The School of Art at Yangtze University originated from the Art Department of Jingzhou Teachers’ College established in1996, and was formally founded as the School of Art of Yangtze University in 2003. With a distinguished history in teaching, research, and talent cultivation, the School prioritizes discipline development and centers its mission on talent cultivation, having established comprehensive undergraduate and postgraduate education systems. Remarkable achievements have been made in teaching innovation and academic research. The School comprises four academic units: the Department of Music, Department of Fine Arts, Department of Dance, and Public Art Teaching & Research Office. It offers five undergraduate programs: Musicology, Music Performance, Fine Arts, Visual Communication Design, and Dance Studies, along with a Master of Arts professional degree program encompassing four fields: Music, Dance, Fine Arts & Calligraphy, and Design. Currently, it enrolls 1,819 undergraduate students and 208 postgraduate students.
The faculty consists of 108 members, including 98 full-time teachers. The academic team includes 6 professors, 54 associate professors, 5 doctoral degree holders, and 55 Master’s Supervisors. Through long-term collaborations with renowned artists as visiting professors, the School has cultivated a high-caliber faculty team distinguished by professional excellence and ethical integrity, fostering multiple specialized teaching and research groups.
In recent three years, faculty members have undertaken 50 scientific research projects, including 8 projects of National Social Science Foundation and the Ministry of Education’s Humanities and Social Sciences, along with 3 provincial-level first-class courses. Academic outputs include 14 published monographs and textbooks, 6 edited teaching materials, and 139 research papers, including 51 indexed by CSCI, 2 in top-tier journals, and 68 in core journals. The School has received 182 awards above the provincial and ministerial level. Works inspired by Jingchu culture won the Hubei Provincial “Five-One Project” Award, along with 12 national and 3 international prizes in international and domestic music and art competitions.
The School is committed to the principle of cultivating people with moral integrity, and adheres to holistic education through all-round and multi-channel training. With emphasizing students’ comprehensive quality cultivation and practical ability, the quality of talent cultivation is constantly improving. Over the past five years, students have published more than 160 literary works and academic papers in public, and won 131 national and provincial awards; 1 Second Prize and 2 Third Prizes for excellent scientific research achievements of college students in Hubei Province; 1 Second Prize and 2 Third Prizes for Hubei Teaching Skills Competition for Normal Students. The Ethnic Orchestra of Yangtze University won the Second Prize in the 7th National College Students’ Art Festival; a provincial Gold Award and national Bronze Award for the 11th College Students’ Entrepreneurship Programme Competition, along with 4 national and 17 provincial innovation training projects. The school has cultivated more than 10,000 art professionals for the society in two decades, and has produced high-quality talents represented by Ai Xiaohui, the outstanding graduate honored with “National May 1st Labor Medal”.
Dedicated to cultivating socially responsible art talents, the School of Art remains committed to its mission, pursuing practical innovation and striving to become a preeminent institution in art education!
