In 1981, China University of Geosciences began to carry out systematic research on higher education, took the lead in establishing a higher education research office in Hubei Province, and then established the Institute of Higher Education in 2001. The master of higher education program was approved in 2003, and graduate students were officially recruit in 2004. In 2007, the major of educational economy and management began to recruit students, with three major directions: educational management, educational economy and finance, and educational development strategy. In 2011, the master's degree program of the first level discipline of pedagogy was approved, with four professional directions: pedagogical principle, comparative pedagogy, higher education, and natural pedagogy. In 2018, a doctoral program in the secondary discipline of educational economics and management was approved.

Psychology is rooted in the practice of mental health education for college students. In 2003, the second level master's degree program in psychology was approved, and graduate students were officially recruit in 2004. In 2017, the first level master's degree program in psychology was approved. In 2018, a strategic cooperation agreement was reached with Wuhan Mental Health Center, and the affiliated Wuhan psychological hospital and Research Center for Psychological and Health Sciences were successively established. In January 2021, the Institute of Education, an educational research and talent training unit directly under the China University of Geosciences which consists of the Institute of Higher Education and the Institute of Psychology in the School of Marxism, was established.

The Institute of Education adheres to the principle of “rejuvenating with talents” and has built a high-level teaching team combining full-time and part-time work. There are 72 full-time and part-time teachers, including 22 professors and 35 associate professors. Among full-time teachers, 85% have a doctoral degree and more than 71% have one year of overseas learning experience.

The Institute of Education have some important scientific research and innovation platforms, such as Research Center of University Student Development and Innovation Education (Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences in Hubei Province), University Governance Research Center of China University of Geosciences (Ministry of Education), the Research Center for Innovative Talents and Innovative Development in Hubei Province, the Research Center for Psychological and Health Sciences, and the Demonstration Center for Mental Health Education in Hubei Province. So far, more than 400 full-time master students in pedagogy and 300 in psychology have been enrolled; 116 full-time postgraduate students in pedagogy and 78 in psychology are in graduate school now. The employment rate of graduate students has stabilized at more than 95% in the past five years.

In the past five years, teachers of the Institute of Education have undertaken more than 60 national and provincial funding (e.g., from the National Education Science Planning Office, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Land and Resources, and China Association for Science and Technology), won more than 10 awards (e.g., the National Education Science Outstanding Achievement Award, the Hubei Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Hubei science and technology progress award), published more than 100 CSSCI and SSCI indexed papers, and published 23 monographs and translations in press (e.g., Science Press and China Social Science Press).

The Institute of Education is responsible for carrying out scientific research and discipline construction of educational science and psychological science, serving the decision-making of reform and development in school, and cultivating academic and management talents in the field of education and social departments. The Institute of Education adheres to the talent training concept of “entering the mainstream, strengthening the foundation, emphasizing practice and seeking characteristics,” practices the talent training reform idea of “paying attention to practice, highlighting innovation, improving quality and creating brand,” and constantly improves the quality of talent training. Adhere to the connotation development, the Institute of Education actively carries out national and international academic exchange and cooperation, and constantly improves the discipline ranking. It has been rated as “National Excellent Higher Education Research Institution” for five consecutive times, and is striving to build itself into a new think tank for higher education reform and social services of the school, region and country.

In the future, with the strong support of the school and the joint efforts of all teachers and students, the Institute of Education will continue to combine closely with the advantages of the school, strengthen the construction of characteristic directions, train compound high-quality talents for social needs, and strive to take the lead in building a “small but excellent, characteristic, international” demonstration research institute in China University of Geosciences.