Since its inception in 1962, the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism has been leading the communication and journalism education in Bangladesh. This department initially started with one-year evening diploma course. A two-year M.A. course was introduced in 1968 and the first masters batch graduated in 1970.
The department introduced Bangla medium along with English medium after 1971 and more faculty were appointed. The one-year diploma course was abolished in 1977 and a three-year honours course was introduced. At the same time, the name of the department was changed to “The Department of Mass Communication and Journalism” from “The Department of Journalism”. This honours course in journalism was the first of its kind in the Indian sub-continent. In 1997-98, the department introduced the four-year honours course. The department was shifted from the Arts Faculty to the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2002.
Currently the department offers four-year honours program and one-year masters program along with M. Phil and PhD. The department also ran a Regional Masters Program with financial support from Norway from 2008 to 2012. There are three labs in the department for professional training in desktop publishing, photo-journalism and videography.