The legal education of South China University of Technology (SCUT) traces its roots back to the Law Program under the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in 1993. In July 2004, the Law School was officially inaugurated. In November of the same year, the university, in collaboration with the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office and Guangzhou Intellectual Property Office, co-established the Intellectual Property School. At present, the Intellectual Property School and the Law School function as a single administrative entity.
Located at SCUT’s University Town Campus on Xiaoguwei Island along the Pearl River, the school boasts a beautiful and refined campus environment, fostering a serene and favorable atmosphere for faculty and students to engage in academic pursuits and daily life.
In terms of disciplinary platforms and talent cultivation system, the school holds the right to confer doctoral degrees in the first-level discipline of Law, master’s degrees in the first-level discipline of Law, and professional Juris Master degrees. It also houses a postdoctoral research station in Law. The school offers two undergraduate programs—Law and Intellectual Property—both of which have been designated as National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Sites. Meanwhile, as one of the first batch of National Bases for Training Outstanding Legal Talents, the school has set up multiple national and ministerial-level key research and training platforms, including the National Intellectual Property Talent Training (Guangdong) Base. These platforms provide solid support for the distinctive development of disciplines, scientific research innovation, and the cultivation of high-caliber legal talents. Currently, the school has nearly 1,100 enrolled students, among whom 420 are postgraduates and 678 are undergraduates.
In terms of faculty strength and research capabilities, the school has a total of 69 faculty and staff members, including 48 full-time teachers—17 professors and 26 associate professors. An impressive 95% of the teachers hold doctoral degrees. The faculty team includes many high-profile experts and scholars, such as recipients of the title of Top Ten Outstanding Young Jurists of China and leading talents in the National Philosophy and Social Sciences Ten Thousand Talents Program, who serve as the core backbone for discipline construction and talent cultivation. The school nurtures a vibrant research environment. Over the past five years, it has undertaken more than 30 national-level projects (including major, key and general projects of the National Social Science Fund) and over 70 ministerial and provincial-level projects. It publishes numerous academic papers in core law journals each year, and its academic influence in legal research across China has been on a steady rise. Notably, the number of papers published by its Economic Law discipline in the China Law Citation Index (CLSCI) has maintained a leading position nationwide.
The school is equipped with superior academic facilities. It has a relatively independent school building and three moot courts, and every teacher is provided with a private office, ensuring ample space for teaching and research. It also features an independent professional library that houses over 60,000 books, nearly 100 Chinese and foreign academic journals, and two sets of Chinese and foreign databases. The library includes a multi-functional reading room that integrates reading, seminar and relaxation functions, creating a convenient space for faculty and students to access academic resources and conduct academic exchanges. In addition, the school has established practical teaching venues such as the Legal Professional Skills Training Room, along with humanistic spaces like leisure courtyards, comprehensively meeting the teaching, research, practical and daily needs of faculty and students.
In the realm of talent cultivation and external cooperation, the school has always adhered to the dual-track education model of Theory plus Practice. Over the years, it has nurtured and delivered a large number of outstanding talents to the legal practice and education sectors. Many of its graduates have grown into elites in their fields, including judges, prosecutors, senior lawyers and university scholars. The school has established stable cooperative relationships with government departments, judicial organs, law firms, intellectual property agencies and renowned enterprises. Through initiatives such as co-building internship bases and jointly offering practical courses, it has effectively strengthened the cultivation of students' practical abilities. Meanwhile, the school is actively advancing internationalization, establishing various forms of cooperative ties with overseas universities including the University of Illinois College of Law, New York University School of Law, University of Louvain School of Law in Belgium, the University of Hong Kong and National Taiwan University, thereby promoting the international development of the school.
Upholding the school-running philosophy of Building a Law School with Dignity, SCUT Law School (Intellectual Property School) is committed to cultivating high-quality legal talents with both moral integrity and professional competence, and driving the innovative development of legal disciplines. We sincerely look forward to the attention and support from all sectors of society, and are ready to work hand in hand to advance the cause of the rule of law!
(Updated: December 1, 2025)
