School of Science, Tianjin University formerly known as  School of Science of Peiyang University, was established in 1946 with four departments: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Geography. In 1952, as a result of the national restructuring of academic departments, then School of Science was incorporated into Nankai University. In 1983, Tianjin University reestablished the Departments of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. In 1997, the three departments were restructured into School of Science. With the establishment of School of Mathematics with its integration with the Tianjin Center for Applied Mathematics, School of Science(hereafter "the School") now comprises Department of Physics and Department of Chemistry since 2016.

Under the leadership of the university, School of Science now pursues the goal of educating outstanding talents with a sense of national responsibility, global vision, innovative spirit, and practical capabilities, through more than seventy years of development. Guided by the philosophy of “innovating approaches to science development, promoting interdisciplinary integration between science and engineering, and enhancing overall disciplinary standards”in education, the entire faculty and staff work in unity and concerted effort. Continuous breakthroughs are being achieved in talent cultivation, team building, teaching, and research, propelling disciplinary development to new heights. The entire faculty is striving to build a dynamic, high-potential college with distinctive characteristics.

The School now has 1469 full-time students, including 727 undergraduates, 435 postgraduates, and 307 Ph.D. candidates. There are 224 faculty and staff members, including 156 full-time teachers: including 70 professors/researchers and 79 associate professors/associate researchers. Among the faculty are 1 Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 National Teaching Master, 7 National Leading Talents, 16 National Young Talents, and 5 Tianjin Municipal Teaching Masters.

The School offers two undergraduate programs: Applied Physics and Applied Chemistry. It also holds doctoral degree authorization in two first-level disciplines—Physics and Chemistry— as well as two postdoctoral research stations. The Applied Chemistry program has been recognized as a National First-Class Undergraduate Program, while Applied Physics is designated as a Tianjin Municipal First-Class Undergraduate Program. In 2020, both Applied Physics and Applied Chemistry were approved for the Ministry of Education's inaugural “Plan for Strengthening Basic Academic Disciplines.” The Applied Chemistry program's “Hou Debang Elite Chemistry Student” was designated as a 2021 Ministry of Education Base for the Cultivation of Elite Students in Fundamental Disciplines 2.0.

The School drives high-quality development through high-level discipline construction. Chemistry was included in both the first and second batches of the Ministry of Education's “Double First-Class” initiative. By 2024, it entered the top 0.01% globally in the ESI rankings, ranking 16th worldwide (5th nationally). Physics is a Tianjin Key Discipline and ranks in the top 1% globally in ESI.

The School places high importance on undergraduate foundational education, operating two teaching laboratories: the Physics Experimental Center and the Chemistry Experimental Center. It hosts the inaugural “National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,” the first “National Virtual Simulation Experimental Teaching Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,” and a nationally recognized “Outstanding Teaching Base for Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals.” The Physics Experiment Center was designated a Tianjin Municipal Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center. The School boasts one “National Teaching Team for Engineering Fundamentals” and two Tianjin Municipal Teaching Teams: “Fundamental Chemistry Experiment Teaching Team” and “Physical Chemistry Teaching Team.” Faculty members deliver over 20,000 public course teaching hours annually, with course enrollment exceeding 20,000 student-semester credits. The School has received three National Teaching Achievement Awards (Second Class), one Tianjin Teaching Achievement Award (Special Prize), three Tianjin Teaching Achievement Awards (First Class), and five Tianjin Teaching Achievement Awards (Second Class). Twelve courses have been designated as National First-Class Undergraduate Courses, and four textbooks have been recognized as National Planning Textbooks. The School publishes a series of multi-dimensional textbooks with annual circulation exceeding 400,000 copies.

The School houses multiple research institutes and experimental centers, providing an excellent research environment. Current provincial/ministerial-level research platforms include the National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing Functional Materials, the Data Center Innovation Platform of the National New Display Technology Innovation Center, the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuits, the Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, and the Tianjin Key Laboratory of Physics and Preparation Technology of Low-Dimensional Functional Materials. Additionally, it hosts one “111” National Discipline Innovation and Intelligence Introduction Base. The School also operates the Molecular Optoelectronic Science and Engineering Research Platform at the Tianjin Collaborative Innovation Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. It has successively established the Tianjin University Bioinformatics Center, the Tianjin University Institute of Chemistry, and the Tianjin University Quantum Interdisciplinary Research Center. Over the past five years, the School has secured over 200 new research projects, including 8 Key R&D Programs from the Ministry of Science and Technology, 1 Innovation Research Group from the National Natural Science Foundation, and 10 National Natural Science Foundation projects (Key/Major/Young A/Young B), with total research funding reaching 190 million yuan. The School publishes 200-300 SCI-indexed papers annually as the first-author institution, collaborates with numerous top international universities, and has published significant findings in high-impact journals including Nature, Science, Nat. Mater., Nat. Chem., Nat. Catal., Nat. Synth., JACS, ACIE, and PRL. The department has received one Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, one National Innovation Pioneer Award, one Special Prize of the Tianjin Natural Science Award, and two First Prizes of the Tianjin Natural Science Award.

The School has accelerated its international exchange and cooperation efforts, launching the international journal SmartMat. It has been selected for the High-Startup New Journals Project and the English Tiered Journals Project under Phase II of China's Excellence Initiative for Science and Technology Journals, continuously enhancing its global academic influence. It has established a cooperative education program with the National University of Singapore in Fuzhou and has organized undergraduate students for consecutive years to participate in research training at institutions including the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and Kyushu Institute of Technology.

The School remains steadfastly anchored to the “Four Services” development orientation of higher education, resolutely fulfilling the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education. Upholding its original aspiration and mission of nurturing talent for the Party and the nation, it has deepened its cultivation in education and teaching, pioneered exploration at the forefront of scientific research, and innovated in talent development pathways. This has driven the coordinated advancement and steady enhancement of all three dimensions, laying a solid foundation for The School's high-quality development. Over the years, through solid educational measures and outstanding achievements, The School has launched generation after generation of outstanding graduates into the vibrant practice of comprehensively building a modern socialist powerhouse, contributing their wisdom and strength to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.