The Government Studies Program at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Diponegoro University, was officially established on January 1, 1968, under the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. Tracing back the history of Government Studies at FISIP UNDIP, it originally existed in 1957 when the University of Semarang (later to become Diponegoro University) had FISIP as a faculty that merged with the law faculty under the name Faculty of Law and Community Knowledge (FHPM). FHPM consisted of two sections: the Law Section and the Social Sciences Section. Within the Social Sciences Section, there was a major or concentration in Government Studies.

In 1961, based on Government Regulation No. 7 of 1961, the University of Semarang was renamed Diponegoro University and was designated as a public university. Then, in 1968, FHPM officially split into two faculties: the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. One of the pioneering figures of the faculty and department at FISIP UNDIP was Prof. Sukarjan Hadi Sutikno. Based on Rector’s Decree No. 8 of 1983, the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences was renamed the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Diponegoro University.

According to its history, the Government Studies department had actually existed since 1957, but it officially became part of FISIP UNDIP in 1968. Then, in 2016, the Government Studies department was no longer a department but became the Government Studies program under the Department of Politics and Government.

The initial purpose of establishing the Government Studies program was due to government interests requiring trained human resources to become government officials, as these resources could not be fulfilled solely by government educational institutions. The Government Studies Program at FISIP UNDIP has three concentrations: Government Governance, Government Behavior, and Intermediary Political Forces/Liaison.