The Department of Visual Arts was founded in 2002. With the concept of serving the local economy in Guangdong province, the department adopts the mode of producing students with refined humanitarian qualities, creativity, and work-oriented skills. In September 2010, its Visual Arts Education Program was listed one of the model programs at the provincial level in Guangdong.

  The Art and Design Training Base was granted a special national fund of 2.4 million in July 2010. It is well-equipped with advanced experiment laboratories for computer design, ceramic art, sculpture, digital photography, jade carving and gallery. Besides, there is a training base for animation TV/film as well as a student entrepreneurial base called Futuristic Design Workshop. Another 30 training bases are set up off campus to better prepare the students for future job-hunting.

  The department has a competitive faculty consisting of 33 full time teachers, among whom there are 14 professors and associate professors. In addition, it has more than 30 part-time teachers, among whom there are 6 experts in applied arts.

  This department has such programs as Visual Arts Education, Art Design (Advertisement), Art Design (Jade Design and Manufacturing), Computer-Aided Design (product design), and Animation TV/Film.

  There are 940 full-time students studying in the department, mainly from such provinces as Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan, and Shandong. For years its students have obtained a number of awards in various design competitions and its graduates are well received by the society.