence Science, 1 Rule-of-Law Government Beijing Research Base for Philosophy and Social Sciences and research institutes like Institute of Ancient Law Books Collation and Studies, Research Institute of Human Rights and humanitarian Law, and Research Institute of Comparative Law.

        China University of Political Science and Law is the exchange center in law between China and the rest of the world. Since China 's reform and opening up, the university has established exchange and cooperative ties with over 70 universities from 20 countries and regions. It is currently home to over 750 overseas students from 18 countries and regions.

        In the past 50 years, China University of Political Science and Law has played a unique and irreplaceable role in consolidating the political power of the Republic, safeguarding social stability and promoting political and legal progress of the country. It has made special contribution to the innovation and development of legal education and research. The university enjoys a special historical position and shoulders an important historical mission in the social progress of building political civilization and a country under rule of law. The university has received great attention and care from the party and leaders of the country all the way through its development. When the university was rehabilitated in 1983, the central governmental gave a definite instruction to “build China University of Political Science and Law into a national political and legal education center, law research center and law books and information center”. Vice Premier Li Lanqing visited the university in 1995 and 2002 and highly praised the construction and development of the university and said “China University of Political Science and Law is China 's highest institution in law”. In 2002, Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin and National People's Congress (NPC) Chairman Li Peng wrote words in commemoration of its 50 th anniversary. State Councilor and former Minister of Education Chen Zhili attended the ceremonial of the 50 th anniversary and made an important speech. In April 2005, Li Tieying — NPC vice chairman and Zhou Ji — Minister of Education visited our university and gave high recognition. Li Tieying commended the university by saying “China University of Political Science and Law is the best assistant of NPC”

        In the 21 st century, in the new context of the reform of higher education, according to the new requirements of legal education based on the strategy of “rule of law”, China University of Political Science and Law has voluntarily readjusted its development strategy, further clarified its orientation and goals and put forward the philosophy of “making teaching the core task, students the main body, talent training the main task and reform and innovation the driving force for development” to run the university. It plans to finish in 20 years time 3 historical tasks, namely, to comprehensive improve the core competitiveness of the university, to improve the overall strength of the university and to promote the modernization of every aspect of the university, and vitalize CUPL by focusing on strengthening law education, and build the university into a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented, open and unique world-renowned high-level university and China's legal education center, law research center, law books and information center, national legislation and decision-making advisory center as well as international law and culture exchange center.