An Introduction to the Departments of the College of Architecture and Design, Nanchang University

1. Department of Architecture

The Architecture program at Nanchang University was originally established in 1959 at Jiangxi Industrial College. It was suspended in 1961 due to national economic difficulties. In 1981, the program resumed student enrollment, and in 1993, with the founding of the new Nanchang University, the length of the program was extended from four to five years. In 1998, it was designated a Jiangxi Provincial Brand Program and began offering second-level master's degree programs. From 2013 to 2021, the program successfully passed the National Architectural Education Evaluation three times consecutively and was authorized to confer the Bachelor of Architecture degree. A first-level master's degree program was approved in 2018, followed by recognition as a Jiangxi Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program in 2020, and a National First-Class Undergraduate Program in 2021.

The Architecture program is committed to the fundamental mission of fostering virtue through education, adhering to the undergraduate education evaluation standard of "prioritizing undergraduate education and promoting the four returns," and upholding the professional orientation of "rooted in Jiangxi, highlighting distinctive features, emphasizing practice, and serving local needs." With a focus on promoting local culture, optimizing training models, strengthening practical skills, and mastering appropriate technologies, the program aims to cultivate practical, versatile, and innovative senior professionals in architecture.

The Department of Architecture boasts a strong faculty and prolific research output. Leveraging research platforms such as the "Gan-Po Ancient Architecture Research Center," the "Urban Physical Environment Research Center," and the "Parametric Architectural Design Research Center," it has established an integrated pathway for industry, academia, and research. The program enjoys high-quality student intake, a wide recruitment reach, and a high employment rate. Students have achieved excellent results in numerous high-level competitions, including the National "Sville Cup" BIM-CIM Innovation Competition for College Students, the Southeast Architecture New Talent Competition, the Developing Countries Architectural Design Exhibition, the Delta Cup International Solar Building Design Competition, and the National English Competition for College Students.

Since January 2022, the Architecture program has been part of the College of Architecture and Design. All faculty and students in the Department of Architecture will continue to stay true to their original aspirations and forge ahead, building dreams and designing the future on the "Grand Design" platform of Nanchang University.

2. Department of Industrial Design

The Department of Industrial Design traces its origins to the Packaging Engineering program established in 1985 at Jiangxi Industrial University and was formally founded in 1993. It offers two undergraduate programs: Industrial Design (Engineering) and Product Design (Art), both designated as Jiangxi Provincial Brand Programs and Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Sites. The Industrial Design program began enrolling engineering students in 1993 and art students in 2001, both of which were the earliest of their kind in the province. In 2013, the art-oriented enrollment stream was renamed Product Design.

The Department was authorized to confer master's degrees in Design Studies in 2000, in Industrial Design Engineering in 2005, and in Fine Arts (MFA) in 2009. Building on these disciplines, the Institute of Industrial Design of Nanchang University was established in 2011 and designated a Provincial Industrial Design Center.

The Department currently has 30 faculty members, including 7 professors, 14 associate professors, 1 doctoral supervisor, 15 master's supervisors, 7 faculty members with doctoral degrees, and 7 doctoral candidates. Among them are 1 member of the Ministry of Education's Teaching Advisory Board for Industrial Design, 1 member of the National MFA Teaching Advisory Board, 3 Ministry of Education Distinguished Teachers in Ideological and Political Education, 1 National Top Ten Design Educator, 2 executive directors of the China Industrial Design Association, 1 standing committee member of the Design Committee of the China Packaging Federation, 2 National Outstanding Innovation and Entrepreneurship Mentors, 1 chairperson of the Industrial Design Art Committee of the Jiangxi Artists Association, 1 provincial-level academic leader in higher education, and 3 provincial-level outstanding young and middle-aged master teachers. The Department has been approved for a national first-class undergraduate course, a Ministry of Education Ideological and Political Education Demonstration Teaching Team, and a Jiangxi Provincial High-Level Undergraduate Teaching Team.

Faculty and student innovation teams have won over 30 top international design awards, including the "World's Top Three Design Awards." A collaborative project with the College of Materials Science and Engineering won the overall championship of the 7th China International College Students’ "Internet+" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, having previously secured a gold medal in the 4th edition of the same competition.

3. Department of Art and Design

The Department of Art and Design originated from the Department of Oriental Culture and Art established in 1993. From 2003 to 2021, it was part of the College of Art and Design. After thirty years of development and evolution, in January 2022, the Department of Art and Design and the Department of Visual Communication Design were merged and restructured into the new Department of Art and Design, now part of the College of Architecture and Design. This integration consolidated strengths to focus on building a leading discipline in Human Settlements and Environmental Design.

