Peking University enjoys a distinguished reputation as “the cradle of journalism studies and journalism education in China”. In 1918, the Peking University Journalism Research Association was established, with Cai Yuanpei, then President of the University, serving as its founding chair, marking the birth of journalism and communication as an academic discipline in China. Peking University published the first scholarly book on journalism in China and founded the country’s first academic journal on journalism. Xu Baohuang, a leading mentor of the Journalism Research Association, is widely regarded as the “first master of journalism education” in China, while the renowned journalist Shao Piaoping, who brought professional journalistic practice into journalism education, is recognized as the first industry-based instructor in the history of Chinese journalism education. Distinguished intellectuals such as Li Dazhao also delivered lectures for the Journalism Research Association.

According to the “Record of Certificates Issued by the Journalism Research Association,” published in the Peking University Daily on October 21, 1919, Mao Tse-tung was awarded a certificate of completion after attending lectures at the Peking University Journalism Research Association for six months. Mao was among the first group of individuals in China to receive systematic professional education in journalism and was one of the first students trained in journalism at Peking University. Journalism research and education activities centered at Peking University laid the foundation for the development of journalism studies and journalism education in China and wrote a distinguished chapter in the history of Chinese journalism.

In 1924, the Department of Journalism at Yenching University was established and was described as “the most modern and best-equipped school of journalism in the Far East.” In June 1936, Edgar Snow, who was then serving concurrently as a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at Yenching University, traveled to northern Shaanxi to conduct interviews. His article “My Interviews with Mao Tse-tung” was published in Yenching University Weekly (Vol. 7, No. 17, 1936), and later developed into the internationally renowned book Red Star Over China.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Yenching University was redesignated as National Yenching University. In 1952, during the nationwide restructuring of higher education institutions, it was merged into Peking University, and its former Department of Journalism was incorporated into the Department of Chinese as an Editing Program, later renamed Journalism. Building on this foundation, the University accelerated the development of the program, gradually shaping a distinctive model of journalism education with Peking University characteristics in the early years of the People’s Republic of China. After 1958, the discipline experienced a series of setbacks.

After 1978, relevant departments at Peking University strengthened the development of journalism and communication studies from different disciplinary perspectives. In 1983, the Department of International Politics (now the School of International Studies) established a Teaching and Research Section of International Cultural Exchange and began enrolling dual-degree students. In 1985, the Department of Chinese established an Editing Program, which was transferred to the Department of Information Management in 1995. In 1993, the Art Teaching and Research Section at Peking University (now the School of Arts) established a program in Advertising.

On May 28, 2001, building on the International Cultural Exchange, Advertising, and Editing and Publishing programs previously affiliated with related departments, Peking University reestablished the School of Journalism and Communication.

Since its establishment, the School has relocated its administrative offices several times. At its inception, the School’s offices were located on the west side of the first floor of the Former Chemistry Building. On March 16, 2006, the School moved its offices to the first and second floors of the Remote Sensing Building. On May 24, 2014, the School moved to the Mong Min Wei Building at the University’s South Gate.

Over the past two decades, faculty and students of the School have worked with shared commitment, emphasizing innovation-driven and quality-oriented development. Together, they have forged a distinctive model for the development of journalism and communication studies—rooted in Peking University’s academic traditions while responsive to the demands of the times—and are steadily progressing toward the forefront of world-class disciplines.