Johns Hopkins University, founded as the nation's first research university in 1876, originally hired "thirty of the profoundest scholars in the varied field of literature that can be secured, and which, with its magnificent endowment, will undoubtedly become one of the leading institutions of learning in America".

In December 1992, Zanvyl Krieger, a 1928 alumnus, gave a $50 million challenge grant to the School of Arts and Sciences, "the largest monetary gift in the university's history and one of the largest in American higher education".

[4] In November 2013, the university released its draft "Strategic Planning Final Report for the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences".

[7] In January 2017, the school's dean assured them that the center would not close, but would be reorganized around one of three proposals: "...keeping the center’s name while rethinking its role in relation to other humanities departments; renaming the department as something that more 'clearly conveys its identity and focus'; or transforming the humanities center into a comparative literature department..."[8] October 2017 brought cancellation of the institution's Russian major, which was no longer compatible with the partner program in Russian at Goucher College.

[12] All first-year undergraduates at the Krieger School are required to take part in a First-Year Seminar, which are designed to help students connect with their peers and faculty while settling into their freshman year of college,[13] and the University Writing Program, which offers a Reintroduction to Writing course.