Southwest University of Political Science & Law President’s Scholarship

About the university

Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL), also known as "Xizheng," is located in Chongqing. It is the earliest higher education institution of political science and law established in the People's Republic of China. After the reform and opening-up, it was designated as one of the first national key universities by the State Council. It is jointly built by the Ministry of Education and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government. SWUPL has been selected into the first batch of national excellent legal talent education and training bases, the first batch of national-level foreign-related legal research bases, and the first batch of the Ministry of Education's "Innovation Base for Collaborative Training of Foreign-Related Legal Talents (Cultivation)." The university's predecessor was the Southwest People's Revolutionary University, founded in 1950 with Marshal Liu Bocheng as its president. In 1953, based on the Southwest People's Revolutionary University, the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law was established, with its name inscribed by Mr. Guo Moruo. The first dean was General Zhou Baozhong, a national hero in the Anti-Japanese War and the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. In 1978, the university was designated as a national key university by the State Council. In 1993, it was approved by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council as a doctoral degree-granting unit. In 1995, it was upgraded to Southwest University of Political Science and Law with the approval of the former State Education Commission. As of September 2025, the university has three campuses: Shapingba Campus, Yubei Campus, and Baosheng Lake Campus, covering a total area of over 3,000 mu. Among them, Yubei Campus serves as the center for undergraduate and graduate education, Shapingba Campus is the base for continuing education and cadre training, and Baosheng Lake Campus is the base for scientific research and innovation entrepreneurship. The university has 18 schools and colleges, offering 33 undergraduate programs. It has 4 first-level doctoral degree authorization points, 1 professional doctoral degree authorization point, 13 first-level master's degree authorization points, and 13 professional master's degree authorization points. The university has over 25,000 enrolled students and more than 2,000 faculty and staff. In early 1950, the Southwest Military and Political Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Southwest People's Revolutionary University to cultivate talents for national construction and implement the policy towards intellectuals. Liu Bocheng, Chairman of the Military and Political Committee, served as the president, Zhang Ziyi, Director of the Propaganda Department of the Southwest Bureau, as the vice president, and Deng Zhige and Zheng Siqun as the deans of education. The main campus was located in Chongqing, with offices, teaching departments, administrative departments, and four branches, as well as six sub-campuses in Western Sichuan, Southern Sichuan, Northern Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Xikang. In 1953, based on the Department of Political Science and Law of the Southwest People's Revolutionary University, the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law was formally established by merging the Law School of Chongqing University, the College of Political Science and Law of Sichuan University, the Department of Law of Chongqing College of Finance and Economics, the Department of Law of Guizhou University, and the Department of Law of Yunnan University. The name was inscribed by Mr. Guo Moruo. The campus was located in Hualongqiao, Chongqing, under the leadership of the Political and Legal Committee of the Southwest Military and Political Committee, with Zhou Baozhong, Chairman of the Committee, concurrently serving as the dean. In September of the same year, the Department of Law of Yunnan University was merged. In 1954, according to the spirit of the National Conference on Political and Legal Education, a four-year undergraduate program in law was launched, and the two-year specialized program was discontinued. The institute moved to Shapingba, Chongqing. In the same year, the Southwest Military and Political Committee was dissolved, and the institute was placed under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice of the Government Administration Council. In 1958, the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law was placed under the leadership of Sichuan Province. In the same year, the Sichuan Political and Legal Cadre School was merged, and the Chongqing Law School was closed, with its personnel and equipment transferred to the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law. In July of the same year, the journal "Political and Legal Education" was launched. In January 1959, the Southwest Institute of Political Science and Law merged with the Chongqing Branch of the Central People's Public Security College, and the name was changed to Sichuan Political and Legal Public Security College. In addition to the full-time undergraduate programs in the Department of Political Science and Law and the Department of Political Science, the college also added the Department of Civil Affairs, the Department of Security, the Department of Public Order, and the Department of Judicial Administration to train in-service cadres. In December of the same year, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China restructured the Sichuan Political and Legal Public Security College into a college for training and cultivating party and government cadres. In August 1960, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Sichuan Administrative College, which shared the same campus with the Sichuan Political and Legal Public Security College under two names. It offered programs in the Department of Political Science and Law, the Department of Political Science, the Department of Political Education, the Department of Judicial Administration, and the Cadre Training Department. It began offering four-year correspondence education. In 1961, the two colleges used the name Sichuan Administrative College to train various administrative cadres and political, legal, and public security cadres.