The history of art education at the School of Arts of Southeast University can be traced back to the Liangjiang Normal School period. In 1906, Inspector Li Ruiqing established the "Drawing and Handicraft Department" there, making it the birthplace of modern art education in my country. Subsequently, renowned art educators such as Lü Fengzi, art masters like Li Shutong and Zong Baihua, as well as Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Chen Zhifo, Lü Sibai, and Wu Zuoren, all taught here, creating a glorious history and tradition of art education and research at Southeast University.
In 1994, Southeast University invited Mr. Zhang Daoyi to establish the Department of Art Studies, re-establishing the discipline of art and setting up a major in Industrial (Art) Design, enrolling associate degree students.
In 1996, the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council of China took the lead in establishing the discipline system of art studies and first established a second-level discipline master's program in art studies at Southeast University. In the same year, the Department of Art Studies enrolled undergraduate students in Industrial Design and established a master's program in art studies.
In 1998, the Department of Art Studies established the only doctoral program in Art Studies (a second-level discipline) in China.
In 2002, a master's program in Design Art Studies was established. In 2003, the Department of Art Studies established the first postdoctoral research station in Art Studies in China.
In 2004, Art Studies was listed as a key discipline in Jiangsu Province. Art Studies ranked second nationwide in the first round of discipline evaluation by the Ministry of Education.
In 2005, Product Design was designated as a distinctive major by Southeast University for development.
In 2006, the Department of Art Studies and the Department of Art Communication merged to form the School of Art at Southeast University. The school comprises four departments: Art Theory, Design, Fine Arts, and Animation.
In 2007, it was added to the list of national key disciplines by the Ministry of Education, becoming the first and only national key discipline in the arts in Jiangsu Province, and also the first and only national key discipline in the arts (a second-level discipline) in my country, and the only national key discipline in the arts located in a comprehensive university.
In 2010, it was approved as a key research base for philosophy and social sciences in Jiangsu Province.
In 2011, Art Theory was designated a key discipline at the first-level in Jiangsu Province.
In the 2012 Ministry of Education's discipline evaluation, Southeast University's Art Theory was rated A+, ranking first nationwide.
In 2014, it was selected as one of the first batch of Jiangsu Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Bases by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture.
In 2014, Art Theory was approved for Jiangsu Provincial Advantage Discipline Construction.
In 2017, Southeast University's Art Theory was listed as a first-class discipline in the Ministry of Education's "Double First-Class" initiative.
In 2018, the Guqin (a seven-stringed zither) inheritance project, hosted by the School of Arts, was listed by the Ministry of Education as one of the first batch of bases for the inheritance of excellent traditional Chinese culture.
In 2020, the "Southeast University Research Base for the Visual Image of the Chinese Nation," spearheaded by the School of Arts, was approved as a research base jointly established by four central ministries to strengthen the sense of community of the Chinese nation.
Driven by a large number of influential art scholars, it has continuously expanded the scope of art studies and strengthened the refinement of its disciplinary characteristics and research directions, gradually becoming a major academic center and theoretical research center for art studies with significant national influence.
