School Overview
The USC Annenberg School was founded in 1971 with generous support from the late Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. Its strategic location in Los Angeles at the
University of Southern California enables it to foster dynamic synergies and multidisciplinary approaches to the study of communication through unparalleled access to the nation's and the world's entertainment, media and technology industries. In 1994, two of USC's related academic departments – Communication Arts & Sciences and Journalism – merged with the Annenberg School, creating two distinct academic units within USC Annenberg: the
School of Communication and the
School of Journalism. In 2009, the School officially
changed its name to the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, in recognition of the critically important role journalism plays in a democratic society and USC's role as a leading institution for educating and training journalists
Today, with more than 80 full-time
faculty members and 120 adjunct professors, more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students, and dozens of research and public interest projects and programs, including the
Norman Lear Center and the
Knight Digital Media Center, USC Annenberg has become a center for discussion among scholars and professionals in journalism, communication, public relations, public policy, media and education.
Multidisciplinary and international in scope, focused and practical in application, USC Annenberg scholars, both students and faculty, are defining these fields for the 21st century and beyond.