In 1991 the chair of composition and art training opened the specialties “Monumental Decorative Art” and “Decorative Applied Art”. In 1995 a Chair of Decorative Art was founded on the basis of the above Chair with the participation of leading practising artists of Ekaterinburg, the objective being to provide a complete range of art disciplines from year to year 5 and graduate professional artists in monumental decorative art and applied art in such specialisations as monumental painting, textile art, applied textile art, sculpture, ceramics, and stone cutting.

The staff of the Chair consists of 2 professors, 17 associate professors, and 3 senior lecturers. The Chair is headed by Associate Professor L.V.Puzakov, member of the Union of Artists of Russia.

The Chair is engaged in research in the following areas:

- Methodology of training specialists in monumental decorative and decorative applied art at a higher school;

- History of monumental decorative and decorative applied art

- Issues around interaction between folk art and contemporary professional art

- Methodology for pre-admission training.

Over the past years the Chair has received awards at international competition of graduate diploma projects, medals, gifts, mentions, an honorary mention of the de Biers competition (1997), the “Zodchestvo” Festival (1995-19976) and a number of exhibitions in Russia.

The specific feature of the chair is its participation in practical activities. Attached to the Chair are workshops which fulfil orders for interior design using various materials (batique, cermaics, mosaics, frescoes) restoration of decorations on monuments of architecture. Members of the Chair have successfully worked in graphic design. In collaboration with the Chair of Art and Composition Training a permanent gallery has been set up to display student and teacher works.

The staff of the Chair includes 14 members of the Union of Artists, 4 members of the Union of Architects, 2 members of the Union of Designers, prize winners of international and national competitions. Personal exhibitions of works by some of the members of the staff of the Chair have been successfully displayed in the Ural region, Russia, France , England, Italy, USA. Successes of the Chair are covered broadly in local and national mass media.