The Department of Stage Design at the Central Academy of Drama (CAD) enjoys a long-standing legacy and a profound educational tradition. It was among the first teaching departments established upon the Academy's founding and has been designated by the Ministry of Education as Development Point of National First-Class Undergraduate Major. Over the decades, the Department has cultivated a comprehensive, well‑rounded, and diversified disciplinary framework, alongside a distinctive, systematic, and scientifically grounded pedagogical system for stage design. It consistently ranks among the leading institutions in its field both domestically and internationally.
The Department is committed to nurturing professionals proficient in the creation and scholarly inquiry of stage and screen design, who are both broadly cultivated in the humanities and solidly trained in technical skills. It offers seven practice‑oriented specialisations: Stage Set Design, Stage Lighting Design, Stage Costume Design, Stage Make-Up Design, Scenic Painting, Stage Techniques, and Projection and Sound Design for Performing Arts—along with a theory-based programme in the History and Theory of Stage Art. The Department provides four‑year and five‑year undergraduate programmes, as well as programmes for master's and doctoral degrees, thereby catering to the diverse needs of society for stage art professionals at various levels and in different specialisations.
The Department is housed in a purpose‑built teaching building that is internationally and domestically state‑of‑the‑art. Equipped with comprehensive facilities and ample space, it fully meets the pedagogical requirements of all its programmes. Within the building stands the CAD Exhibition Hall (the “Black & White Space”), a venue capable of hosting major academic exhibitions by leading international designers and artists, as well as by alumni, faculty, and students of the Department. This hall serves as a vital window for the Department's national and international academic exchange in the field of stage design.
Our faculty members are devoted to cultural heritage and artistic innovation. They possess a broad cultural outlook, independent artistic thinking, and a clear sense of aesthetic values, influencing the professional stage art community at home and abroad.
Graduates of the Department are now active in universities, theatre companies, and research institutions across China and overseas, assuming pivotal roles in teaching, artistic creation, research, and other key capacities. They have consistently remained at the forefront of stage design in China, playing an indispensable and decisive role in the evolution of the discipline. Their achievements stand as a testament to the Department's position as the pre-eminent institution for stage art education in China.
