Brief history of the HSJMC

General Information

School of Journalism and Mass Communications, St. Petersburg State University, is considered to be one of Russia’s leading institutions for the education of journalists and specialists in public relations with about 2000 students studying on our BA, MA and PhD programs. It is made up of two faculties, one specializing in journalism, the other in applied communications.

We teach journalism (print, TV, Radio, multimedia), media design, public relations and advertising. Our approach is to provide academic excellence along with high-level practical training. Our facilities include TV and Radio studios, a monthly newspaper, a student news agency and a student PR-agency, which are combined under one brand “Pervaya Linia” (“First Line”).

Our research focus is broad, as we have 12 specialized departments. The Faculty of Journalism is compiled of the following Departments: History of journalism, Media Design and Information Technology, International Journalism, Periodical Press, Speech Communication, TV and Radio Journalism, Theory of Journalism and Mass Communications, English. Faculty of Applied Communication consists of the following departments: Management of Mass Communications, Advertising, Public Relations in Business, Public Relations in Politics and Public Administration.

We hold several international conferences every year, among them the annual conferences “Mass Media in the Contemporary World” and “Comparative media studies in today’s world” in April. You can find more information and calls for papers at our web site.

Our School has cooperation agreements with schools and institutes of journalism and mass communication in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and Taiwan.

We prioritize the international academic mobility in professional training as well as in scientific research. Together with our partners we organize international journalism and PR trainings both in Russian and abroad.

Institute "School of Journalism and Mass Communication" was created on the base of the Faculty of Journalism, St. Petersburg State University, on September 16, 2011. History of the School began in 1946, when Journalism department was created as a part of the Faculty of Philology of Leningrad State University. It consisted out of the two chairs: chair of History of Journalism and chair of Theory and Practice of Soviet Press. In 1961 the Department was transformed into the Faculty of Journalism.

Saint Petersburg State University, founded in 1724, is the oldest Russian university and one of the leading educational and research centers in the country. It is a full-spectrum university with a broad range of academic programs offered at 22 specialized faculties.