Tianjin Vocational Institute was founded in 1978, formerly known as the second branch of Nankai University and the chemical engineering branch of Tianjin University. It is one of the earliest institutions to hold higher vocational education in China. The school is one of the 100 National Demonstration Higher Vocational Colleges, one of the 200 National High-Quality Vocational Colleges of the Ministry of Education. It is also a national key construction vocational education teacher training base. In 2019, it was established by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance as a “High-level Tertiary Vocational College with Chinese Characteristics” and a “Grade A Elected Project College”.