The dataset presents a list of laboratories set up in the humanities, digital humanities, and media studies within universities across the world in 1983-2018. The data are collected and organized in an interactive map designed in the digital StoryMapJS tool, creating a valuable visible representation of the laboratory concept from a geographical and historical perspective. Based on the interactive map, I analyze the history of the laboratory in the humanities within a global context from the 1980s to 2018. The dataset includes 214 laboratories. Data collection I identified laboratories by using different resources such as universities’ websites, articles, and research projects. Besides, I sent a questionnaire to the most relevant networks in October 2018 to identify even more labs created in (digital) humanities and media studies at universities. Data organization I collected data about each lab based on its website and other resources. I extracted the following data: year established, year ended (if applicable), lab’s name, university, city, country, affiliation and location (if provided), disciplines and keywords (based on labs’ statements and projects and aiming to situate a lab), selected projects (if provided), purpose (a short quotation of a lab’s statement published on its website), website, and geographical latitude and longitude. I organized all the data in chronological order according to year established in Google Sheets. Next, I used StoryMapJS, a free tool designed by the Northwestern University’s Knight Lab, to map my data.