The Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Arabic: الْمَعْهَدُ الْعَالِي لِلْفُنُونِ الْمَسْرَحِيَّةِ‎, romanized: al-Maʿhad al-ʿĀlī li l-Funūn al-Masraḥīyah) was founded in Damascus, Syria, in 1977 by academics such as the playwright Saadallah Wannous, theatre critic Ghassan al-Maleh or professor of theatre at Damascus University, Dr. Hannan Kassab Hassan. The institute initiated a new phase in the development of theatre in Syria through the preparation of a new generation of actors and other specialisations of modern dramatic arts on an academic basis. The institute initially included five departments: Acting, Literary Criticism, Dramatic Arts, Scenography, and Theatre Techniques, with a department for Dance added later.