Sydney arts students angry over proposed job cuts and the downscaling of the arts program at the University of Sydney have staged what they call an "occupation" of the college's administration office.

Students protesting at the College of Arts administration building in Sydney. ( Supplied: Suzy Faiz )

More than two dozen College of the Arts students have barricaded themselves in the building using furniture to block the doors said they would not leave the college until their demands were met.

The students said they wanted the administration to promise not to cut the Bachelor of Visual Arts Degree for 2017, as well as not moving the arts students from their Rozelle campus to the main Sydney University campus.

Sit-in spokeswoman and student at the College of the Arts, Suzy Faiz, said students held a meeting this morning to decide on the protest action and the majority of students voted to conduct the "occupation".

"After we had a general meeting today and people voted as to whether people wanted us to occupy on behalf of those students, and there was a majority in favour of that," Ms Faiz said.

"There's about 20 of us here at the moment ... we're basically occupying the administration building, until our demands are met, so, indefinitely."

Today's sit-in follows bitter protests by students over a planned merger between the Sydney College of the Arts and the fine arts school at the University of NSW.

The merger has been scrapped, but there have been major cuts announced for the Sydney College of the Arts, including staff cuts of more than 50 per cent, and the scrapping of the jewellery, ceramics and glassmaking programs.

The university plans to relocate its arts facility from its Rozelle campus, known as Kirkbride, in Callan Park, to a section of the main facility in Sydney CBD.

A university spokeswoman has said its planned changes to the SCA would "remain unchanged", despite the protests.

University of Sydney students barricaded themselves in the College of the Arts building using furniture. ( Supplied: Suzy Faiz )

Staying at Rozelle campus students' main priority

Ms Faiz said the demand to keep the students at the Rozelle facility was the students' main priority.

College of Arts student demands: The immediate removal of the Dean of SCA, Colin Rhodes, and that he be replaced with a team fully representative of the staff of Sydney College of the Arts (SCA).

The immediate removal of the Dean of SCA, Colin Rhodes, and that he be replaced with a team fully representative of the staff of Sydney College of the Arts (SCA). A guarantee no cuts to jobs, studios and courses.

A guarantee no cuts to jobs, studios and courses. The SCA will not be moved from Kirkbride.

The SCA will not be moved from Kirkbride. The reinstatement of the Bachelor of Visual Arts for 2017.

The reinstatement of the Bachelor of Visual Arts for 2017. A guarantee of a proper and transparent independent review of the University's financial and constitutional status.

"To save this campus, to stay at the Kirkbride complex, which is what we all enrolled to be a part of ... to have the community, to have the facilities, and the studios.

"The other important point is to keep the academics, the professional artists who are our teachers, because the proposed move would mean 60 per cent of those staff would be sacked."

The university spokeswoman said it supported the students' right to protest peacefully, but its plans for changes to the SCA would still go ahead.

It has previously said the SCA has been running at a more than $5 million annual deficit, including $2 million in maintenance costs for the Rozelle campus.

But Ms Faiz said there was no clear idea of what would happen to the arts students once they move to the main campus.

"They don't have anything for us on the main campus, they can't even name what building will be housing us, yet they say we have to be there from January next year."

A rally was held this afternoon, with community members and fellow arts students picketing outside the building, another rally is planned for tomorrow.