Founded in 1924, the school has been recognized by The Associated Press and U.S. News & World Report for excellence in instruction and research in the fields of journalism and mass communications.

[5] The foundation also funds the Scripps Howard Visiting Professionals program, which brings in well-known journalists to teach at the school.

Recent visiting professionals have included Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune columnist Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, former The New York Times editor Mark Prendergast, former Forbes magazine senior editor Mark Tatge and former Associated Press Beirut bureau chief Terry Anderson.

Notable alumni include NFL journalist Peter King of Sports Illustrated, Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune, Andy Alexander of The Washington Post, and Laura Landro of The Wall Street Journal.

The Scripps School has a close relationship with the College of Arts & Sciences and specifically the English Department which offers a variety of writing and rhetoric classes.