Founded in 1821, the ECAL (formerly the Cantonal School of Drawing, and later the School of Fine and Applied Arts) is affiliated to the Department of Education and Youth (DFJ) of the Canton of Vaud through the General Direction of Higher Education (DGES).

Following HES (Haute Ecole Spécialisée = University of Applied Sciences) recognition of its Visual communication and Industrial and product design courses in 1998 and its Fine arts course in 2005, the ECAL is a Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design / University of Art and Design and a member of University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO).