Kent State's Favorite Halloween Candy

Candy challenge

This Halloween, the Kent State social media team wanted to answer the most important Halloween question: Which candy is the best? They took to the streets, asking members of the community both in person and on Instagram to narrow down the picks.  Round 1 started with 32 sweet picks: In the first round, Reese's, Kit Kat, Sour Patch Kids and Starburst moved on with decisive victories. Other matchups were very close - M&M's knocked out Snickers by 2 votes and Blow Pops topped Tootsie Pops by just one. That left the Sweetest 16.  The Sweetest 16 got narrowed down to ...

PRSSA Kent

PRSSA Kent

Award-winning chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America that provides networking, professional development, conference attendance and participation in national case study competitions.

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Public Relations - B.S.

A public relations major can take you from corporate boardrooms and creative agencies to sports arenas, the halls of Congress, global nonprofits, hospitals, fashion runways and beyond. You can even work from home as a community advocate, consultant or social media influencer. Coursework focuses on developing writing, critical thinking and digital, social media and visual communication skills, as well as analytics and strategic multimedia storytelling. You’ll graduate with a grounding in the practice of responsible advocacy and a firm grasp of inclusive communication.

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Program Information for Public Relations - B.S.

Program Description

Program Description

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.

Admissions for Public Relations - B.S.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students.

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 proficiency of the English language (unless they meet specific exceptions) through the submission of an English language proficiency test score or by completing English language classes at Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center before entering their program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students who have not attended another institution since Kent State and were not academically dismissed will complete the re-enrollment process through the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center. Former students who attended another college or university since leaving Kent State must apply for admissions as a transfer or post-undergraduate student.

Transfer Students: Students who attended an educational institution after graduating from high school or earning their GED must apply as transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

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

Students may be required to meet certain criteria to progress in their program. Any progression requirements will be listed 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.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

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.

Coursework

On This Page

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA) (min C- grade required in all courses) 1
EMAT 10310MY STORY ON THE WEB 3
or MDJ 20011 PRODUCTION FUNDAMENTALS
MDJ 20001MEDIA, POWER AND CULTURE (DIVD) (KSS) 3
MDJ 20008RESEARCH AND MEASUREMENT IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
MDJ 26001WRITING FOR MEDIA 3
MDJ 26007REPORTING 3
or MDJ 26008 BROADCAST REPORTING
MDJ 28001PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
MDJ 31007DIGITAL ANALYTICS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 2
MDJ 38002PUBLIC RELATIONS CASE STUDIES 3
MDJ 40011ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION 1
MDJ 40016LAW OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
MDJ 40027RACE, GENDER, CLASS AND DIS/ABILITY IN MEDIA INDUSTRIES (DIVD) 3
MDJ 40092INTERNSHIP (ELR) 1
MDJ 41199CAPSTONE: CAMPAIGNS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (ELR) 3
or MDJ 48099 CAPSTONE: PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS (ELR)
MDJ 48001MEDIA RELATIONS AND PUBLICITY (WIC) 23
MDJ 48002PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS 3
MDJ 48003DIGITAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA 3
MDJ 48006PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICATIONS 3
Media and Journalism Electives, choose from the following:5
CCI 45091
SEMINAR IN MEDIA AND MOVEMENTS (ELR)
MDJ 21008
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES
MDJ 26005
MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM
MDJ 40201
PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE: PUBLIC AFFAIRS
MDJ 40202
PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE: CRISIS COMMUNICATION
MDJ 40295
SELECTED TOPICS IN MEDIA AND JOURNALISM
MDJ 41111
FASHION PUBLISHING
MDJ 41192
PRACTICUM IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (ELR)
MDJ 41395
SELECTED TOPICS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
College of Communication and Information Core Electives, choose from the following:9
CCI 10095
SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
CCI 40089
BRANDING AND SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR ITALIAN LIFESTYLE (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40095
SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION
CCI 40189
ITALIAN POP CULTURE (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40289
ITALIAN CINEMA (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40389
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 40489
MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 45089
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION (DIVG) (ELR)
CCI 46089
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION (DIVG) (ELR)
COMM 15000
INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION (KADL)
COMM 35852
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (DIVG)
EMAT 25310
CREATIVE CODING
EMAT 33310
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
LIS 30010
INFORMATION FLUENCY IN THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND
UXD 20001
INTRODUCTION TO USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
VCD 13000
VISUAL DESIGN THINKING
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)9
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)3
Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)6-7
Kent Core Additional6
General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours) 326
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

Students transferring credit from another institution may apply a maximum of 12 credit hours of transfer coursework toward their major requirements per the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications guidelines.

