There are various opinions concerning the graduate education in journalism during the Republic
of China period. Based on rich historical materials both in Chinese and foreign languages, this paper
argues that the Department of Journalism at Yenching University was the first one to launch the graduate
education in journalism in the 1920s and achieved fruitful results in the 1930s. The Department of
Journalism at Yenching University enrolled 8 graduate students, yet only Samuel D. Groff completed the
master dissertation-Advertising in China in May 1931 and got the Master’s Degree in Arts. He is the first
journalism graduate student with the master degree in China. In the 1940s, both the Chinese Journalism
Research Room and the School of Journalism at National Chengchi University practiced the graduate
education in journalism yet with little achievements. The graduate education in journalism during the
Republic of China period is in its infancy and cannot develop into a formal graduate education system. In
that sense, the graduate education in journalism in China experienced a hard starting period.