Thomas Chang received a BFA with an emphasis in Photography and Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1992 and an MFA with an emphasis in Photography from San Francisco Art Institute in 2000.

He is the recipient of the Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation (2007); Individual Artist Commission, San Francisco Arts Commission (2005); J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Award, United States Department of State Office of Academic Programs (2002); and MFA Studio Award, Headlands Center for the Arts (2000). Select solo exhibitions include Present Tense Biennial, Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (reviewed in KQED); ERSATZ, SF Camerawork San Francisco, CA (2009); Mystery Ball, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA (2004); and Landing, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2003).