The School of Communication and Arts (ECA) of University of São Paulo, was created in 1966 and its first name was School of Cultural Communication. Due to the diversities of areas and careers offered, ECA´s first characteristic is that it is contemporary. It is a school linked to the innovations and the transformations of superior education. Its courses are among the most competitive in the University. The University Entrance Exam for ECA is the most competitive at USP. During three decades of investments on education and scientific research, our school has graduated many professionals and scientists in high level. The first group graduated in 1970. Since then, ECA has been prominent not only numbers and diversity of courses, but also for the quality of its faculty members. Nowadays it is an institution on reference for all Latin America. It has acquired international prestige as an institution that keeps the level of excellence on Communication and Arts. In fact, ECA has become an International School. There are many foreign students from Africa, Europe and America that study here.

     There are 22 professional careers in undergraduate regular courses, from which 15 are devoted to Arts: Scenic Design, Theater Direction, Theater Acting, Theory of Theater, Sculpture, Engraving, Multimedia, Inter-media, Painting, Chant and Lyrical Art, Composition, Musical Instruments, Conducting and graduation in Art Education, Acting Performances, Fire Arts and Music.  There are 4 qualifications in Social Communication: Journalism, Publishing, Advertising and Propaganda and Public Relations, besides the courses of Librarianship, Tourism and Audio-visual. Furthermore, ECA has inside its structure the School of Drama (EAD) that is a traditional school of theater sponsored by the course of “Actor Performance”.

     ECA is organized in eight departments and one technical school. The structure of the departments is:

• Department of Acting Performances – CAC
• Department of Fine Arts – CAP
• Department of Librarianship and Documentation – CBD
• Department of Communication and Arts – CCA
• Department of Journalism and Publishing – CJE
• Department of Music – CMU
• Department of Public Relations, Advertising and Propaganda and Tourism – CRP
• Department of Cinema, Radio and Television – CTR   
• School of Drama – EAD

     Besides the regular courses, ECA offers diverse activities which provide the community with social services. These are essential functions inside the University, such as Cultural Extension courses in different    themes and Project of University Open to the Elderly.

     The research centers are a very active area at the school. Beside the work on scientific investigation, they have a straight relationship with the Community producing important works of public utility, which are frequently done in partnership with government agencies.
In addition to these activities there is The Junior Company that is administered by student that assist with professional quality, diverse areas of market. They are the following:
     a)    ECA  Junior, Advertising, Public Relations and Tourism Agency, in the Department of Public Relations, Advertising and Propaganda and Tourism;
     b)    COM-ARTE, junior Publishing, in the Department of Journalism and Publishing, besides the traditional Newspaper “Jornal do Campus”, a fortnight periodical, and the University News Agency that divulges the subjects of the university to the media all over the country.

     The Graduate Program incentivates the cultural exchange and research and has agreements with the most prominent Universities worldwide, American, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and other ones.

       The Graduate Program, have many transformations in its functional structure, stopped being linked to the original Departments, and torned some specific areas with broad perspective. Therefore ECA has six post-graduate programs in this academic and administrative structure. They are:

1. Arts (PPGAC);
   
2. Visual Arts (PPGAV);
   
3. Communication Science (PPGCOM);
   
4. Information Science (PPGCI);
   
5. Media and Audiovisual Processes (PPGMPA).;
   
6. Music (PPGM);

     The most important cultural and pedagogical investment of ECA has been the constant recycling and actualization of methods and use of the new education technologies.