The training of musical art at the Academy started in 1991. Over the past 30 years, hosts of CAD graduates have become professional actors and directors for musical, film, TV art, and theatre in general. They have created numerous unforgettable musicals in China and throughout the world. The Department has established close relationships with multiple international musical education institutions, academic groups, and art organizations. It proudly owns the only national-level experimental site of innovative training model for musical professionals in China, and initiated the Professional Training Committee of Chinese Musical Association.

The Department boasts a distinguished faculty comprising seasoned educators with decades of artistic practice and pedagogical expertise, active-minded and aggressive young scholars demonstrating innovative approaches, as well as experienced foreign professors with long-term academic commitments in China. Many faculty members have won national and international honours.

In October 2012, the course of musical performance was separated from the Department of Acting, and become the Department of Musical Theatre to independently offer professional training. In February 2022, the Musical Theatre program was successfully approved for inclusion in the Ministry of Education's Undergraduate Program Directory as a new discipline under the discipline of Theatre, Film and TV Studies. This program officially commenced undergraduate enrollment in 2023. In October 2024, to align with disciplinary development strategies and academic needs, the specialization in Acting for Musical Theatre was introduced under the Musical Theatre program. Furthermore, to preserve and promote traditional Chinese cultural heritage and strengthen interdisciplinary advantages, the specialization of Beijing Quju was established under the Acting program, forming a trinity training framework integrating spoken drama (Huaju), traditional Chinese opera (Xiqu), and Chinese melodious art (Quyi).

The specialization of Acting for Musical Theatre aims to cultivate high-quality professional actors with comprehensive cultural and artistic sense, who systematically master the methods and art of musical performance, skills of creation, and professional theories. They are also expected to grasp the basic skills in music, dance, and speech, and be able to use their skills to produce, create and perform in musicals. The syllabus include Basics of Vocal Studies, Fundamentals of Acting, Acting for Musical, Musical Theatre Vocal Techniques, Creative Practice in Musical Theatre, Musical Theatre Ensemble Singing, Stage Speech, Dance Fundamentals, Dance for Musical, Music Theory for Musical Theatre, Graduation Project, Graduation Thesis, Vocational Counsel, English Language Studies, History of Chinese and Foreign Theatre, and other compulsory courses.

The specialization of Beijing Quju Performance is designed to cultivate versatile professionals with profound cultural literacy, specialized stagecraft, strong professional ethics, and innovative capabilities. Graduates will excel in the preservation, innovation, and advancement of Beijing Quju, propel its artistic prosperity, and contribute to theatre companies' role in advancing the development of Beijing as a national cultural hub. The syllabus comprises Beijing Quju Vocal Techniques, Vocal Training, Stage Speech, Chinese Classical Dance Fundamentals, Traditional Chinese Opera Movement & Gesture, Acting Fundamentals for Beijing Quju), Beijing Quju Repertoire Studies, Traditional Chinese Spoken Drama Performance, Music Theory for Beijing Quju, History of Beijing Quju, Graduation Project of Beijing Quju, Graduation Thesis, Vocational Counsel, English Language Studies, History of Chinese and Foreign Theatre, and other compulsory courses.