Public Relations - B.S.

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations can take students from corporate boardrooms and creative agencies to sports arenas, the halls of Congress, global nonprofits, hospitals, fashion runways and beyond. Graduates even work from home as a community advocate, consultant or social media influencer.

Kent State boasts the only public relations program in Ohio that is both certified by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). Kent State’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and its members consistently win awards at national conferences, placing the chapter in the top tier nationwide.

Coursework in the Public Relations major focuses on developing skills in writing, critical thinking, digital, social media and visual communication; as well as analytics and strategic multimedia storytelling. Classes routinely involve researching, creating and presenting a public relations plan for real clients. Students learn to deliver messages through social media, websites, podcasts, videos, press releases and other media tools, events, public policy and more. Students build a strong portfolio through hands-on learning opportunities, including two student agencies, a required professional internship and public relations campus jobs. They graduate with a grounding in the practice of responsible advocacy and a firm grasp of inclusive-communication practices.

Students may apply early to the following master's degree programs and double count 9 credit hours of graduate courses toward both degree programs. See the Combined Bachelor's/Master's Degree Program Policy in the University Catalog for more information.

• Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies
• Master of Arts degree in Media and Journalism
• Master of Arts degree in Visual Communication Design
• Master of Library Information Science degree in Library and Information Science
• Master of Science degree in Emerging Media and Technology
• Master of Science degree in Health Informatics
• Master of Science degree in Knowledge Management
• Master of Science degree in User Experience

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Current Kent State Students: Active Kent State students who wish to change their major to Public Relations must have a minimum 2.000 overall GPA to be admitted.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Understand global and cross-cultural influences in public relations practice and help drive diversity and inclusion as true organizational values and convey those values to internal and external publics.
2. Critically analyze data and trends and conduct research to inform strategic planning, support organizational objectives and measure return on investment.
3. Be effective strategic communicators and clear, concise writers who are skilled at creating meaningful content across a variety of genres and platforms.
4. Serve as ethical, responsible advocates who advance the public interest and serve as the conscience of an organization.
5. Act as strategic planners with a solid grounding in reputation management, risk and crisis based on public relations and communication theory and who serve as critical and independent thinkers, from research to implementation to evaluation.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

¹

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement. If course is not being used to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement, a minimum C- grade must be earned.

²

A maximum of 4 credit hours of Physical Activity, Wellness and Sport (PWS) courses may be applied toward the degree program. For students interested in developing a global perspective, foreign language courses or any of the following general elective courses are recommended: ANTH 18210, ANTH 48245, COMM 35852, GEOG 22040, MCLS 20091, MUS 22121, PACS 32030, PACS 32040, PH 10002, POL 10500.

Progression Requirements

• No grade lower than a C- in a MDJ course will be counted toward graduation or as a prerequisite for a subsequent class.

Graduation Requirements

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC); Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) - Certification in Education for Public Relations