The School is dedicated to pioneering interdisciplinary fields that integrate science and technology, the humanities, the arts, and economics. Its academic portfolio spans a broad spectrum, including industrial design, visual communication design, environmental art design, product design, digital media art, advertising and brand strategy, as well as landscape architecture and planning. Guided by the philosophy of uniting science with the humanities and bridging modernity with the future, the School is committed to creating innovative, sustainable, and human-centered modes of living and spatial environments. These programs represent some of the most vibrant and application-oriented disciplines of contemporary society.
The School offers six undergraduate majors: Industrial Design, Landscape Architecture, Product Design, Visual Communication Design, Environmental Design, and Digital Media Art. It also confers master’s degrees in five areas—Design Studies,Landscape Planning and Design，Industrial Design Engineering, Design and Landscape Architecture—alongside a doctoral program in Industrial Design.
Since the launch of its undergraduate programs in 1985, the School has developed a comprehensive education system that spans bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Over the past decades, it has produced a large number of outstanding professionals, gaining particular recognition for its leadership in industrial design and for its distinctive strengths in visual design, landscape planning, environmental design, and digital media brand strategy.
The School is a member of the Shanghai Peak Discipline in Design (IV). In support of this initiative, it has established five specialized research teams: the Green Low-Carbon and Regional Heritage Protection, the Social Innovation and Green Design, the Digital Communication and Innovative Design of Shanghai-Style Painting, the Intelligent Perceptual Design Methods and Health Design, and the Time-Honored Brand Innovation.
With the continued advancement of its disciplinary development, the School has further sharpened its strategic focus on intelligent design. In partnership with Tongji University, it has taken the lead in three of the seven key directions—Artificial Intelligence Design, Intelligent and Sustainable Community Design, and Smart Health and Intelligent Robotics Design. These initiatives demonstrate the School’s forward-looking vision, innovative momentum, and core competitiveness in shaping the future of intelligent design.
