The School of Journalism and Communication at Nanchang University boasts a long history, profound academic heritage, and distinctive characteristics. Originally established in June 1958 as the Department of Journalism at Jiangxi University, it is among the earliest journalism programs founded in the People’s Republic of China. Today, it stands as the only journalism school in Jiangxi Province co-built by the provincial Party Committee’s Publicity Department and the university under the “Ministry-University Co-Construction” model. It is also the sole higher education institution in Jiangxi authorized to nominate entries for the China News Award.

The School offers a comprehensive educational system: all four undergraduate programs—Journalism, Broadcasting & Television, Advertising, and Broadcasting & Hosting Arts—have been designated as National First-Class Undergraduate Programs. It houses a postdoctoral research station in Journalism and Communication, a national first-level doctoral program, and master’s programs in Journalism and Communication, as well as professional master’s degrees in Journalism & Communication and Drama & Film. This forms an integrated talent development system spanning bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels. The School also offers three national first-class undergraduate courses and operates one provincial-level demonstration experimental teaching center, with teaching and research infrastructure reaching advanced national standards.

The faculty features a well-balanced composition in terms of disciplines, age, and academic ranks, demonstrating strong teaching capabilities and systematic scholarly training. Members include committee members of the Ministry of Education’s Steering Committee for Journalism and Communication Programs, recipients of the Ministry’s “Baogang Outstanding Teacher” award, outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship mentors recognized by the Ministry, and individuals honored as “Top 100 Theoretical Talents in Radio, Film, and Television” nationwide. The team also includes Jiangxi provincial academic leaders, key teaching staff, “Gold Medal Mentors,” high-performing teaching teams, provincial- and ministerial-level talents, and mentors who have guided students to gold medals in the International “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for College Students. Faculty members have received dozens of awards for social science research and teaching achievements.

Journalism and Communication is a key provincial discipline in Jiangxi. The School was granted a national first-level doctoral program in this field in 2018, making it the only institution in Jiangxi with a postdoctoral research station in Journalism and Communication. Its research strengths lie in four distinctive areas: Red Culture Communication, Food and Health Communication, Film & Television Communication, and New Media Communication. In recent years, the School has secured major national projects, including National Social Science Fund Major Bidding Projects, Key Projects, special commissions from the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese Academic Works Translation Program grants, and Ministry of Education philosophy and social sciences research projects. Faculty have won more than ten first- and second-prize awards for outstanding social science achievements in Jiangxi Province, published over 70 papers in top-tier journals such as Journalism & Communication Research, Marxism Research, and Qiushi, and produced more than 20 research reports that received commendatory instructions from provincial leaders and led to practical policy implementation—demonstrating strong alignment with national and Jiangxi provincial development strategies.

The School currently serves as the Chair Unit of the Party Newspaper and Periodical Committee of the Chinese Association for the History of Journalism and Mass Communication, Vice-Chair Unit of both the Chinese Communication Association and the Global Corporate Communication Association, and Deputy Director Unit of the National Alliance for Red Culture Communication and Marxist Journalism Education. It also leads the Jiangxi Provincial Alliance of Journalism and Communication Disciplines and chairs the Jiangxi Provincial Teaching Steering Committee for Journalism and Communication Programs. The School operates four provincial-level think tanks and key research bases: the Jiangxi Media Convergence Development Research Center, the Public Opinion Monitoring and Governance Research Center, the Central Soviet Area Red Culture Communication Research Center, and the Jiangxi Higher Education International Communication Research Center. These platforms have generated a series of distinctive, high-impact outcomes and established multiple characteristic research directions and competitive academic domains.

The School excels in talent cultivation, fostering students’ holistic development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and practical education, with notable success in moral and ideological education. Students consistently win top honors—including gold, silver, and bronze awards—in prestigious national competitions such as the Taofen New Talent Award (the highest honor for journalism students in China), the National Journalism Student Paper Competition, the National College Student New Media Creativity Contest, the China College Students Advertising Art Competition, and the International “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Graduates are employed across China, with many serving as key personnel at renowned institutions such as Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, and China Media Group, as well as in leading cultural communication enterprises and advertising agencies. Former Xinhua News Agency Director Mu Qing once remarked, “Most of your graduates have become core staff at Xinhua—your school is indeed a vital base for journalism education in China.” People's Daily has also sent a formal letter to Nanchang University’s Party Committee, highly commending the political integrity and professional competence of the School’s graduates.

(Information and data as of March 2025