The Academic Theatre was used from the beginning as a chapter house. It held academic discussions, staff meetings and other ceremonial events and public commemorations. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was used to stage plays, such as comedies by Plautus and Terence, which were performed in the original language. Exceptionally, it hosted meetings of great political and cultural significance. Today it is used for formal events such as the opening of the academic year or the investiture of 'Honoris Causa' doctors.

It was built in the mid-seventeenth century, and was thoroughly refurbished in 1869 by Sebastian Monleón, who gave the hall its present appearance. It was also remodelled in 1985.

It has a trapezoidal layout with a projected balcony at first floor level. It is covered by a wide vault with lunettes, decorated with 'trompe l'oeil' trims, and a large chandelier that hangs from the centre. The seats are arranged in sloping tiers and there is a head table raised on a dais. The walls are adorned with portraits of well-known figures linked to the history of this University.

Dominating the hall, at the top of the front wall, is a 1660 painting by J. Espinosa representing the Immaculate Conception over an idealised view of Valencia, whose coat of arms, held by two angels, crowns the frame. The painting is flanked by the names, written in "golden letters", of illustrious personages of the history of the university.