CAFA Agreement

CAFA Agreement Results in Beijing Exchange Students at CCA

For the benefit of an international student's family who may not speak English, download the CAFA Agreement (PDF) translated in simplified Chinese.

CCA’s new partnership with the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, one of the premiere art and design schools in China, continues to expand and deepen.

In addition to various collaborations, faculty and student exchanges, and another visit by President Stephen Beal to China for the 3rd International Art and Design School Presidents Conference in October, CCA is now welcoming a select number of CAFA students each year as transfers. They arrive at CCA with 30 units of transfer credit and have completed a special preparatory course of study.

In fall 2010 we are happy to have four new enrollees: one in Architecture, one in Industrial Design, one in Jewelry / Metal Arts, and one in Interior Design. (Ten additional CAFA students are expected in fall 2011.)

Three of the four had never visited San Francisco, and the fourth had only visited once for summer camp at age 14. So they all arrived early, in mid-July, and participated in CCA’s Summer ESL and Studio Art Program, now in its second year. The program’s six weeks of activities—building English skills, getting acquainted with how art school works in the United States, engaging in critique sessions, and generally getting to play tourist—were extremely valuable.

All of them observe that they appreciate CCA’s interdisciplinary curriculum (although, not surprisingly, the Architecture major doubts if he’ll have time for courses outside his program!) and they all comment specifically on the great student experience that CCA offers, especially the availability of academic advising, English tutoring, and extracurricular activities.

CAFA Students

The CAFA exchange students also have many charming things to say about San Francisco:

Renjie Bei: “It’s hard for me to choose the best thing about San Francisco—I really like everything about San Francisco!—but if had to pick one, I think I will never forget the last afternoon of the summer course, sailing on the ship. We tasted and smelled the sea wind, and took pictures together.”

Jingtao Zhang: “We visited a lot of places the first two weeks, most of them museums. I liked Fisherman’s Wharf: the seafood, the bread, all of the foods.”

Yixin Yuan: “San Francisco has many different cultures; people come here from all over the world. Being in San Francisco feels just like traveling the world. People here are so nice.”

Kangning Zhao: “We’ve been to many museums, galleries, and places of interest. I have enjoyed my time. There are many pigeons in the streets and they are not even afraid of people at all.”