Tianjin University (TJU) is a national key university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People's Republic of China. The university founded in 1895 and established by MOE and the Tianjin Municipal Government is the first modern university in China. It was formerly known as Peiyang University and was renamed Tianjin University in 1951.

The history of the School of Architecture can be traced to 1937 when the Department of Architecture at Tianjin Institute of Industry and Commerce was established well over 70 years ago. In 1952, the Chinese institutions of higher education were reorganized. The Department of Architectural Engineering of Private University of Jingu (used to be Tianjin Institute of Industry and Commerce), Department of Architectural Engineering of Northern Jiaotong University (used to be Tangshan Institute of Technology) and the Department of Civil Engineering at Tianjin University were merged to form the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Tianjin University. In 1958, the Department of Architectural of Tianjin University was established. In June, 1997, Tianjin University undertook a reform of the school system, the School of Architecture was then established.

The School of Architecture (SA) is composed of four departments, namely Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Environmental Design, and two research centres, Institute of Architectural History & Theory, and Institute of Architectural Technology and Science.