School of Architecture and Design can be traced back to the former Department of Architecture (the name was later changed to Department of Architecture, Beijing Jiaotong University), Tangshan School of Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University founded in 1946. In 1951, the Department of Architecture was moved to Beijing campus of Beijing Jiaotong University. At the end of 1952, schools and departments around the country were adjusted, and the Department of Architecture was moved to Tianjin University. In 1985, Beijing Jiaotong University resumed enrollment of architecture major. In 1991, the undergraduate program of architecture was changed to five-year program. In 2002, the undergraduate program of art design was added. In 2007, the Department of Architecture was separated from the School of Civil And Architectural Engineering and became a secondary unit directly under the university, named Department of Architecture and Design. In 2012, the name was changed to School of Architecture and Design.

At present, the School consists of Department of Architecture, Department of Urban and Rural Planning and Department of Media and Art Design. The School enrolls undergraduates for two categories: architecture (including architecture, urban and rural planning) and design (including environmental design, visual communication design and digital media art). The School has 3 first-level master programs in architecture, urban & rural planning and design, and 2 master programs in architecture and art. Currently, the School has a total of 1,025 domestic and international students, including 656 undergraduates, 310 postgraduates, 19 undergraduate overseas students and 40 master overseas students. So far, the School has cultivated a large number of outstanding professionals in architectural design, urban & rural planning and art design, who are active in various posts of economic construction and social development at home and abroad. Over the years, the employment rate of graduates has reached more than 96%, and more than 40% of undergraduate graduates continue to study in famous universities at home or abroad.

In recent years, the strength of the School has been greatly enhanced, and a teaching team with reasonable structure, rigorous style, active thinking and international vision has been formed, which is led by well-known professors and backed by young and middle-aged teachers. At present, the School has 103 faculty members, including 84 full-time teachers. Among the full-time teachers, over 82% have doctoral degree, and more than 70% have over one year of overseas research or study experience. Besides, the School has employed 4 overseas scholars and more than 20 part-time professors.

Since established, the School has adhered to the thought of "moral education" and the spirit of “educate students by virtue and encourage them to learn and innovate”, and promoted the transportation culture of “diversity and interdiscipline”. In terms of teaching, scientific research and discipline development, the School has formed a view of "grand design" that suits the development of the times, advocating "academic democracy, and equal attention to preciseness and activeness; practice, innovation and equal attention to practice and scientific research; interdisciplinary integration and development of traditional and cutting-edge disciplines at the same time; international communication, introduction and output of talents.”

As for discipline development, combining with the development strategy, the School highlights the characteristics of communication in the fields of urban and rural planning, architectural design and design, gives full play to the cross-disciplinary advantages, and emphasizes the deep integration of design with cutting-edge technology, design and transportation culture. The School has formed the development direction with multidisciplinary integration and distinctive characteristics Ii multiple fields such as "smart city", "green building", "heritage protection", "transportation vision" and "digital design". In recent 5 years, the School has undertaken 19 national-level scientific research projects and formed distinct discipline characteristics in the fields of transportation building, space of national land, transportation cooperation and transportation art design, which is devoted to serving national strategies such as "Transportation Power", “the Belt and Road” Initiative, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development, rural revitalization and urban renewal, and has establishes substantial strategic partnership with China Academy of Urban Planning & Design, and Beijing Construction Engineering Group.

The School has carried out extensive international exchanges and cooperation with famous design colleges in the United States, Russia, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and set up Sino-UK cooperation program - digital media undergraduate program with full English teaching, national foreign aid project - urban and rural planning master education program, and a number of long-term and short-term international joint training programs. A batch of high-level international cooperation platforms have been established together, including Sino-US Joint Laboratory of Future Cities, and Sino-European Research Centre for Sustainable Development of Cities and Buildings.

The School attaches great importance to the integration of science and education and emphasizes practice, and has built several academic research platforms such as Urban Planning and Design Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, Painting and Calligraphy Art Research and Creation Center under Urban Planning and Design Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, and Yuanmingyuan Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University. Besides, it has establishes multiple teaching and scientific research organizations like Innovation and Practice Center, and Aesthetic Education Center, constructed a practice platform together with Beijing Jiaoda Architectural Design and Engineering Survey Co., Ltd., and set up a number of school-enterprise joint training bases with strong practice and research ability in multiple well-known units including China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, China Academy of Building Research, and China Film Group Corporation.

School of Architecture and Design, Beijing Jiaotong University takes discipline construction as its leading task, regards improving the quality of education as its mission, reforms and innovates with keen determination, and strives to build a distinctive and well-known high-level design talent training base with international influence!