CMSE at Beijing University of Chemical Technology was established in 1958 when the university was founded. It is one of the earliest colleges in China that focuses on polymer materials, while also promoting the coordinated development of composite materials, inorganic non-metallic materials, and metal materials. Over the past sixty years, the college has developed into one of the important bases in China for talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, international exchanges and cooperation, as well as cultural heritage and innovation in the field of materials science and engineering. It has cultivated a large number of advanced materials and chemical engineering professionals needed for cutting-edge scientific and technological development in the country.

CMSE is one of the first institutions in the country to confer master's degrees, the second to confer doctoral degrees, and one of the first to establish post-doctoral mobile stations. Over the course of sixty years of development, the college has formed a comprehensive innovation system in materials science, integrating talent cultivation, fundamental research, technological innovation, engineering applications, and social services. Materials science is a national key discipline, while polymer chemistry and physics are key disciplines fostered at the national level. In the fourth round of national discipline assessment, the discipline of materials science and engineering ranks in the A category (top 10%). The materials science discipline also boasts a global ESI ranking within the top 0.41‰ (as of May 2024). Besides, the college collaborates with other universities and colleges to establish the National Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Chemical Resources and the National Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composite Materials. It is home to the unique ‘National Carbon Fiber Engineering Technology Research Center’ in the field of carbon fibers, as well as the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of ‘Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymer Materials,’ the Beijing Laboratory for Biomedical Materials, and the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Natural Polymer Medical Materials, among other nine provincial and ministerial research bases. Additionally, it hosts the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Polymer Science and Engineering and the Beijing Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Polymer Science. The college also houses the MOE Innovation and Talent Recruitment Base of Advanced Carbon Materials and Specialty Polymers, the Beijing International Cooperation Base for Science and Technology, Advanced Functional Elastomer Materials, and the Advanced Materials Research Institute of China-UK Science Bridge.

CMSE has a strong faculty, with a core of academicians, Changjiang Distinguished Professors, recipients of the National Outstanding Youth Fund, State Outstanding College Lecturers, and National young talents. These middle-aged and young academic leaders possess a well-balanced mix of academic backgrounds, age groups, educational qualifications, and professional titles, making them effective pioneers in their respective disciplines. As of March 2024, there are over 230 faculty members, including 200 with senior professional titles and 139 teachers with overseas experience, accounting for 59.15% of the total. 

The college boasts one academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, two double appointed fellows(honored by two universities), six Changjiang Foundation Professor, Eight recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, six leading talents in the Ten-thousand Talent Plan for Science and Technology, more than 20 national-level young talents, one national-level Discipline Leader of higher learning institutions, one teaching master in the Ten-thousand Talent Plan, and two recipients of the “China Young Female Scientists Award.” Additionally, there are two research groups funded by the Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, two teams under the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, one team in key areas of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Innovative Talent Promotion Plan, and two university-level teaching teams following the model of Huang Danian. Over the past five years, a total of 34 talents from various categories have been recruited, including 10 Category B talents (5 of whom are national-level young talents), 11 Category C talents, and 13 young reserve talents.

Over the past five years, the College has undertaken and completed over 500 national and provincial-level research projects, as well as more than 1,000 horizontal programmes of enterprises and institutions. The college has abundant achievements. Several key preparation technologies for large-scale material varieties, developed independently, have been successfully industrialized in major enterprises such as Sinopec, PetroChina, and CNOOC. A large number of patented inventions have been successfully applied, making significant contributions to national strategic needs and economic development. During this period, the college has received one State Technological Innovation Award (second class), three State Science and Technology Advancement Award (second class), and over 40 awards from provincial and ministerial level and industry associations. It has published over 2,900 SCI-indexed articles, applied for more than 1,000 patent applications, and obtained over 900 authorized patents. The scientific research funding of CMSE has shown a consistent upward trend, reaching a total of 1.174 billion yuan, with an average of nearly 1.43 million yuan in research funding per person per year.