Central Academy of Drama

What Central Academy of Drama does

Central Academy of Drama (中央戏剧学院) is China's founding and highest-tier higher education institution dedicated to drama and theatre arts, established in 1950 in Beijing and directly administered by the Ministry of Education. It operates a platform architecture of 13 academic departments spanning the full performing-arts stack: Performance, Directing, Stage Art, Drama Literature, Musical Theater, Traditional Opera and Quyi, Opera, Dance Drama, Drama Education, Drama Management, Film and Television, Digital Drama (the first such department in Chinese higher education), and the Marxist College. The institution also publishes the DRAMA academic journal (《戏剧》学报) and the 'New Insights in Theater Translation Series,' and serves as headquarters for the China Higher Drama Education Alliance, Asian Theatre Education Research Center, and World Theatre Education Alliance secretariat.

The academy offers undergraduate, master's, doctoral, international student, and continuing education programs across two Beijing campuses (Dongcheng and Changping). It has formal cooperative relationships with more than 40 international institutions across 20+ countries, including London's LAMDA, France's Paris Conservatory, Russia's Saint Petersburg State Academy, and Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The business model is that of a state-run public university: primary revenue derives from central government appropriations with supplementary regulated tuition fees; admissions are administered through China's national college entrance examination (Gaokao) plus discipline-specific professional examinations, with parallel graduate and international student pipelines.

The academy was designated a Double First-Class university and held its 75th anniversary in 2025. In April 2026 it led the establishment of the 'Talent Training Community for Implementing the Three-Year Drama Revitalization Action Plan (2026-2028)' with approximately 20 national performing arts troupes. It joined the BRICS Film Academy Education Alliance in May 2025 and secured Ministry of Education approval in 2026 to list its inaugural 'Ivy League' National Youth Campus Drama Creative Competition as a national-level event, drawing 600+ participants from 30 provinces. Alumni outcomes — most recently Yi Yangqianxi winning Best Actor at the 38th Hundred Flowers Film Awards in 2026 — reinforce its position as the dominant training pipeline for Chinese drama and film talent.

Name

Central Academy of Drama

Legal name

中央戏剧学院 (Central Academy of Drama)

Website

https://chntheatre.edu.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Central Academy of Drama (founded 1950, Beijing) is China's premier Ministry of Education-affiliated higher education institution for drama and theatre arts, operating 13 academic departments across two Beijing campuses and serving domestic, graduate, international, and continuing education students in performing arts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts Colleges (Theatre, Dance, Musical Theatre) (EDAHAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN), Film, Television & Media Arts Colleges (EDAHAJAE), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG)

Keywords

• Drama arts education
• Theatre arts training
• Performing arts programs
• Higher education
• Drama literature research

Headquarters

HQ city

Dongcheng, Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Central Academy of Drama is a public higher education institution delivering drama, theatre, and performing arts education across 13 academic departments, including acting, directing, stage design, drama literature, musical theatre, traditional Chinese opera, Western opera, dance drama, drama education, drama management, film and television, and digital drama. It offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, international, and continuing education programs, and supports scholarship through the 《戏剧》 (DRAMA) academic journal and translation series.

Product overview

Central Academy of Drama operates as a comprehensive higher education institution offering a platform architecture of 13 academic departments covering various aspects of theatrical arts education. The core departments include the Performance Department, Directing Department, Stage Art Department, Drama Literature Department, Musical Theater Department, Traditional Opera and Quyi Department, Opera Department, Dance Drama Department, Drama Education Department, Drama Management Department, Film and Television Department, Digital Drama Department, and Marxist College. Supporting the academic departments are the 《戏剧》 academic journal and the 戏剧学新经典译丛 (New Insights in Theater Translation Series), which disseminate theatrical research and scholarship. The academy also operates various research centers including the 中国高等戏剧教育联盟 (headquarters), 亚洲戏剧教育研究中心 (headquarters), and 世界戏剧教育联盟 (secretariat).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Academy Award: The Academy Award (学院奖/Academy Award) - an academic award program
• Foundation
• 欧阳予倩戏剧奖 (Ouyang Yuqian Drama Award)
• 桂林艺术节 (Guilin Art Festival)
• 全球华语青年戏剧导演英才计划
• 北京大学生戏剧节 (Beijing College Drama Festival)
• 常青藤全国青少年校园戏剧创意大赛

