The Department of Physics of Yan An Academy of Natural Sciences was established in 1940, which is one of the four departments established by the Academy. In 1950, the Department of Physics of the Sino-French University was merged. In 1984, the Department of Physics became independent and was renamed as the Department of Applied Physics. In 1997, the university set up the Institute of Science and Technology, which consists of the Department of Applied Mathematics, Department of Applied Physics and Department of Applied Mechanics. In 2002, the university established the Faculty of Science, comprising the Department of Mathematics, Department of Physics, Department of Mechanics, and Department of Chemistry. The Department of Applied Physics was renamed the Department of Physics. In 2009, the Faculty of Science was restructured to include the Department of Mathematics, Department of Physics, and Department of Chemistry. On June 27, 2011, the university decided to formally establish the School of Physics, with the first dean being the well-known physicist professor Molin GE, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.