The School of Literature and Art comprises the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the Department of English Language and Literature, the Department of Art Design and the College English Section.

     Four BA degree specialties are offered in the School. They are Chinese, English, art design and industrial design. Up to nowadays, the four specialties consist of 1034 full-time students and 2908 part-time students.

     The Department of Chinese Language and Literature (the Chinese Department for short) is one of the departments that enjoy the longest history at the University. Its establishment can trace back to as early as 1958, when it was a 3-year teacher training program. In 1993, it began to offer BA degree programs by joining efforts with other universities, and, in 1994, it was approved by the State Educational Commission to offer a BA degree specialty of Chinese language and literature.

     The specialty is divided into two programs. One of them aims to train students into qualified teachers of Chinese language and literature for middle schools, and the other aims to train students into qualified personnel for news reporting, secretarial work and cultural propaganda. Each program covers 198.5 points of credit, including 39 points for practice, and 2496 teaching hours.

     The main courses for the teacher training program include General Linguistics, Modern Chinese, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Introduction to Literature, Foreign Literature, Introduction to Chinese Culture, Writing, Comparative Literature, Critical History of Chinese Literature, History of Chinese Language, Studies of Chinese Characters, Folk Literature, Literary Psychology, Studies of Ancient Chinese Documents, Chinese Teaching Methodology, etc..

     The main courses for the non-teacher training program include General Linguistics, Modern Chinese, Ancient Chinese, Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Introduction to Literature, Foreign Literature, Introduction to Chinese Culture, Writing, Comparative Literature, Folk Literature, Studies of Ancient Chinese Documents, Secretarial Studies, Administration Management, Studies of Archives, etc..

     The Department has been paying much attention to cultivating the students' practical ability and giving a considerable prominence to practice to ensure the comprehensive development of the students. Owing to their solid knowledge and strong ability, the graduates from the Department are very much welcomed and their employment rate has remained above 96%.

     The Department at present has 25 full-time teachers. Among them are 5 professors, 8 associate professors, 11 lecturers, 8 doctor degree holders, and 11 master degree holders.

     For its teaching and research achievements, the specialty of Chinese Language and Literature has been approved by the University authorities as "Brand Specialty". The courses of Introduction to Literature, Writing, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature and Ancient Chinese Literature have been approved as the university's "key courses". What's more, Ancient Chinese Literature has been selected as one of the University's "Quality Courses".

     The Department of English Language and Literature (the English Department for short) is one of the earliest established departments at Foshan University. Like the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, it was established as early as in 1958. But, it did not offer any BA degree program until 1996, when it was approved in 1995 by the State Educational commission to offer a BA degree specialty of English Language and Literature

     The specialty is divided into three training programs. One is a teacher training program and its aim is to train students into qualified teachers of English for middle schools. Another is an international-business-oriented program and its aim is to train students into qualified personnel competent in English and international business as well. Still another is an applied-translation-oriented program and its aim is to train students into English-Chinese and Chinese-English translators / interpreters for common foreign affairs, travel and business. Each program covers 1189 points of credit, including 32 points for practice, and 2478 teaching hours.

     The main courses for the teacher training program include Basic Comprehensive English, Advanced Comprehensive English, English Listening, English Speaking, English Reading, English writing, Practical English Phonetics, Practical English Grammar, General Linguistics, Survey of Main English Speaking Countries, Selected Readings of British literature, Selected Readings of American Literature, Theory and Practice of Translation, Theories and Practice of English Teaching, English Testing Methodology, Schools of Modern Linguistics, and Second Foreign Language.

     The main courses for the international-business-oriented program include Basic Comprehensive English, Advanced Comprehensive English, English Listening, English Speaking, English Reading, English writing, Practical English Phonetics, General Linguistics, Survey of Main English Speaking Countries, Selected Readings of British literature, Selected Readings of American Literature, Theories and Practice of Translation, Readings of Business English, Business English Writing, International trade, Practices of International trade, Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Cultures, and Second Foreign Language.

     The main courses for the applied-translation-oriented program include Basic Comprehensive English, Advanced Comprehensive English, English Listening, English Speaking, English Reading, English writing, Practical English Phonetics, General Linguistics, Selected Readings of British literature, Survey of Main English Speaking Countries, Selected Readings of American Literature, Theories and Practice of Translation, Media-Translatology, Translation from Chinese into English, Translation from English into Chinese, Oral Interpretation, Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Cultures, Literary Translation, Translation Criticism, and Second Foreign Language.

     The department at present has 18 full-time teachers, not including 2 or 3 foreign teachers employed every year. Among the teachers are 2 professors, 5 associate professors 11 lecturers, 2 Ph. D degree holders and 15 MA degree holder. Half of the teachers have been abroad studying for degrees or working as visiting scholars.

     As a part of the School of Literature and Arts, the Department of Art Design was established in 1987 and consists of two specialties: art design (covering graphic design, interior design, and fashion design) and industrial design (products design). Respectively in 2001 and 2003, the two specialties began to offer undergraduate programs leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

     The department is well equipped with studios, crafts laboratory, model-making room, multi-media classroom, media design computer room, exhibition hall and other teaching facilities.

     The Department has 19 full-time teachers and 3 laboratory technicians. Among them is one professor, six associate professors (or senior industrial artists), nine lecturers (or industrial artists), two Ph. D degree holders and 5 master degree holders.

     Over the years, the faculty members have won numerous prizes in important national and provincial art exhibitions and published monographs, albums of paintings and textbooks on professional subjects as well as lots of academic papers and paintings in national core journals. In 2000 and 2001, they respectively won a first prize of Guangdong Province Excellent Teaching Achievements and a second prize of the National Excellent Teaching Achievements, apart from some research achievement prizes awarded by local governments and the University.. Besides, some teachers have been cited as Nanyue Model Teachers and Foshan Municipal Model Teachers.

     The College English Department consists of 45 full-time teachers, including 2 professors, 17 associate professors, 22 lecturers and 4 teaching assistants, 23 of whom are master degree holders. Making up 51 percent of the total.

     The Department teaches College English to all non-English majors at the university and offers training programs for College English Test Band Four (CET-4) and College English Test Band Six (CET-6).

     As a two-year compulsory course for all the students of the University, College English is one of the most important public basic courses. Every student of the University is required to learn it and obtain 16 points of credit for it before he or she is awarded diploma and bachelor degree.

     In recent years, to fulfill the College English Teaching Curriculum Requirements lately approved by the State Ministry of Education, the Department has been making great efforts to carry out some innovations, learning the latest teaching ideas and approaches, exploring new teaching models, and utilizing the modern teaching means to improve classroom instruction modes. As a result, the teaching quality and efficiency have been improved greatly. The students have acquired a more solid knowledge of the English language, and have made much progress in their comprehensive ability of applying English language skills to communication.

     During the late four years, while attaching importance to teaching, teachers of the Department have been engaged in academic research. They have chaired and accomplished one project on College English Teaching Innovation assigned by the State Ministry of Education, one New Century Education Reform Project of Guangdong Province, one "151 Project" of Guangdong Province, one College English Teaching Innovation Project of Guangdong Province, two municipal research projects, and some other research projects.