The School of Art traces its origins back to the Nantong Textile Dyeing Workshop founded by Mr. Zhang Jian in 1912. It evolved through several stages, including the Private Nantong Textile School, the Private Nantong Textile College, the Textile Department of the Private Nantong College, the Nantong Branch of Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nantong Industrial College, Nantong Textile College, the Department of Art and Design of Nantong Institute of Technology, among others. Another origin of the school dates back to Nantong Teachers College, established in 1958, which later developed into the Nantong Branch of Yangzhou Teachers College and the Art Department of Nantong Teachers College. In 1999, Nantong Teachers College merged with Nantong Education College to form Nantong Normal University, establishing the Department of Fine Arts and the Department of Music. In 2004, with the merger of Nantong Medical College, Nantong Normal University, and Nantong Institute of Technology to establish Nantong University, the School of Fine Arts and Design and the Music Department of the School of Education Science were founded. In 2009, the Music Department was incorporated, and the school was renamed the School of Art. In 2019, the Department of Architecture joined the School of Art. Against the backdrop of "New Liberal Arts" and "New Engineering," the School of Art has gradually developed a cultural philosophy and talent cultivation model of "Grand Art." In both curriculum design and artistic practice, all programs strive to expand educational perspectives, emphasize the development of students' individuality, and establish a comprehensive talent cultivation model encompassing "Grand Fine Arts," "Grand Music," and "Grand Art." The school is equipped with comprehensive teaching facilities, including an art gallery, concert hall, theater, and various specialized studios. It boasts a strong faculty of 171 staff members, including 153 full-time teachers, among whom 85 hold senior professional titles and 63 hold doctoral degrees. The faculty includes several members of national associations and recipients of provincial and municipal talent programs, with over one-third of teachers having overseas research experience.

The school actively engages in international exchanges and has established partnerships with more than ten overseas universities, including the University for the Creative Arts (UK), Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, the University of Adelaide, Università per Stranieri di Siena, University of Ljubljana, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (Thailand), Sangmyung University (South Korea), and Chungnam National University (South Korea). Through faculty and student exchanges, joint programs, and other forms of collaboration, the school cultivates international talent. In recent years, the school has achieved fruitful research outcomes, undertaking dozens of national and provincial-level research projects. Works by faculty and students have repeatedly won major awards in important domestic and international exhibitions and have been collected by prestigious institutions such as the National Art Museum of China, earning the school a distinguished reputation.

The school currently enrolls approximately 2,200 students, with Fine Arts and Design-related programs being traditional areas of strength. Graduates are highly regarded by employers, and the employment rate has remained above 98% for many consecutive years. Over the past three years, students have won 240 national-level (Category I) awards and 1,765 provincial/ministerial-level (Category II) awards in various competitions, fully demonstrating the school's excellence in talent cultivation.

Undergraduate Programs:

• Fine Arts (Teacher Education)

• Musicology (Teacher Education)

• Music Performance

• Visual Communication Design

• Environmental Design

• Industrial Design

• Architecture

The school also offers three Sino-foreign cooperative education programs and credit mutual recognition programs in Architecture, Music Performance, and Visual Communication Design.

Graduate Programs:

• Master's program in the first-level discipline of Art Studies

• Professional Master's programs in Fine Arts and Calligraphy, Design, Music, Subject Teaching (Fine Arts), and Subject Teaching (Music)

Current through February 2026

For more information in Chinese, please visit our Chinese website:

https://ysxy.ntu.edu.cn/