Overview

The College of Media is an accredited, highly selective, and internationally respected college where almost 1,100 undergraduate and graduate students are engaged in classes taught by distinguished scholars in media studies, world-renowned experts in advertising and consumer behavior, and award-winning journalists, including Pulitzer Prize winners. With more than 10,000 living alumni, the College has produced a stunning list of graduates who have gone on to wield influence in academia, the press, advertising, and entertainment.

The University of Illinois currently is ranked as one of the top 10 public universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report, and the College is considered an educational leader in the fields of advertising, journalism, and communications research. More information about the University of Illinois.

History

Journalism was first taught at the University of Illinois in 1902 as part of the English curriculum in Liberal Arts and Sciences. By the early 1920s, students were identifying themselves as "journalism majors" even though such a degree was not formally offered then. In April 1927, the legislature of the State of Illinois passed a bill creating the University of Illinois School of Journalism.

In 1946, Charles Sandage, later to be called the "father of advertising education," established the Department of Advertising, one of the first in America to treat advertising as a scholarly endeavor.

The school was first accredited in 1948, a confirmation of high standards granted by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

In 1950, under Fredrick W. Siebert, the School became the School of Journalism and Communications, with divisions of journalism, advertising and radio. In 1957, with Dean Theodore Peterson in charge, the unit was designated the College of Journalism and Communications. Eleven years later, it became the College of Communications.

By 1963, the College had achieved its current scope when the Institute of Communications Research was transferred from the Graduate College. The Division of Broadcasting (WILL-AM-FM-TV-Online) has been a part of the College from the outset. The most recent academic component of the curricula, a non-professional major in media studies, was created in 1984 under Dean James W. Carey. Kim Rotzoll, former head of the Department of Advertising, succeeded Carey as dean in 1992, and Ronald E. Yates took on leadership of the College in 2004.

The Division of Broadcasting, with the University's broadcasting stations, had been a part of the College from the outset and remains so.

In March 2008, the College's name was changed to the College of Media.

 

Location

The University is located in East Central Illinois, easily within driving distance of Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. The College of Media is in Gregory Hall, at the southwest end of the Quad, in the heart of campus.

If you're planning a visit, see Campus Tours on the Web site for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There you'll also find driving directions, campus maps and parking information.