The Central Academy of Drama

The Central Academy of Drama was the first higher education institution for drama established in the People’s Republic of China. Directly administered by the Ministry of Education, it is China’s highest institution for education in drama, film and television arts and a nationally designated university for world-class discipline development. It hosts the headquarters of the China Alliance of Higher Education in Theatre, the headquarters of the Asian Theatre Education Centre, and the secretariat of the World Theatre Education Alliance. It holds a UNESCO Chair in Theatre Education and is a world-renowned arts institution.

The academy’s history can be traced back to the Lu Xun Academy of Arts in Yan’an, established on April 10, 1938, giving it a history of more than seventy years. The Central Academy of Drama formally began operating in December 1949. Its founding assembly was held on April 2, 1950, and Chairman Mao Zedong personally inscribed its name.

The academy has two campuses. Dongcheng Campus is at 39 Dongmianhua Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing; Changping Campus is at 4 Hongfu Middle Road, Changping District, Beijing. The two campuses occupy approximately 230000 square meters, with a building floor area of approximately 180000 square meters.

Its teaching units include the departments of Acting, Directing, Stage Design, Dramatic Literature, Musical Theatre, Traditional Chinese Theatre and Quyi, Opera, Dance Drama, Drama Education, Theatre Management, Film and Television, and Digital Theatre, as well as the School of Marxism. Undergraduate programs include Acting, Theatre and Film Directing, Theatre and Film Art Design, Recording Arts, Drama Studies, Dramatic Literature for Theatre and Film, Musical Theatre, Quyi, Drama Education, Arts Management, Broadcasting and Hosting Arts, Cinematography and Production, Digital Media Art, and Digital Theatre. The academy is authorized to award doctoral and master’s degrees in Art Studies, Drama and Film, and Traditional Chinese Theatre and Quyi. It has a postdoctoral research station.

The academy has China’s only national teaching team in acting, its only national distinctive program development site in directing, its only national experimental zone for innovative talent training in musical theatre performance education, and its only national experimental teaching demonstration center for drama, film and television. It also has a Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Intelligent Theatre Art Space. It hosts the China Association for the Promotion of Arts Education, the China Drama Association, the Directing Arts Committee of the China Theatre Association, the International Stage Art Alliance, the China Institute of Stage Design, the OISTAT China Centre, the China section of the International Association of Theatre Critics, the China Stage Design Education Alliance, the Teaching Committee of the China Musical Theatre Association, the China Research Center for Primary and Secondary School Drama Education, the China Collaborative Innovation Center for Theatre Cultural Management, the International Alliance of Film Education in Belt and Road Countries, and the World Alliance for Dance and Theatre Education.

Throughout its educational practice, the academy has adhered to realist aesthetic principles, inherited Chinese aesthetic traditions and drawn widely on the strengths of others. It emphasizes solid foundations and practice, upholds its motto of “Truth, Creation and Beauty,” and is dedicated to educating outstanding talent in drama, film and television arts for China and the world. Many graduates have become artists, scholars, professors and writers renowned in China and abroad, making exceptional contributions to the prosperity and development of China’s drama, film and television industries.

Looking ahead, the academy will seize the important strategic opportunities offered by deeper higher education reform and faster development. It will broaden its educational approach, strengthen teaching quality and teaching reform initiatives, develop its disciplines and high-level faculty, promote innovation in management systems and mechanisms, and conduct multilateral exchange and cooperation in global theatre education. It will continually improve its overall educational strength and quality and strive to become a distinctive, world-class arts institution.

Central Academy of Drama homepage: http://www.chntheatre.edu.cn

International student admissions information: http://chntheatre.edu.cn/cn/admission#admission3