Xiamen University occupies an important place in the history of journalism education of China, which benefits from the long-standing history of the Journalism Department founded in 1922 and the Department of Journalism & Communication founded in 1983. It also has something to do with the distinct feature, namely, “Established in China, Open to the Ocean”.
        The characteristic of a university is to highlight individuality and display unique styles, so that it can be identified by the outside world with distinctive symbols. Characteristics, referring to the college culture that covers educational thoughts, ideas, and how to run a school, take shape after constant development and long-term accumulation.
        One of the important conditions for the formation of characteristics is where the university is located. As a major cultural region in the southeast coast of China, Xiamen University has special regional advantage because it is not far away from, and has blood and cultural relationship with Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia. Therefore, with regard to the journalism education on the mainland, Xiamen University was the first to name after “communication” in 1983 and firstly established the Department of Journalism & Communication which included Journalism Major and Advertising Major. Later, as the situation develops, the Strait Media Research Center, the Communication Research Institute, and the Research Institute for Brands & Advertising were set up one after another. Since founded in 2007, the School has undertaken 36 major, key, or general scientific research projects of national and provincial levels as well as 38 scientific research projects sponsored by enterprises. It obtained the right to confer doctoral degrees for first-level discipline in Journalism and Communication in 2011. The School was approved to set up the Postdoctoral Research Station for Journalism and Communication in 2012. It has established close exchange and communication relationship with the School of Journalism of University of Missouri, a world-renowned institute for its journalism education, and with top universities on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Hence, the School has made great progress in discipline construction, talent cultivation, and external exchanges. This academic group engaged in both teaching and scientific researches is growing stronger and stronger.
        To our delight, the slogan “Give play to advantages, Give expression to characteristics”, which was put forward when the School was founded in 2007, gradually comes true. The advantages become more obvious and the characteristics are more distinctive. This is the achievement made at the past stage by all colleagues of the School with the help of the leaders and policies of the university.
Now we have a clear direction and recognized achievements. However, in the contemporary information era, situations change quickly and new problems spring up one after another. Journalism education, in its essence, is aimed at cultivating excellent journalists having a sense of social responsibility; in other word, it is “the cause for personality cultivation” (Cai Yuanpei). It is of vital importance to improve the student’s accomplishment, characters, intelligence, view of life and values, social responsibility, and self-development. For the past three decades, we have cultivated large numbers of talents who play important roles in enterprises, public institutions, famous media & advertising companies at home and abroad, and government offices. The School is favorably received by people from all walks of life.
       We are still a long way from the goals as journalism education now faces both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Ahead of us lie ups and downs, so we must make more efforts, have enough power, and hold firm determination to win opportunities and cope with challenges. Only in this way, can we make more and more achievements!