The Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) is the only national art education institution in China directly under the Ministry of Education, exclusively dedicated to the education of the fine arts, including painting, sculpture, design, architecture and art history. Tracing back to the National Beiping Art School, the earliest national art school in China founded in 1918, CAFA was incorporated in 1950, soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China. It now offers undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. programmes in fine art, design, architecture and art theory and history, and prepares the students for a creative career in the arts both in China and abroad.

The design programme of CAFA was renewed in 1995 in the name of the Department of Art Design, after a break of some forty years, and became the School of Design in October, 2002. with the goal of preparing and training the students as future professionals in design with creative thinking and practical capabilities, the School of Design offers undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. degrees in programs ranging from visual communication design, product design, fashion design, photography, digital media to design theory and history. The School of Design plays an important role in promoting design in China and is intensively involved in design activities, most noticeable of which are its designs for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.