Founded in 1959 through the generosity and vision of diplomat and philanthropist Walter Annenberg, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania is devoted to furthering our understanding of the role of communication in public life through research, education and service.

The Annenberg School offers students a firm grounding in a wide range of approaches to the study of communication and its methods, drawn from both the humanities and the social sciences. It is an intellectual crossroads built on over forty years of interdisciplinary dialogue. The School houses communication theorists and researchers, including social scientists, historians, and critics. Our Ph.D. program prepares students to make professional contributions to communication scholarship, research, and policy.

Our extensive interests encompass health communication, political communication, global communication, visual communication, culture, society and communication, children and the media, as well as new media and information technologies, with interests extending beyond the classroom. For decades, research conducted by faculty and students at the Annenberg School has influenced the public discussion of the role of the media in changing the perception of the viewing public.

Any significant research question is fair game at The Annenberg School if it concerns communication behavior, its social or institutional dimensions, its modalities (e.g., sounds, images, gestures), or media (e.g., computers, video, newspapers, film, radio, photographs, etc.). The kinds of questions that fascinate intrigue us are reflected in our research, as well as the articles and books we write.

The School is home to a wide range of centers and projects, including the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the Center of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research, the Project for Global Communication Studies, the Scholars Program in Culture & Communication, the Institute for Public Service, and others.