The School of Art and Design was established in 1998, based on applied photography art and image technology (founded in 1978). It was approved as a construction unit for a master’s degree in 2013. It integrates and coordinates multiple disciplines' development with its distinctive characteristics as an art and design school. Meanwhile, the School is a standing director unit of China Packaging Federation (CPF), a deputy director unit of the education committee of CPF, a deputy director unit of the creative design committee of China Printing Technology Association, a standing director unit of China Convention and Exhibition Society (CCES), a deputy director unit of CCES, a standing director unit of Shanghai Packaging Technology Association, a deputy director unit of Shanghai Exhibition Society, a committee member of Shanghai Art professional degree Graduate Education Steering Committee, a committee member of Shanghai Art and Design Higher Education Steering Committee, and a deputy director unit of Shanghai Industrial Design Association. Compared with the same kind of majors of other institutes in Shanghai or the country, the School of Art and Design of SUES leads in packaging design, exhibition design, and photography.
There are approximately 1,285 undergraduates and 82 faculty members in the School. Sixty-two of the faculty members are lecturers, more than 20 are professors or associate professors, 90.3 % of the teachers have doctoral, or master's degrees, and 25.8% of the faculty members have the experience of studying abroad. The School is comprised of five departments, five research labs, six subject research offices, and a central laboratory. The School consists of eight majors: product packaging design, arts and technology, visual communication design, photography, digital media design, environmental art design, industrial design, and advertising. Additionally, there are 4 MFA majors: product modeling art and practice, visual communication design, exhibition and space environment design, and digital media and image digitization. The School has several studios, such as the Humanities and Art Studio (approbated by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission), 3D printing studio, visual communication studio, photography studio, video editing and computer studio, and a reference room of art professional books. The total value of various instruments and equipment is nearly 19 million yuan. The School also has 63 off-campus bases with a tutor team of 35 teachers.
Since 2002, the School has participated in many National Science and Technology Support Program projects. The product packaging design major was approved as a national key discipline by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission in 2002. Themajors’ group, which combined the majors of product packaging design, exhibition and space environment design, and Multimedia Design, was approved by Shanghai Municipal Highland Construction Project in 2005. In 2008, the art and design major was approved through the 3rd Shanghai Municipal Highland Construction Project. The School was also rated as a construction unit of 085 knowledge innovation platform in 2009, and the Practice Base for the graduate of art design major of SUES by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission in 2015. The School of Art and Design has made remarkable achievements in society; it was awarded The Creative Base of China Packaging by CPF in 2011 and The Creative Base of China Exhibition by CCES in 2012.
Currently, in the teaching field, the School has completed more than 20 courses for undergraduates in Shanghai and at SUES. In the past few years, more than 1,000 projects have been approved by teachers and students, including research papers, design works, publishing monographs, and teaching textbooks. Attaining more than 2,000 awards, the School has become a modern artistic temple hall for scientific research, artistic creation, and talent training.