苏州城市学院的前身是创建于1998年的苏州大学文正学院，是全国首家在教育部登记设立的公有民办二级学院，2005年获准成为独立学院。2020年12月，教育部同意其转设为公办普通本科高校并更名为苏州城市学院，由江苏省人民政府管理、苏州市人民政府举办，苏州大学支持办学。学校坐落于苏州国际教育园内，毗邻太湖石湖景区，校园环境优美，2022年获评首批江苏省绿色学校（高校），标志性建筑图书馆由普利兹克奖得主王澍设计，2003年获中国建筑艺术奖公共建筑类优秀奖。

SuZhou City University traces its roots to Suzhou University Wenzheng College, founded in 1998 as China's first publicly-owned private secondary college registered with the Ministry of Education. It became an independent college in 2005 and was restructured into a public undergraduate institution in December 2020 with its current name. Administered by Jiangsu Provincial Government and operated by Suzhou Municipal Government, it enjoys supportive collaboration with Suzhou University. Located in Suzhou International Education Park adjacent to Taihu Lake's Shihu Scenic Area, the campus won recognition as a Jiangsu Provincial Green School (Higher Education) in 2022. Its iconic library, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Wang Shu, received the China Architecture Art Award for Public Architecture Excellence in 2003.

学校以“地方性、应用型、开放式、特色化”为办学定位，致力于建设国内一流高水平应用型大学。现设有8个二级学院和1个基础教学部，开设52个本科专业，涵盖文学、理学、工学、经济学、管理学、法学、艺术学七大学科门类，全日制本科生近12000人。拥有光学工程省十四五重点学科，档案学、光电信息科学与工程等7个省一流专业建设点，电子信息科学与技术等3个省产教融合型品牌专业立项建设点，以及国家级一流本科课程3门。2022年获批硕士学位授予立项建设单位，已开展联合培养硕士研究生项目。

With a mission to build a domestically leading application-oriented university, the institution adheres to "local relevance, application focus, openness, and distinctive features". It comprises 8 schools and 1 basic education department, offering 52 undergraduate programs spanning seven disciplines: Literature, Science, Engineering, Economics, Management, Law, and Arts, with nearly 12,000 full-time undergraduates. Key academic strengths include Optical Engineering (a Jiangsu Provincial Key Discipline during the 14th Five-Year Plan), 7 provincial first-class program construction sites (e.g., Archival Science, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering), 3 provincial industry-education integration brand program construction sites, and 3 national first-class undergraduate courses. In 2022, it was approved as a master's degree-granting project construction unit and has initiated joint graduate training programs.

学校注重产教融合与科研创新，已与地方政府、企业达成合作项目400余项，成立工信部光电子信息专精特新产业学院及康养、数字金融等4个校级产业学院，开设6个微专业对接区域产业需求。拥有江苏高校生物光子科技重点（建设）实验室等省市级科研平台5个，校级科研平台19个，文正智库等成果获省部级领导批示34项。积极推进国际化办学，与10多个国家和地区的50余所大学建立合作关系，形成了“根植苏州、服务地方、协同创新、特色发展”的办学格局。

The university emphasizes industry-education integration and research innovation, having secured over 400 cooperation projects with local governments and enterprises. It established the MIIT Optoelectronic Information Specialty and New Industry College, 4 university-level industry colleges (e.g., Health Care, Digital Finance), and 6 micro-majors aligned with regional industrial needs. Research infrastructure includes 5 provincial/municipal platforms like the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biophotonics Technology (under construction) and 19 university-level platforms. Its Wenzheng Think Tank has received 34 provincial-ministerial leadership commendations. With international partnerships spanning 50+ universities across 10+ countries/regions, it has developed a distinctive办学 model rooted in Suzhou's development needs, characterized by local service, collaborative innovation, and特色发展.