In 1975, Henan Agricultural University took the lead in China in establishing the undergraduate major of tobacco science, which was the pioneering event in the field of higher education in China. In 2008, the College of Tobacco Science was established during the college and department adjustment in HAU, and in 2009, China National Tobacco Corporation (State Tobacco Monopoly Administration) signed a framework agreement on strategic cooperation with Henan Agricultural University to co-construct the College of Tobacco science.

Up to now, there are three undergraduate majors in the college, which are Tobacco Science, Food Science and Engineering (Tobacco Engineering) and Flavor and Fragrance Technology & Engineering. The college also has four master degree program in Tobacco Science, Tobacco Engineering, Agronomy and Seed Industry (Tobacco science direction), Biology and Medicine (Tobacco Engineering direction), and one doctoral degree program in Tobacco Science. Thus far, the college has established a complete higher education personnel training system of bachelor's degree, master's degree, doctoral degree and postdoctoral research center. It is worth mentioning that the Tobacco Science major has been selected as the national first-class undergraduate major construction site, and it has also been appraised as one of the state-level characteristic majors and the first-class majors in Henan Province. The master’s degree program in Tobacco Engineering has been appraised as one of the “special brand master’s degree authorization points in Henan Province”. The Tobacco Cultivation course has won several honors such as National Excellent Course, National Excellent Resource Sharing Course, and Provincial Excellent Course. So far, the college has totally 4 provincial-level first-class courses, 1 provincial-level excellent grassroots teaching organization, and more than 20 teaching internship bases both inside and outside Henan province.

The discipline of tobacco science has been rated as a key construction discipline in the eighth and ninth batches of Henan Province. The college has established 8 provincial-level scientific research platforms, including the National Tobacco Cultivation Physiology and Biochemistry Research Base, the Key Laboratory of Tobacco Cultivation in the Tobacco Industry, and the Tobacco Biology and Processing Science Observation Experimental Station of Ministry of Rural Agriculture of the PRC.

The college currently has 89 faculty members, including 13 professors, 25 associate professors, 1 associate researcher, 7 doctoral supervisors, 47 master's supervisors, with 78 teachers having doctoral degrees, 1 expert enjoying special government allowances from the State Council, 1 executive director of the China Tobacco Society, 2 members of the Science and Technology Committee of the National Tobacco Monopoly Administration, 2 disciplinary leaders of the National Tobacco Monopoly Administration, and 1 outstanding expert in Henan Province, 1 recipient of the Henan Province Innovation Excellence Medal, 2 academic and technological leaders in Henan Province, 2 outstanding talents in Henan Province, 4 backbone teachers in Henan Province, and 3 civilized teachers in Henan Province.

The college adheres to the schooling philosophy of “humanity centered, science advocated, and pursuing excellence”, and to the educational positioning of “based in Henan, facing the whole country, serving the Tobacco industry, going to the world”. It takes moral education as the foundation, strengthening agriculture as its own responsibility, and cultivating top-notch innovative talents and industry-leading talents as the educational goal. Adhering to the educational philosophy of “broad caliber and solid foundation”, the college has built a curriculum system that is “balanced and suitable for general and specialized education”. Adhering to student-centered approach, the college initiates a student cultivation model that integrates science and education, industry and education, school enterprise cooperation, and major sharing and co-construction.

The college has successively signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with several tobacco industry units such as China National Tobacco Corporation, Jiangxi Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, Sichuan Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, Hainan Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, Hubei Tobacco Monopoly Bureau, China Tobacco Henan Industrial Co., Ltd., Great Wall Cigar Factory of China Tobacco Sichuan Industrial Co., Ltd., Three Gorges Cigarette Factory of China Tobacco Hubei Industrial Co., Ltd., as well as some other municipal tobacco monopoly bureaus of Bijie, Guizhou, Jiaohe Jilin, Sanmenxia, Luoyang, and Nanyang of Henan,. With the aim of “tobacco rejuvenation through science and technology”, the college continuously contributes scientific and technological innovation achievements to the industry, provides high-level technical talents, and has made outstanding contributions to promote the high-quality development of the tobacco industry.