The School of Marxism at South China University of Technology (SCUT) was established as an independent unit in April 2009. As a second-tier college directly under the university, it is dedicated to the teaching of ideological and political education and to advanced research in Marxist theories. The school is housed in the serene and elegant Building 5 on the Wushan Campus.

   The school has a rich institutional lineage. Its origins trace back to 1952, when South China Institute of Technology was founded and established the Teaching and Research Office of New Democracy and Political Economy. In the following year, 1953, the Teaching and Research Office of Marxism-Leninism was created in the university. In 1984, building upon the foundation of the Marxism-Leninism Teaching and Research Office, the Department of Social Sciences was formed. Between 1993 and 1999, several units, including the Teaching and Research Offices of Humanities, of Dialectics of Nature, and of Moral Education, were successively integrated into the Department of Social Sciences. In 2002, the university’s Arts Education Center merged with the Department of Social Sciences to form the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. A major reorganization took place in 2004, when the School of Humanities and Social Sciences was divided into four schools: the School of Politics and Public Administration, the School of Law, the School of Journalism and Communication, and the School of Arts. In 2009, to implement the spirit of the central government on further strengthening ideological and political theory education, the School of Politics and Public Administration was dissolved into two new entities: the School of Ideological and Political Education and the School of Public Administration. In 2014, the School of Ideological and Political Education was renamed the School of Marxism. In 2017, SCUT was approved to co-construct a Key Marxist Institute with the Publicity Department of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee. In 2023, the School of Marxism was approved as one of the first batch of key Marxist institutes in Guangdong Province.

  The School of Marxism currently have an outstanding faculty with distinguished honors and appointments, including:3 high-caliber personnel selected in the national major projects and 3 talented personnel selected in the Guangdong major projects; 1 member of the Writing Group and 1 member of the Revision Group for the Key Textbooks of the Central Committee’s “Marxist Theory Research and Development Project” (the “Marxist Project”); 2 members of “The 6th Discipline Evaluation Group of Guangdong Province”; One “Guangdong Famous Teacher”; 2 Distinguished Teachers and 2 Exemplary Teachers of Ideological and Political Education Courses in Guangdong universities; 3 nominees for the “National Annual Influential Figures of Ideological and Political Education Teachers in Universities”; One Vice-Chair and three members of the Fourth Teaching Guidance Committee for Ideological and Political Theory Education Courses in Guangdong Universities; One recipient of the “Southern Guangdong Outstanding Talent Training Project” for Young Cultural Elites; Three “Guangdong Young Outstanding Talents in Theory Publicity”; 3 “Excellent Teachers in Southern Guangdong”; 2 “Outstanding Moral Education Teachers in Guangdong”; 5 teachers selected as cultivation targets for Guangdong’s “Ten and Hundred and Thousand Talent Project” on the publicity and ideological work front; 10 teachers selected as cultivation targets in SCUT in the “Thousand and Hundred and Ten Talent Training Project”; 4 teacher who awared the title of “Famous Teacher of South China University of Technology”.

   The School of Marxism currently hosts a post doctoral mobile station and discipline authorized to offer doctoral and master degree program. The school has a faculty team comprising 15 doctoral program supervisors and 30 master program supervisors, admit students for four core research directions: Fundamental Principles of Marxism, Research on Sinicization of Marxism, Ideological and Political Education, and Research on Basic Issues of Modern and Contemporary History of China.

