International cooperation and cultural exchange have become essential for institutions in order that they think critically and act globally. At the National College of Arts (NCA), foreign academic linkages have been established through a variety of activities such as international film festivals, exhibitions, and artist-in-residence programmes.

Over the course of its rich academic history, the NCA has enacted various Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with a number of prestigious institutions worldwide, which include, the College of Fine Arts (now Faculty), University of  New South Wales, Australia; École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France; Instituto Superior de Arte, Havano, Cuba; Xi’an Conservatory of Music, Xi’an, China; Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, Turin, Italy; Siena Art Institute, Siena, Italy; Accademia della Moda in Naples and Milan, Institute of Universal Art and Design, (IUAD), Italy; Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland; Film university Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Potsdam, Germany; Istanbul Aydin University, Istanbul, Turkey; Middlesex University London, England; College of Fine Arts (now Faculty), University of Tehran, Iran; University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran; The Maldives National University (MNU), Malé, Maldives and the University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic for faculty and student exchange programmes.  Academic partnership in sustainable design is being finalized with the University of Edgehill, United Kingdom and European Leadership University, Northern Cyprus.

An established MOU between the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, London, England and the NCA has been in practice for years through the Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust. Additionally, the NCA is in partnership with the Boston Architectural College, Boston, USA; South Asia Institute (SAI), The University of Texas at Austin, USA; Liaoning Communication University, Shenyang, China; Xinjiang Normal University, Ürümqi, China, and University of the Arts, Tehran, Iran. These opportunities provide members of the NCA community with a nuanced transcultural competence, bringing together students and staff from all over the world. Institutional partners of the National College of Arts include the British Council, Annemarie Schimmel Haus, Khana-e-Farhang, and Alliance Francaise.