In the 1920s, the Department of English was home to the first journalism courses offered on Auburn’s campus. Journalism became an official major in 1964. In 1974, Professor Emeritus Jack Simms, an Auburn alumnus, founded the Department of Journalism, which offered degrees in Journalism and in Public Relations – Journalism.
The Department of Communication made its entrance onto Auburn’s campus as the Division of Speech in the Department of English in 1948, chaired by Dr. Frank B. Davis. Dr. Davis led the Department of Speech out of English in 1956 and served as head of the department from 1956 to 1973. In 1962, Dr. Davis oversaw the establishment of the graduate program in Speech Communication. The Frank B. Davis Fund for Excellence in Communication was endowed in 2016 to honor Dr. Davis and his service to the Department. The award helps fund graduate and undergraduate Communication Program awards. The department became the Department of Speech Communication in 1970 before finally evolving into the Department of Communication in 1985. This name better represented the various programs within the department.
Professor Emeritus Bert E. Bradley played a significant role in the establishment of the Department of Speech Communication, which offered degree specializations in the areas of mass communications, speech pathology, audiology, general speech and speech-public relations. He was head of the department and a professor from 1973-1989. His legacy lives on in the minds of the many people that knew him well. The prestigious Bert E. Bradley Award has been awarded since 1990. This award recognizes students at the graduate and undergraduate level who excel in the areas of scholarship, service, research, and teaching.
The Department of Communication began offering courses in the area of mass communication in 1952. These courses evolved into the Radio/Television/Film major. Professor Emeritus Jay Sanders introduced media courses when it was known as Alabama Polytechnic Institute. In 1985, after more than thirty years dedicated to teaching film and media courses, he retired from the university system.
In 2000, the Auburn Board of Trustees combined the Department of Communication and Journalism. The two departments, both significant in their own right, joined forces to provide students with an education deeply rooted in the foundations of the past and the visions of the future.
In June 2013, the Board of Trustees approved School designation for the Department of Communication and Journalism.
Provost Timothy Boosinger, in his presentation to the board, said the department met the university's criteria to achieve school status, such as the number of students, degrees, majors and faculty. The new designation will increase the potential for the School of Communication and Journalism’s programs to grow through increased visibility, extramural funding and enhanced recruitment of prospective students and faculty.
“Becoming a School puts in line with our peer institutions and helps us become more competitive when applying for funding for communication and mass communication research projects and grants,” said Dr. Jennifer Wood Adams, the School's director.
The Media Studies program was renamed Film and Media Studies in 2023 to better communicate the scholarly and creative work the program conducts. Reflecting this change, the Media Studies – Visual track was renamed Media Studies – Film.
In July 2019, the AU Board of Trustees approved the Journalism-Sports Production Option, the first of its kind in the SEC.
Reflecting over a century of growth and progress, today the Auburn University School of Communication and Journalism features four primary areas of study: Communication, Film and Media Studies, Journalism/Journalism-Sports Production, and Public Relations.