   The school has 9 teaching and research units, and they are the Teaching and Research Office of: Fundamental principles of Marxism, of the Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, of Ideological Morality and Rule of Law, of the Outline of Modern and Contemporary Chinese History, Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, of Situation and Policy, of Marxist Theory and Practice, of Postgraduate Ideological and Political Theory Courses, and of Undergraduate Marxist Theory. Four undergraduate courses provided by the school—Basic Principles of Marxism, Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Ideological and Moral Cultivation and Legal Basis, and Outline of Modern Chinese History—have been selected as Guangdong Provincial Excellent Open Resource Courses. Introduction to Dialectics of Nature and Research on the Theory and Practice of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics have been selected as Guangdong Provincial Model Courses for Postgraduates. 2 undergraduate teaching team, one for Ideological and Political Theory courses, and another one for Marxist Theory and Practice, have been selected as “Guangdong Provincial Teaching Teams”. In the school, 2 teachers has won the second prizes in the “First National Teaching Exhibition of Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Universities” organized by the Ministry of Education, and one got the title of “Star of Digital Teaching” by the Online Education Center of the Ministry of Education. For the provincial awards, the school has one “Guangdong Famous Teacher”, 2 second prizes of Guangdong Provincial Education and Teaching Achievement Award, one third prize in the First Guangdong Province University Teaching Competition for Young Teachers (Humanities and Social Sciences Group), one second prize in the Fourth Guangdong Provincial College Ideological and Political Theory Teaching Skills Competition, 2 third prizes in the Micro-course Competition for Colleges and Universities in Guangdong Province (Literature and History Group), 2 second prizes in the Teaching Skills Competition for Young Teachers of Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Universities across Three Provinces (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan), one second prize in the Guangdong Provincial University Ideological and Political Theory Teachers’ Summer Social Practice Education for Micro-course High-quality Resource Collection Activity, one first prize, 3 second prizes, and two third prizes in the Guangdong Provincial University Ideological and Political Theory Course Young Teachers’ Teaching Basic Skills Competition. For the award from SCUT, six teachers won SCUT’s “Nanguang Award” for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching (the university’s highest teaching quality award).

   Over the past five years, the school has been awarded a total of 293 research projects, including 4 Major Programs of National Social Science Fund, 17 additional National Social Science Fund projects, and 79 provincial or ministerial projects. Faculty members have published 483 academic papers, of which 187 appeared in CSSCI-indexed journals or higher-tier publications. Notably, some of the papers are published on topic journals, including 4 papers in Social Sciences in China, 6 in Studies on Marxism, and 4 in Philosophical Researches. In addition, the school has published 29 academic monographs and received 6 Guangdong Provincial Awards for Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences.

  The school has been approved to establish 12 provincial-level teaching and research platforms, including the “National Virtual Simulation Experience Teaching Center for Ideological and Political Courses,” the “Ministry of Education ‘Grand Ideological and Political Course’ Practical Teaching Base,” the “Ministry of Education Innovation and Development Center for Ideological and Political Work in Universities (South China University of Technology),” the “Guangdong Provincial Social Science Research Base—Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,” the “Guangdong Provincial Social Science Research Base—Institute for Advanced Studies in Philosophy and Technology,” the “Guangdong Provincial Social Science Research Base—Research Center for Network Civilization in the New Era of South China University of Technology,” the “Guangdong Provincial Teaching and Research Base for Basic Principles of Marxism,” the “Guangdong Provincial Model Unit for Ideological and Political Theory Course Teaching and Research,” the “Guangzhou Key Research Base for Humanities and Social Sciences—Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Guangzhou Practice,” the “Guangzhou Key Base for Cultivating Young Marxist Theory Talents,” the “Guangdong Provincial University Ideological and Political Theory Course Famous Teacher Studio,” and the “Guangdong Provincial University Ideological and Political Theory Course Regional Collaborative Innovation Center.”

  Since its establishment as an independent unit, the school has upheld “cultivating virtue and nurturing talent” as its fundamental mission. It closely aligns with the university’s goal of fostering “three-innovation” talents—emphasizing innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship—and adheres to the guiding principles of “establishing the school through teaching, revitalizing the school through talent, strengthening the school through academic excellence, and building the school through sound institutional foundations.” The school has vigorously advanced the development of ideological and political theory courses and the discipline of Marxist theory, actively contributing to the university’s “Double First-Class” initiative. With a clear vision and sustained effort, it is committed to becoming a nationally influential center of excellence in Marxist studies.