Central Academy of Fine Arts

The Central Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1918 as the National Beijing Art College, the first national art education institution in Chinese history, and is the only art academy of higher learning directly under the Ministry of Education. It is ranked fourteenth in the world for art and design in the QS subject rankings for 2026. That ranking is worth pausing on. It places the academy above most British art schools, at Chinese tuition levels rather than the CNY 200,000 equivalent a London art school charges an international student. It teaches through seven schools covering fine art, Chinese painting, design, architecture, humanities and urban design, with around 20 bachelor programmes and 4,700 students. It also runs an International Foundation Course for Bachelor Degree Study, which is the route for an international applicant not yet ready for direct entry.