Interested In How Communication Is Used Between Businesses and The Public? Here Are The Best Colleges For Public Relations

Main image courtesy of Barry Moltz.

“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” - Seth Godin

The first thing you should be aware of if you decide to major in public relations in college would be to know what public relations is. The definition of public relations (PR) has changed over the decades but a modern definition that still stands today is that public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. 

Public relations is all about influencing, engaging, and building a relationship with key stakeholders across a variety of platforms to shape and frame the public’s perception of an organization. In fact there are multiple disciplines/functions within PR which are:

• Corporate Communications
• Crisis Communications
• Executive Communications
• Internal Communications
• Investor Relations Communications
• Marketing Communications
• Integrated Marketing/Marketing Communications
• Media Relations
• Content Creation
• Events
• Social Media
• Multimedia
• Reputation Management
• Speechwriting
• Brand Journalism

Now that you are aware of what public relations is and some tools, you may be considering majoring in PR in college. If so, here are the top 10 best public relations degrees:

1. University of Southern California
2. University of Florida
3. University of Louisiana at Lafayette
4. The University of Texas at Austin
5. California Baptist University
6. Florida State University
7. The University of Alabama
8. North Carolina A&T State University
9. University of Memphis
10. Boston University

It is so important to remember that you do not have to choose one college over another just because one is the best for public relations. It is all about finding the right college for you, that meets your needs and that you feel comfortable attending. You can still get a good quality education without needing to attend the best college for public relations. Now there may be a college’s PR program that offers something unique to that school, but put some thought into what program you would like to be a part of. 

Let’s take a closer look into the top 3 colleges for public relations so you can have some general knowledge of what sets them apart. Keep in mind you should do your own research into different colleges when deciding which school to attend.

University of Southern California

At the University of Southern California (USC) the public relations undergraduate degree is housed under their communication and journalism school of USC Annenberg. In fact, the public relations undergraduate degree is under the school of journalism, which also houses the public relations and advertising master’s degree. 

Since they are located in Los Angeles which is a media capital, they are able to offer the perfect setting to students so they can analyze campaign outcomes, conduct original industry research, and apply the theories they learn in the classroom. This allows them to prepare for career opportunities which can span business, marketing, advertising, entertainment, technology, healthcare, advocacy, and more. 

At USC Annenberg they offer 39 public relations courses and 53 public relations faculty which allows students to gain an understanding of public relations. 

University of Florida

Similar to USC, the University of Florida’s public relations undergraduate degree is housed under their college of journalism and communications. The mission of the University of Florida’s public relations undergraduate degree—to provide exemplary leadership, education, and scholarship to advance public relations through effective communication and actions in support of a civil society and democratic ideals.

The public relations students here focus on societal and organization/public issues such as ethics, gender and diversity, multicultural impact, social responsibility, political participation, civic engagement, and nation building. The students can choose to focus on one of these 8 areas of interest:

1. New media technologies
2. Fundraising
3. Philanthropy 
4. Public health education
5. Organization/public relationship quality and cultivation
6. Socially responsible behaviors and actions
7. Social change methods
8. The exploration of the impact of group/community/organizational culture on semantics and the effective message design and evaluation

Keep in mind that the scope of this work encompasses corporations, non-profits, government, civil society, and media organizations either domestically or internationally.

Feel free to check out the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications to learn more about the public relations major and what else this college has to offer to students. 

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s public relations undergraduate degree program is housed under their Department of Communication. The public relations major section of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a part of the Strategic Communications major. It is the art of communicating an organization’s messages at the right time, in the right place, and to the right people. 

The public relations program offered here gives students a rigorous, relevant, and fun learning environment with lots of hands-on experiences which benefit them in the marketplace. Every member of the faculty brings ample knowledge of academic preparation, impressive work experience, along with passionate enthusiasm for the students to learn from. 

Feel free to take a look at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Department of Communication to learn more about the public relations major and what else this department has to offer to students.  

Importance of Public Relations

Now most people are aware of the term PR but they may not necessarily know what it means. Public relations is all about sharing the right information with the right places and people, this way the brand’s reputation can grow. This is an area of business that can change the future of your business. Some reasons why PR is vital to a business is:

• Helps manage reputation
• Promote brand values
• Strengthens community relations
• Is opportunistic
• Enhances your online presence

Keep these aspects in mind when looking into public relations. 

Businesses can reach a high brand visibility and can create an outstanding brand image by using these PR technologies:

• Video marketing - making videos can be an easy and budget friendly way to engage with your audience while creating brand awareness and brand positioning in a creative manner
• Cross marketing - a joint promotion operated by multiple companies whose products compliment each other - reduces the cost of promotions which establishes long-term cooperation and expands the consumer market
• Event management - uses the organization of specialized events (social, political, economic) to attract the target audience and get people familiar with the product or service - by using this in your marketing strategy you can get positive responses from your target audience, directly influence your potential buyer, and generate favorable conditions for your customers
• IPR - this is the promotion of goods and services through the internet by using multiple media resources - is more effective in an informal setting (young and active people) - gives you strong feedback and high mobility along with the coordination of information

Careers for PR Majors

Now that you know about the importance of public relations, you may be wondering what careers are out there if you get a degree in PR. Here are some of the potential career options if you are a PR major:

1. Brand ambassador
2. Social media manager
3. Marketing assistant
4. Inside sales representative
5. Public relations assistant
6. Community manager
7. Event planner
8. Publicist
9. Digital marketing manager
10. Public relations manager
11. Client services manager
12. Copywriter
13. Advertising manager
14. Account executive
15. Outside sales representative
16. Brand manager
17. Art director
18. And more…
    

Changes in the field of Marketing

Over the years there have been lots of changes to the field of marketing. More recently is how companies leverage social media to connect with their audiences. Some of these changes can be reflected in the types of skills and specializations PR specialists are expected to hold. These skills that are in the highest demand for new public relations professionals include:

• Be able to write clear and consistent communication for the media
• To effectively interact with different kinds of media outlets and their audiences
• Evaluate public opinion through social media
• Understand internal corporate communications
• To respond quickly to crisis and negative news
• To develop outreach and partner programs while working with relevant individuals and communities
• Be able to work collaboratively to help identify social media content, topics, and information flow

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you want to find the best college to meet your needs. Choose one that you will be the most comfortable at based on the faculty and the way you feel on the campus. Make sure to go on college tours to really get a feel for the campus before deciding on which one you will attend. Be sure to do your own research into what program you want to be a part of since different colleges will offer certain unique opportunities to their students. 

Keep in mind that you can get a quality education even without attending the best college for public relations. Going to college and getting a degree is going to boost your chances of starting the career you want.