Kanazawa College of Art was founded in 1946 by the Kanazawa municipal government following World War II, and became a full-fledged university in 1955.

The university is known for a peculiar tradition in which some students wear costumes to the graduation ceremony.

In 2016 the university announced plans to relocate to a new campus in the near future, citing a lack of space, outdated and inadequate facilities, and no universally-accessible installations (such as slopes and wheelchair-friendly restrooms) in the nearly-50-year-old buildings among their concerns.

The plans were formally approved in 2018; the new campus is scheduled to be completed in 2022 and to open in 2023.

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