Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) is a prestigious art university for performing art talents in China. It was formerly the Shanghai Municipal Experimental Theatre School, which was established on December 1st, 1945. In 1956 the school was officially renamed Shanghai Theatre Academy. In 2002, STA became a comprehensive art university with the disciplines of theatre, traditional Chinese opera, dance, film & TV, and the education spectrum covered vocational secondary school, bachelor, master and doctor programs.

There are more than 500 full-time employees at Shanghai Theatre Academy, including over 300 teachers. STA has over 2100 undergraduate students in 17 majors, as well as over 900 postgraduate students on campus.

There are four STA campuses with distinct functions. The Huashan Campus is the theatre arts education centre. The Lianhua Campus is the traditional Chinese opera education centre; the Hongqiao Campus is the international dance education centre; the Changlin Campus is the film, TV and new media education centre. In STA there are 10 educational units, including the Acting Department, Directing Department, Dramatic Literature Department, Stage Design Department, College of Chinese Opera, College of Dance, College of Film, College of Creative Studies, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Education, and the College of Continuing Education. Besides, there are two vocational secondary schools affiliated to STA - the Chinese Opera School and the Dance School.

STA has cultivated thousands of artists and culture managers in various professional fields for the country, and many graduates have become leading experts and professionals with national and international reputation in the fields of theatre, film & TV, dance and fine arts. They have won numerous grand awards and enjoyed high reputation and influence at home and abroad.