The examination difficulty of the university is comparable to that of the University of Tokyo, and only about 240 students are recruited for each major.

As the ceiling of the Japanese Academy of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of Arts has trained many famous musicians and painters, such as the famous composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and the painter hirayama ikuo, because the entrance threshold is extremely high.

Tokyo University of the Arts, referred to as "Dongyi University", is the only national art university in Japan. It is recognized as the largest and highest-level artist training institution in Japanese public art universities. It is equivalent to the level of China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts.