The School of Humanities and Social Science at Harbin Engineering University has undergone various stages of development, including the Department of Social Sciences in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences was established, and in 2010, it separated from the School of Marxism to become the current School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The school comprises departments of sociology, law, and applied psychology, and is responsible for organizing and managing the Institute for Advanced Humanistic and Social Sciences. It has the authority to confer doctoral degrees in the first-level discipline of sociology and the second-level discipline of social development and management, master's degrees in the first-level disciplines of sociology and law, and master's degrees in the second-level discipline of applied psychology. Additionally, the school offers professional degrees in social work (MSW) and law (JM). There are two undergraduate majors, sociology and law, both recognized as national first-class undergraduate majors.

The school is the initiating unit of several provincial-level academic organizations, including the Heilongjiang Society of Social Psychology, the Heilongjiang Society of Social Work, the Heilongjiang Youth Research Association, the Heilongjiang Central and Eastern European and Russian Ideological and Cultural Academic Exchange Base, and the Heilongjiang Research Base for Strengthening the Awareness of the Chinese National Community.

Adhering to a philosophy of openness and inclusivity, the school engages in multi-channel, multi-level international exchanges and cooperation. It has established stable and fruitful partnerships with renowned domestic and international universities, international organizations, and academic communities. The school has hosted and organized numerous international and national academic conferences and has invited over a hundred well-known experts from around the world for academic exchanges and lectures.