Shanghai Documentary Academy is the first professional documentary academy in China. In response to the global demand and promising development prospects of the documentary market, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law has taken the lead in establishing a development direction for documentary characteristic disciplines in domestic universities, cultivating high-level composite film and television creative talents, especially documentary creative talents.

The college is located in Shanghai, the central city of the Yangtze River Delta region. With an international perspective, it has introduced and learned from the educational models and experiences of similar majors in top international universities, adhered to the educational philosophy of specialization, internationalization, and application-oriented, actively promoted transformation and upgrading, and created core competitiveness. It has had a certain influence on education both domestically and internationally. In 2021, Shanghai Documentary Industry College was approved as a key modern industry college at the municipal level in Shanghai.

At present, the college has a first level master's program in Journalism and Communication and a master's program in Journalism and Communication. It also offers undergraduate majors in Journalism, Network and New Media, Broadcasting and Television Studies, and Broadcasting and Television Directing (documentary direction, photography and videography direction).

In 2014, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission approved our school as the Shanghai Excellent Journalism and Communication Talent Training Base. In order to implement the Excellent Journalism and Communication Talent Education and Training Plan of the Ministry of Education and the Municipal Education Commission, our school has been exploring the cultivation of application-oriented excellent journalism and communication talents that meet the needs of society since 2015. In 2020, the Journalism major was selected as a first-class undergraduate major construction site in Shanghai, and in 2021, the Radio and Television Directing major was selected as a first-class undergraduate major construction site in Shanghai.