The academy features the study of theories and offers Ph.D., Master's, and bachelor's degrees of fine arts, design, architecture, film, and new media, which constitute the humanities and reflect the Chinese national spirit and creative theories of the era.

Some of the students in the Master's programs live on the alternate campus 40 minutes away, on the outskirts of Hangzhou.

A free bus is offered to transport students to and from the campus and the dorms at designated times.

Graduate courses are typically three years long and include experience in the studio and research with mentoring faculty.

In 1928, the National Academy of Art (國立藝術院) was founded in China on the bank of the West Lake in Hangzhou by the educators Cai Yuanpei and Lin Fengmian.