Products and services

• Undergraduate Drama and Performing Arts Degree Programs Undergraduate degree programs covering acting, directing, stage design, drama literature, musical theatre, traditional Chinese opera, Western opera, dance drama, drama education, drama management, film and television, and digital drama, designed for high school graduates entering via the national Gaokao and specialized professional drama examinations.
• Graduate (Master's and Doctoral) Drama Programs

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• National Drama Industry Organizations (约20家文艺院团与演艺机构)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2026Central Drama Academy led the establishment of the 'Talent Training Community for Implementing the Three-Year Drama Revitalization Action Plan (2026-2028)', collaborating with nearly 20 national performing arts troupes and institutions, including 7 national performing arts troupes and 12 regional troupes.
• BRICS Film Academy Education Alliance (金砖国家电影院校教育联盟)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 May 2025Central Drama Academy joined the BRICS Film Academy Education Alliance, expanding international cooperation in film education among BRICS nations.
• National Centre of the Arts Beijing (国家大剧院)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing strategic cooperation including research exchanges and collaboration between National Centre of the Arts and the academy.
• Yan'an University Lu Xun Academy of Arts (延安大学鲁迅艺术学院)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeritage connection and cooperation between the two institutions sharing roots from the Yan'an period revolutionary arts tradition.
• Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演艺学院)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStage design teaching and practice exchange programs, as well as broader drama education collaboration.
• UK London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (伦敦音乐与戏剧学院)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner institution for drama education exchange and collaboration.
• France Paris Conservatory (法国巴黎国立高等戏剧学院)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElite French drama institution partner for international academic exchange.
• Russia Saint Petersburg State Academy (俄罗斯国立舞台艺术学院)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner for theatre arts education and research exchange.
• Japan Tamasound Theatre Company (中法共创奇幻剧《海底两万里》合作)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSino-French co-production of the fantasy drama 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' which won the 2026 Best IP Adaptation award at the Yi Drama Awards.

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts: Beijing-based Ministry of Education-affiliated higher education institution specializing in traditional Chinese opera and theatrical forms, overlapping with CAD's Traditional Opera and Quyi, Opera, and Dance Drama departments.
• Shanghai Theatre Academy: China's other top-tier performing arts university with parallel degree offerings in acting, directing, and stage design, directly competing for elite drama students and serving a comparable role in China's drama education ecosystem.
• London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA): One of the world's oldest and most elite conservatories for actor training; a named international partner institution of CAD with directly comparable acting, directing, and technical theatre training offerings.
• Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (Paris Conservatory): France's elite state drama conservatory and a named CAD international partner, offering directly comparable classical and contemporary actor training within a public higher education framework.
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA): UK-based premier drama conservatory and global benchmark for conservatory-style actor training, comparable in mission, prestige, and program structure to CAD's Performance and Directing departments.
• Beijing Film Academy: China's premier film and television higher education institution, directly comparable as a Ministry of Education Double First-Class university specializing in performing arts and competing for the same elite Gaokao applicant pool in the same Beijing market.

Regional players

• Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts: Hong Kong's premier performing arts conservatory and a strategic partner institution, offering parallel degree programs across drama, music, dance, and technical arts in a different but adjacent Greater China market.

Others

• Yale School of Drama (David Geffen School of Drama):

Broad incumbents

• Tisch School of the Arts (NYU): Major US performing arts and media school within NYU, comparable to CAD through its combined drama, film/TV, and emerging digital media programs that mirror CAD's department architecture.
• The Juilliard School: World-leading US performing arts conservatory with broader scope across music, dance, and drama; a useful peer for how elite conservatories combine rigorous training with global brand positioning at the highest institutional tier.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E6%88%8F%E5%89%A7%E5%AD%A6%E9%99%A2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Central Academy of Drama