1917-40

In 1925, the institute was renamed into Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute. In 1930, Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute was divided into the following institutes:

• Siberian Geological Prospecting Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Mechanical Engineering Institute (Tomsk);
• Siberian Chemical Engineering Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Mining Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Novosibirsk);
• Siberian Institute of Rail Transport Engineers (later Tomsk Electromechanical Institute of Transport Engineers), which was moved to Omsk in 1962 and currently is Omsk State Transport University;
• Siberian Construction Institute (moved to Novosibirsk);
• Siberian State Institute of Ferrous Metals (moved to Novokuznetsk);
• Flour Milling and Elevating Institute (Tomsk);
• Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals (Irkutsk).

In 1934, Siberian Geological Prospecting Institute (Tomsk), West Siberian Mechanical Engineering Institute (Tomsk) and Siberian Chemical Engineering Institute (Tomsk) were united into Tomsk Industrial Institute. On March 5, 1935, in accordance with the All-Union Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the Institute was named after Sergey Kirov. In 1940, the Institute was conferred the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

1941-59

In 1941-45 during the battles at the Eastern Front of World War II, all research work of the Institute was focused on the development of the arms industry, the assistance to arms production, including to evacuated industrial enterprises in Tomsk. All research work of universities was coordinated by the Scientists’ Committee formed in June 1941, due to the initiative of a number of professors of Tomsk universities. The Committee contained Tomsk scientists, including professors of Kirov Tomsk Industrial Institute (Innokenty Butakov, Innokenty Gebler, Mikhail Korovin). One of the Vice-Chairmen of the Committee was Konstantin Shmargunov, the Rector of the Institute. TPU alumni headed a lot of USSR plants producing tanks and weapons. Timofey Gorbachev, a 1928 alumnus of Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute, headed the department of the Kuzbassugol Building Complex. Nikolay Kamov, a 1923 alumnus of the Mechanical Faculty of Tomsk Technological Institute, became chief engineer at the Design Bureau producing helicopters. Vladimir Kozhevin, a 1934 alumnus of the Mining Department of Siberian Institute of Mechanical Engineering, from 1941 held a position of a head of the Engineering Office and a deputy chief engineer at the OsinnikiUgol Trust of the Kuzbassugol Building Complex, where coal of the most valuable types required for the metallurgical and defense industries of Russia was produced. In 1942, he was appointed chief engineer and head of mine No. 10 of the OsinnikiUgol Trust. From 1943 till the end of the battles at the Eastern Front, the mine maintained the ideals of the USSR State Defense Committee. Valery Kuznetsov, a 1932 alumnus of the Geological Prospecting Faculty of Siberian Institute of Mechanical Engineering, during the years of battles at the Eastern Front was in charge of drawing geologic maps at the West-Siberian Geology Administration. These maps were required for the exploration of minerals, a necessity in which sharply rose during that period. Over 700 people, including students, academic staff, employees and volunteers went to war. They took part in many battles and only few of them were able to reach Berlin leaving their signatures on the walls of the Reichstag building.

In 1944, the Institute was renamed into Kirov Tomsk Polytechnic Institute. In 1952, the Institute broadcast the first TV program, which was a movie magazine accompanied by sound.

In 1957, the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Physics was set up at Kirov Tomsk Polytechnic Institute. In 1959, the Department of Evening Studies (current Seversk State Technological Academy of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)) of the TPU Faculty of Physics and Engineering was opened.

1960-2019

In 1962, Tomsk Institute of Radioelectronics and Electronic Technology was set up based on the TPU Radio Engineering Faculty. In 1967, the ITR-1000 Nuclear Research Reactor of the Institute was launched. In 1971, Tomsk Polytechnic Institute was conferred the Order of the October Revolution.

In 1981, the Cybernetics Scientific Training Center was formed at TPU. On October 18, 1991, the Council of Ministers of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted resolution No. 552 “On Reorganization of Tomsk Polytechnic Institute into Tomsk Polytechnic University”.

In July 2013, the University became one of the contest winners to be awarded the status of Leading Universities of Russia. On the basis of various TPU faculties, departments and majors, over 20 free-standing universities in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Seversk, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Barnaul, Chita, Khabarovsk and other Russian cities were opened at different time.

2020-present

Dmitry Andreevich Sednev, Rector of the university, was suspended by the European University Association (EUA) following support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Union of Rectors (RUR) in March 2022, for being "diametrically opposed to the European values that they committed to when joining EUA”.^[3] TPU was suspended in March 2022 by the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER), and the European University Association (EUA).^[3][4]