The Department currently offers the Environmental Design undergraduate program, which is a National First-Class Undergraduate Program, a five-star rated program, and a Jiangxi Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Program that ranked first in the second round of Jiangxi Provincial University Undergraduate Program Comprehensive Evaluation. It currently enrolls over 300 undergraduate students. The faculty team is well-structured, consisting of 30 teachers, including 4 professors, 19 associate professors, 1 doctoral supervisor, and 24 master's supervisors; 9 hold doctoral degrees and 5 are currently pursuing doctoral studies. Among them are 2 executive directors and directors of the Institute of Interior Design of the Architectural Society of China, 1 deputy secretary-general of the Furnishings Art Committee of the China Interior Decoration Association, 2 deputy directors of the Design Art Committee and Education Committee of the Jiangxi Artists Association, 1 director of the Jiangxi Provincial Textile Industry Association, 1 provincial-level academic leader in higher education, 2 provincial-level outstanding young and middle-aged master teachers, and 4 provincial-level high-level talents. Each year, students win over 200 national and provincial design competition awards and publish or participate in over 30 provincial-level or higher scientific research papers.

Guided by the goal of building a national first-class discipline, the Department of Art and Design takes rural revitalization as a key focus and serving local economic development as its professional objective. Relying on research platforms such as the Rural Construction Research Institute, the Brand Design Research Institute, and the Rural Revitalization Construction Studio, it has led and completed 4 national-level and numerous provincial-level scientific research projects. In November 2022, the Department joined the first batch of county-university pairings under the Jiangxi Provincial initiative of "Hundreds of Universities Partnering with Hundreds of Counties to Revitalize Thousands of Villages." It has established the "Nanchang University Rural Construction Lianhua Workstation" and "Nanchang University Student Internship and Practice Base" in Xiaojing Village, Fanglou Town; Gaotan Village, Gaozhou Township; and Hutang Village, Lukou Town, all located in Lianhua County, Pingxiang City. By leveraging the resource strengths of both the university and local communities, the Department has built a platform for gathering expertise in rural construction, offering services in planning consultation, talent training, technical support, farmer coaching, and student practice. It explores mechanisms for intellectual outreach, university-local cooperation, and sustained, hands-on engagement, promoting the enhancement of scientific innovation capacity, talent support capability, and organizational mobilization capacity to jointly advance rural development.

4. Department of Urban-Rural Planning

The Urban-Rural Planning program at Nanchang University began enrolling students in 2003, making it the first institution of higher education in Jiangxi Province to offer a five-year Urban-Rural Planning program. Adhering to the educational philosophy of "grounded in the ecological elements of mountains, rivers, lakes, cities, and villages; highlighting the cultural essence of the Gan-Po region; and writing papers on the soil of the motherland," and leveraging Nanchang University's comprehensive disciplinary strengths and distinct interdisciplinary characteristics, the program is dedicated to cultivating senior planning professionals who are "broad-caliber, strong in fundamentals, and equipped with robust spatial form design capabilities."

Over years of development, the Department has built a faculty team with a balanced title structure and multidisciplinary integration. Among the full-time faculty, 91.6% hold a master's degree or higher, and over 40% have experience studying or conducting research abroad. Registered urban-rural planners account for 53.8% of the faculty, and several renowned domestic and international scholars have been appointed as visiting professors. Faculty members have led and completed 1 project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, undertaken over 100 provincial and ministerial urban-rural planning research and design projects, including 3 major industry-funded projects each exceeding 3 million RMB, published over 80 papers in domestic and international journals, authored 1 monograph, and published or compiled 6 textbooks. They have received over 10 awards for national teaching innovation, provincial scientific and technological progress, and outstanding planning and design. They have guided students to win over 50 awards in various provincial-level and higher competitions.

5. Department of Foundational Studies

In response to the university's talent cultivation requirements of "interdisciplinary integration" and "broad-caliber, solid foundation," the Department of Foundational Studies was established. The Department interfaces with the foundational teaching needs of six different programs—engineering-oriented programs in Architecture, Urban-Rural Planning, and Industrial Design, as well as design programs in Environmental Design, Visual Communication Design, and Product Design.

Rooted in "art," the Department of Foundational Studies relies on courses in basic modeling and design fundamentals to integrate the cultivation of modeling expression, aesthetic literacy, and thinking skills throughout the entire student development process. It is primarily responsible for the "Grand Foundation" platform courses for all first- and second-year students across the College, and also participates in comprehensive training and mentorship phases such as upper-year topic research and graduation projects.

The curricular goal of the Department of Foundational Studies is to equip students with essential professional foundational competencies in modeling techniques, design expression, and creative thinking; to deepen their understanding of the diversity of artistic language; to provide a basic mastery of the general theoretical knowledge required across the various architecture and design disciplines; to emphasize communication and expression skills; and to broaden students' artistic horizons, thereby laying a solid foundation for their future learning and development in specialized fields.