Public Relations

The future is bright for public relations professionals. Money magazine ranks public relations as one of the 50 "best jobs" for employment opportunity and potential salary. Whether you want to work for a prestigious public relations firm, manage public relations for a corporation or nonprofit organization, or work as a self-employed public relations practitioner, you can go virtually anywhere with this degree.

As a public relations professional you will engage in writing, listening, planning, communicating, evaluating, and advising. You’ll help organizations manage relationships with important target publics. Virtually all segments of the public and private sectors draw employees from public relations graduates. Graduates work as communications tacticians, strategic planners and management counselors. They may specialize in employee relations, community relations, crisis communication, public affairs, media relations, as well as other disciplines.

KU’s program combines three key foundations—writing, design and technique—to provide a practical, skills-based curriculum. As a Public Relations major you’ll work on projects for real clients in classes including journalism, writing for public relations, integrated marketing communication, and public relations ethics and the law. The program culminates in a one-semester, senior-year internship and a two-semester capstone sequence designed to enhance your professionalization with a real-world, on-campus agency experience.

Because no two days are ever the same as a public relations professional, you’ll gain widely diversified experience as you progress through the program. Work is varied—from planning an event one week to writing a news release the next because PR practitioners draw on multiple communication strategies as they develop and maintain an organization’s good public image. They must be proficient writers, adept relationship builders and media savvy.

You’ll graduate prepared to provide meaningful contributions to any business, non-profit organization, sports organization, government agency— or even individual celebrities. In today's communication technology-centered world, the need for qualified and well-trained public relations practitioners who can cut through the noise is greater than ever.

This interdisciplinary program draws on the skills and expertise of KU's Department of English and Department of Communication Studies.

The Agency

As seniors, students participate as members of an on-campus public relations agency, where they will work on real projects for real clients, in KU’s newest interactive classroom—The Agency.

Sample Career Options

Student Learning Outcomes