Southwest University of Political Science and Law is located in Chongqing. It was founded by the people of China, the Ministry of Education and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government. It is the earliest institution of higher learning of politics and law in New China. After the reform and opening-up, it is the first batch of national key universities, the first batch of national excellent legal talents education and training plan bases, the China government scholarship receiving institution for international students in China, the basic capacity building project of universities in the central and western regions of the country, the national public postgraduate project to build high-level universities, and the national key discipline project.

The school focuses on law, with the coordinated development of economics, literature, management, philosophy, engineering and other disciplines. It is known as the "National Southwest Associated University" of law education in New China.

The school, formerly known as Southwest People's Revolutionary University, was founded in 1950, with Marshal Liu Bocheng as the principal.

The school has established cooperation and exchange relations with more than 60 institutions in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan provinces, and jointly established the first Confucius Institute in the northwest of the United States with the University of Montana.

The school has long insisted on hiring foreign experts, accepting foreign students, and sending teachers and students to study and exchange abroad, which is funded by the National Scholarship Fund Committee's "Excellent Undergraduate International Exchange Program".

The school has "Chongqing United Nations Institute for Training and Research Local Government International Training Center" and "China-ASEAN Legal Research Center" to provide services for the school to carry out foreign cooperation and exchanges.