Yunnan Arts University

Established in 1959, the Yunnan Arts University (YNAU) boasts a long history, with its predecessor traced back to the Cultural Life Department and the Teachers College of the National Southwest Associated University in 1938. YNAU is a comprehensive higher art institution with distinctive features and a wide range of artistic disciplines in the southwestern region of China. It is also one of the country's eight comprehensive general undergraduate higher colleges of art. In 2003, YNAU was granted the authority to confer master's degrees. In 2009, it was approved as a unit for training Professional Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree candidates and became a designated cultivation and development unit to confer doctoral degrees in Yunnan Province. In 2019, it was further approved as a provincial-level postdoctoral research station in art theories. YNAU offers two authorization categories for master's degrees: academic master's and professional master's. They originally covered five primary disciplines in the field of arts (Art Theory, Music and Dance Studies, Drama and Film Studies, Fine Arts, and Design Studies) and six specialized areas (Music, Dance, Drama, Film, Fine Arts, and Art Design). In 2022, as the Ministry of Education released a new version of the disciplinary catalog, YNAU made adjustments to include two primary disciplines (Fine Arts and Design) and five specialized areas (Music, Dance, Drama and Film Studies, Fine Arts and Calligraphy, and Design). There are currently two provincial-level disciplines with distinct advantages (Art Theory and Music and Dance Studies), three provincial-level A-class top disciplines (Music and Dance Studies, Drama and Film Studies, and Design Studies), and two provincial-level first-class distinctive disciplines (Fine Arts and Calligraphy, and Design). Among them, one discipline is supported as a key provincial-level first-class construction discipline. Within its 26 undergraduate majors, 14 have been recognized as national-level first-class undergraduate major construction sites, and 10 have been recognized as provincial-level first-class undergraduate major construction sites. It has won seven awards in the 2022 Yunnan Provincial Higher Education Teaching Achievement Awards, including one special award, three first awards, and three second awards. Besides, it has six provincial-level research platforms, such as Yunnan provincial collaborative innovation centers, key laboratories, engineering research centers, and cooperative co-construction bases, as well as 15 provincial-level teaching and research teams. YNAU has always adhered to the educational philosophy of "inheriting tradition, learning from the folk, embracing both Chinese and Western cultures, and serving society". It upholds the spirit of "championing inclusiveness to forge ahead", and follows the motto of "practicality, creativity and nobility". Building upon Yunnan's unique geographical and cultural advantages, YNAU has actively served and integrated into the development strategies of China and Yunnan Province to endeavor to build itself into a nationally renowned high-level art university with international influence and distinctive characteristics. YNAU encompasses two campuses: Chenggong Campus and Mayuan Campus, covering a total area of over 930 mu (about 62 hectares). It has twelve academic units—namely the Music School, Fine Arts School, Design School, Drama School, Dancing School, Film and Television School, Arts Management School, School of Higher Vocational Education and Continuing Education, Ethnic Art Research Institute, Marxism School, General Education Department, and Physical Education Department—and one affiliated art school. Currently, YNAU has a total of 10,990 full-time enrolled students and 1,088 faculty and staff members, including contingent employees.