DDC started as a section under the then Department of Agricultural Development Education. VSU first offered DevCom as a major under BS in Agricultural Development Education (BSADE).

It became a department in 1984.

DDC started offering the Bachelor of Science in Development Communication (BSDC) in 1986, being the first institution to offer the degree in the Visayas.

The department started to offer Master of Science in Development Communication in 1994.

In the current VSU academic structure, DDC is under the College of Agriculture and Food Science.

The theory and practice of development communication traces its roots to the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Prof. Nora C. Quebral, professor emeritus, coined the term ‘development communication’ in 1971.

In 2011, Quebral updated her definition of Development Communication as: "the science of human communication linked to the transitioning of communities from poverty in all its forms to a dynamic, overall growth that fosters equity and the unfolding of individual potential."