In 1981, it was granted university status, and a year later it was renamed after the singer and East German actor Ernst Busch.

In a conscious departure from previous practice, the somewhat remote training center known as the Old Boat House in Niederschöneweide, in East Berlin, was chosen.

Major teachers were Rudolf Penka and Kurt Veth (both directors of the school), Wolfgang Engel, Thomas Langhoff, Ursula Karusseit, Hans-Georg Simmgen, and Jutta Hoffmann; others included dance teacher Hilde Buchenwald and, as a speech trainer, the poet Karl Mickel.

The Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts Berlin is a member institution of the Permanent Conference of actor training (SKS).

In 2004, the university won the Berlin Art Prize and became widely known due to the long-term documentary Addicted to Acting by Andres Veiel (1997–2004).