Shandong University of Arts was founded in 1958 in Jinan, a city boasting both history and culture and endowed with the beauty of springs. It is a university jointly built by the Shandong Provincia People's Government and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China. The university now is authorized to offer master's degree programs in five first-level disciplines under the category of arts, and is the project construction unit for awarding doctor's degrees in Shandong province from 2017 to 2023.
The history that a large number of artists and art educators renowned in China have worked and lived here at the beginning of the SDUA's establishment has laid the foundation for the development both the university and art education in Shandong. These artists, with their meticulous study and devotion to arts, have left behind them not only artistic treasures for the society but also a precious spiritual wealth for the university, which has become the school motto “Hong Yue Shen Mei”—meaning extensive knowledge, prudent choice, enquiring mind and perfection seeking.
The university has two campuses, Wendong and Changqing, covering an area of more than 1000 mu (66 hectares) with a construction area of nearly 370,000 square meters and a collection of more than 940,000 books in library. There are 15 teaching units with more than 11,000 full-time students enrolled and nearly 1,000 faculty members.
The university has 31 undergraduate programs with 50 majors and 6 junior specialties, among which there are 3 state-level characteristic specialties, 6 Shandong provincial brand characteristic specialties and 2 Shandong provincial high-level applied project construction specialty clusters; 1 national talent training model innovation experimental area; 1 Shandong provincial first-class discipline cultivation and construction discipline,3 Shandong provincial key disciplines,8 Shandong Provincial key disciplines of culture, arts and science; 19 Shandong provincial quality courses, 4 Shandong provincial excellent teaching teams, and 15 Shandong Provincial Teaching Achievement Awards, and 4 provincial research and training bases as well.
Shandong University of Arts has been accelerating the pace of internationalization, and has signed friendly exchange agreements with 28 foreign universities and carried out a series of exchanges and cooperation programs. A total of 11 professors of the university have been appointed as overseas doctoral supervisors by Griffith University in Australia and Dankook University in South Korea, and one professor has been awarded the title of Honorary Professor by Griffith University in Australia.
In the 61 years since its founding, Shandong University of Arts has trained more than 40,000 qualified artistic talents for the country and society, and produced a large number of outstanding graduates who have made important contributions to the development and prosperity of Shandong and the national cultural and artistic undertakings.
