I. Overview

^{The School of Arts at SCBC is an emerging school, established in 2023 upon the foundation of the university’s Public Art Teaching and Research Section, and officially began enrolling students in 2024. Guided by the interdisciplinary development philosophy of “Specialization+ Foreign Languages + Practice,” the School is committed tobuilding an innovative, application-oriented, and multidisciplinary arts curriculum system that meets the needs of the new era, with the aim of providing high-quality arts education services to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the global community. The School consistently places arts education at its core, comprehensively enhancing students’ overall qualities and helping them realize their artistic dreams through diverse teaching methods, rich practical projects, and extensive learning platforms.}

^{1. Structure}

^{The School currently comprises the Department of Music Education and the Teaching and Research Office for University Aesthetic Education. The Department of Music Education includes the Music Theory Teaching and Research Office, the Vocal Music Teaching and Research Office, and the Instrumental Music and Piano Teaching and Research Office.}

^{2. Faculty and Students}

^{The School currently has 18 full-time faculty members, including 6 faculty members holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or other senior-level titles, as well as 8 faculty members holding or pursuing doctoral degrees and 10 dual-qualified faculty members. In addition, 60% ofthe faculty hold overseas degrees or have experience studying abroad. The school has also appointed more than 10 renowned university professors and industry leaders as visiting professors to participatein teaching and program development.}

^{The school currently has 153 students. Students come from provinces including Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, and Guangxi.}

^{3. Distinctive Features and Highlights}

^{The School of Arts is a newly established arts school created in response to national policies on aesthetic education. Grounded in the needs of the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and leveraging the university’s strengths in multilingualism and international resources, the school adopts a core model of “specialization + foreign languages +practical experience.” It is dedicated to cultivating applied arts education professionals who possess “solid professional skills, outstanding teaching abilities, and expertise in cross-cultural communication.” The Music Education program was awarded Grade B in the 2025 Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects – Chinese Undergraduate Major Rankings, making SCBC the only private university in Guangdong Province with a program included in this category.}

^{The School of Arts features distinct characteristics. First, “Dual Competency Integration” in education, focusing on cultivating dual core competencies—“the classroom and the stage”—to simultaneously enhance teaching practice skills and artistic literacy. Second, “Foreign Language + Major” empowerment, where foreign language credits account for 12.5% of total credits. Through distinctive initiatives such as English morning reading sessions and musical theater practice, the School builds core competitiveness in international arts education exchange and establishes a differentiated advantage. Third, a closed-loop practical training system: the School has established a five-in-one framework comprising “theoretical instruction + experimental training + internships + extracurricular activities + innovation and entrepreneurship,” creating a seamless training pathway spanning “classroom—lectern—stage.” Fourth, targeted regional service: the School specifically trainshigh-quality music teachers for basic education tailored to the needs of the Greater Bay Area, demonstrating its commitment to servinglocal development.}

^{Significant achievements have been made in talent cultivation and academic research. The School strengthens faculty development through mechanisms such as “one-on-one” mentoring for young faculty, inviting visiting professors, and organizing exchangeprograms. In recent years, the School has undertaken a cumulative total of 21 provincial-level and higher teaching and research projects, published 28 academic papers (including 6 in CSSCI-indexed journals and 2 in Peking University Core Journals), and faculty members and their students have won more than 20 provincial-level and higher awards. Curriculum development emphasizes diversity and practical application, featuring distinctive courses such as “English for the Arts” and “Cross-Cultural Communication,” with a reasonable proportion of credits allocated to practical instruction. The School has established 15 industry-academia-research internship bases and is equipped with 33 practice rooms. In the future, it plans to upgrade its teaching spaces with smart technology, incorporating VR simulated stages and AI-powered music composition tools.}

^{International exchange and cooperation are extensive. The school is actively pursuing “2+2” and “3+1” joint international training programs with universities in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia to promote the integration of ethnic music with international education systems. It regularly organizes faculty and students to participate in international academic conferences, thereby building a platform for international development.}

^{The School has achieved outstanding results in community service. Faculty and students have actively participated in the “Guangdong Youth University Students Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project,”forming the “Yujian Zhixing” volunteer team (dedicated to educational practice and social service) to provide aesthetic education support in rural areas of Heyuan. Faculty members have been invited to participate in local cultural events, such as the NationalDay cultural performance in Zhongluotan Town, leveraging their professional expertise to empower grassroots cultural development. Additionally, the School has hosted specialized lectures on ethnic music at the Provincial Library to support the preservation of local culture and the protection of traditional intangible cultural heritage.}