The Department of Visual Arts, National Pingtung University was originally founded when Taiwan was under Japanese Rule as the Art and Craft Education Program of “Pingtung Teachers’ School of Taiwan Governor-General”, for training elementary school art teachers with full sponsorship from the government. After the Nationalist Government took over Taiwan, the program remained its name while the school underwent several name changes, first to “Pingtung Teachers’ School of Taiwan Province” and then “Pingtung Teachers’ College of Taiwan Province”. In August, 1992, the Department of Art and Craft Education was formally established to replace its program status and for training teachers specialized in the Art and Craft curriculum of Taiwan’s public elementary schools. In 2005, when the Teachers’ College was renamed as “National Pingtung University of Education”, the Department also evolved to become the “Department of Visual Arts”, highlighting its new focus on educating visual art professionals and less on teacher training. In August 2014, National Pingtung University of Education merged with former National Pingtung Institute of Commerce to become National Pingtung University, while the Department continue to offer high quality visual education meeting the trends of the new era which is well integrated with industry development, working closely with government institutions while retaining its strong emphasis on research and learning.