2

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.

3

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
Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
Roadmap

Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this program. Students will work with their advisor to develop a sequence based on their academic goals and history. Courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
MDJ 20001 MEDIA, POWER AND CULTURE (DIVD) (KSS) 3
MDJ 26001 WRITING FOR MEDIA 3
MDJ 28001 PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Two
EMAT 10310
or MDJ 20011
 MY STORY ON THE WEB
or PRODUCTION FUNDAMENTALS
3
MDJ 20008 RESEARCH AND MEASUREMENT IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
College of Communication and Information Core Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
MDJ 38002 PUBLIC RELATIONS CASE STUDIES 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
MDJ 26007
or MDJ 26008
 REPORTING
or BROADCAST REPORTING
3
MDJ 48002
or MDJ 48006
 PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS
or PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICATIONS
3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Five
MDJ 31007 DIGITAL ANALYTICS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 2
MDJ 48002
or MDJ 48006
 PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS
or PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICATIONS
3
Media and Journalism Elective 2
Kent Core Requirement 3
General Electives 6
 Credit Hours16
Semester Six
MDJ 40027 RACE, GENDER, CLASS AND DIS/ABILITY IN MEDIA INDUSTRIES (DIVD) 3
MDJ 48001 MEDIA RELATIONS AND PUBLICITY (WIC) 3
MDJ 48003 DIGITAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA 3
College of Communication and Information Core Elective 3
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Third Summer Term
MDJ 40092 INTERNSHIP (ELR) 1
 Credit Hours1
Semester Seven
MDJ 40016
or MDJ 41199
or MDJ 48099
 LAW OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
or CAPSTONE: CAMPAIGNS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (ELR)
or CAPSTONE: PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS (ELR)
3
Media and Journalism Elective 3
College of Communication and Information Core Elective 3
General Electives 6
 Credit Hours15
Semester Eight
MDJ 40011 ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION 1
MDJ 40016
or MDJ 41199
or MDJ 48099
 LAW OF ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
or CAPSTONE: CAMPAIGNS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS (ELR)
or CAPSTONE: PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS (ELR)
3
General Electives 8
 Credit Hours12
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120

Program Delivery

Program Delivery

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

Accreditation for Public Relations - B.S.

Accreditation

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

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Public Relations - B.S.

Advertising and promotions managers

-1.1%

decline

28,600

number of jobs

$133,460

potential earnings

Meeting, convention, and event planners

7.8%

faster than the average

138,600

number of jobs

$51,560

potential earnings

Public relations and fundraising managers

9.2%

much faster than the average

88,000

number of jobs

$118,430

potential earnings

Public relations specialists

7.2%

faster than the average

274,600

number of jobs

$62,810

potential earnings

Additional Careers
  • Community Advocate
  • Communications Managers and Crisis Communication Managers
  • Content Creators
  • Digital communication managers
  • Influencer Marketers
  • Government Relations/Public Affairs Managers
  • Publicists
  • Social Media Managers, Analysts, Content Specialists
  • Sports public relations coordinators
  • Web/Digital Content Producer
Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.

Jinae West, '10

Jinae West, '10 | Senior Producer, Vulture | New York Magazine

Jinae West, '10, was always committed to searching for big and bold opportunities, which pushed her to step outside of her comfort zone when it came to gaining journalism experience.

Jeannette Reyes, '12

Jeannette Reyes, '12 | Anchor, Fox5, Washington, D.C.

Kent State University alumna Jeannette Reyes, ’12, uses TikTok for fun outside of her television anchor responsibilities at FOX 5 Washington, D.C. Last October, Reyes posted a video with her husband using their “anchor talk” voices to decide on choices for dinner. She never expected her video to gain so much momentum.

Crystal Smith, '18

Crystal Smith, '18 | Producer, Cleveland Cavaliers

As a Producer for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kent State alumna Crystal Smith, ’18, never imagined the career path she is currently on and the opportunities it would lead to. But through networking and stepping out of her comfort zone, she says she’s discovered new passions and interests.  

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