The School of Higher Vocational Education & Adult Education is the second-level public college of Nanjing University of the Arts (NUA). This school enrolls students individually from polytechnic schools, technical schools, vocational schools, and culture and art schools in Jiangsu Province, providing high-level and multi-specialty vocational education. They have eight undergraduate majors in Visual Communication Design, Environmental Design, Product Design (with Home Design), Digital Media Art, Musicology (with Music Education), Choreography, Performance, Broadcasting and Hosting art, with more than 1,300 students. The students have achieved excellent results in artistic creation and performance at all levels. Many of them have won awards in provincial, national, and international exhibitions, performances, and competitions.

The School strives to cultivate the application-oriented artistic talent of higher quality with professional quality and occupational quality, practical ability, and creative spirit.

Aiming at serving the economic and cultural development of Jiangsu, the School implements three integrations and one innovation. Specifically, it strengthens the connotative development of vocational education and propels the industry-university integration for joint education. It promotes the construction of new liberal arts and advances the integration of science and art for interdisciplinary integration. It adheres to moral education, accelerates the integration of ideological and political education, and ensures the three-wide education concept (whole-staff education, whole-process education, and all-around education). Based on its comprehensive professional advantages, the School caries out integrated innovation to demonstrate the comprehensive characteristics of NUA. The School currently has six departments, including the Department of Visual Communication Design, the Department of Environmental Design, the Department of Digital Media Art, the Department of Product Design, the Department of Music Performance, and the Department of Choreography.

The Department of Visual Communication Design aims to cultivate application-oriented talent who masters the basic theory and professional knowledge of visual communication design, possesses strong innovation and practical abilities, and is competent in visual communication design, production, and management. It consists of three majors: Brand Design, Cultural Heritage Design, and Interactive Media Design.

The Department of Environmental Design aims to cultivate application-oriented talent with professional quality and skills, innovation awareness, strong innovation and practical abilities, and competence in the design, construction, and management of indoor and outdoor environmental engineering. It consists of two majors: Interior Design and Landscape Design.

The Department of Digital Media Art aims to cultivate application-oriented talent in the field of digital media art design who masters the basic theoretical knowledge of digital media art and is competent in intelligent interface, digital image, programming interaction, commercial communication, etc. It consists of two majors: Film and Television Animation and Interactive Design.

The Department of Product Design has drawn lessons from the advanced teaching mode of the higher vocational colleges at home and abroad. By doing so, it aims to cultivate application-oriented talent with comprehensive design ability, strong adaptability, specialized skills, and all-around knowledge in environmental and industrial design, especially in the field of furniture design, home product design, and kitchen & bathroom product design.

The Department of Music Performance aims to cultivate application-oriented talent who masters the basic theoretical knowledge of musicology (singing, instrument performance), possesses music (singing, instrument performance) performance skills, and is competent in music performance, teaching, training, popularization, communication, promotion, management, and etc.

The Department of Choreography aims to meet the needs of national and local economic and cultural development by training application-oriented talent who possesses excellent vocational skills, innovation ability, and professional quality in dance-related fields, and is competent in dance choreography and teaching, stage performance, and social practice.

The School is located on the north side of the east gate of NUA, adjacent to Gulin Park. The natural beauty and cultural charm coexist in harmony. The open public space provides a display and interaction platform for students’ sketching, design practice, and creation exhibition. The School has its own teaching premises. The teaching building has six floors and covers an area of 5,000 square meters. The teaching and practice places include the reference and reading room, product design training center, environment design laboratory, digital media art laboratory, dance room, piano room, recording studio, and comprehensive performance theater.

In recent years, the School has hosted the Award Ceremony of the 7th Civilized Style Competition of National Secondary Vocational Schools held by the Ministry of Education, the Jiangsu Provincial Skills Competition of Vocational Schools, and other large-scale activities. The students and teachers have participated in the Art Show Ode to the Spring Breeze of the National Work Conference on Cultural System Reform, the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, and other major activities. These activities have been widely praised by all walks of life and have established a brand of higher art vocational education.

The teachers and students at the School have won more than 300 national and provincial professional awards, published more than 30 professional textbooks and more than 200 papers in national and provincial journals, and undertaken more than 30 key and general projects for Vocational Education and Teaching Reform in Jiangsu Province. One teacher has won the Gold Award of the DFA Design for Asia Awards, and his/her work has won the title of The Most Beautiful Book in China in 2020 and 2021. One teacher has won the Wenhua Award for Director of the 5th Wenhua Award in 2022, and his/her work has been selected for two projects funded by Jiangsu Provincial Art Fund and three projects funded by the China National Arts Fund.

The students at the School have won dozens of gold, silver, and bronze awards in important design competitions at home and abroad, such as the China Star, Zhong Zhuang Cup, Huading Awards, National Biennial of Environmental Art and Design, Jiangsu Provincial Cultural and Creative Design Competition, Kan Tai-Keung Design Award, National Art Performance for College Students, Platinum Originality National University Students Graphic Design Competition, National Advertising Art Design Competition for College Students, and Italian Poster Biennial. They have also won awards from professional music performance competitions, such as the National Speech Competition, National Art Education Achievement Show, National Vocal Music Competition of Jinding Music Awards, Asian Music and Dance Arts Festival (Korea), Jiangsu Provincial Vocal Music Competition of Molihua Award, and Jiangsu Provincial DV Competition.

Students' Works