The School of Art (SA), XAUAT, was established in April 2002, inherited the profound academic foundation of China's first Department of Architecture founded by Mr. Liang Sicheng in 1928, and continued the outstanding academic lineage of art pioneers who studied in France alongside Mr. Xu Beihong. SA established an advanced educational philosophy that integrates "artistic, scientific, and engineering" disciplines. In response to major national strategic needs, SA has developed a comprehensive education system spanning bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs, forming a new pattern of innovative talent cultivation which was supported by national first-class programs, provincial first-class programs, diverse interdisciplinary clusters, key laboratories, and high-level teams.
SA offers a Ph.D. program under the First-Level Discipline of Design Studies, along with two First-Level Discipline Master’s programs and three Professional Master’s Degree programs.. It has developed two national-level open video courses for graduate students and one case study has been selected by the Ministry of Education. The Design (formerly Art Design) and Industrial Design Engineering disciplines are among the first pilot comprehensive reform disciplines for graduate education in Shaanxi Province. In terms of scientific research achievements, SA has received a total of 20 provincial science and technology awards as well as philosophy and social science outstanding achievement awards (including four first prizes, eight second prizes, and eight third prizes). SA has won 23 Shaanxi University Humanities and Social Science Outstanding Achievement Awards. SA has led design projects that have won several National Outstanding Engineering Design Awards, World Horticultural Exposition Gold Awards, etc. SA has published 146 books and edited or co-edited four industry standards. SA demonstrates distinguished teaching prowess, having garnered 2 National and 8 Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Courses. It has also secured1 Special Prize and 4 First Prizes in the Shaanxi Provincial Teaching Achievement Award, alongside boasting 4 Provincial Teaching Teams, 5 Provincial Teaching Competition Awards, and 2 Provincial Excellent Teaching Cases.
SA comprises five administrative and academic offices: the Party and Administrative Office, Teaching Affairs Office, Research and Graduate Studies Office, Student Affairs Office, and Reference Room. It also hosts eight teaching and research sectionsspecializing in Environmental Art Design, Sculpture, Visual Communication, Art and Technology, Industrial Design, Art Theory, Public Art, and Photography.
Deeply rooted in the thousand-year cultural heritage of the ancient capital city Xi'an, SA focuses on research areas such as public art, environmental design, green collaborative design, and cultural heritage protection. It continuously promotes the cross-integration and mutual empowerment of science, engineering, and design. SA is becoming an leading hub in western China for inheriting outstanding traditional Chinese culture, serving regional economic and cultural development, and cultivating high-level innovative artistic talents.
