Mihai Ciupe is a scenographer and educator originally from Romania. He received his MFA in Set and Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University and his BFA from the Art and Design University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Before coming to the United States, he served as resident scenographer at the National Theatre of Cluj and designed productions for several other leading Romanian theatre and opera institutions, including the Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj and the Romanian National Opera Cluj, organizations whose work maintains both national and international visibility. He has been a member of the Romanian Union of Visual Artists (Uniunea Artiștilor Plastici din România) since 1994. His work includes long-standing collaborations with directors such as Gábor Tompa, Alexandru Dabija, Mihai Măniuțiu, and Victor Ioan Frunză.

Since 1999, he has served as the sole scenic design faculty member in the University of Florida School of Theatre and Dance, helping to develop the graduate program in scenic design while maintaining an active professional practice in the United States and Europe.

Much of his professional work in the United States has been developed through a long-standing collaboration with the Hippodrome Theatre in Gainesville, one of the Southeast's most established professional producing theatres, resulting in more than fifty realized productions.