College of Communication and InformationSchool of Media and Journalism
www.kent.edu/mdj
About This Program
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. Read more...
Contact Information
Program Delivery
Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*
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
Accreditation
Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC); Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) - Certification in Education for Public Relations
* 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.
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.
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.
Plan of Study Grid | Semester One |
|---|
| 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 Hours | 16 |
| Semester Two |
|---|
EMAT 10310
| 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 Hours | 15 |
| 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 Hours | 15 |
| Semester Four |
|---|
MDJ 26007
| REPORTING
or BROADCAST REPORTING | 3 |
MDJ 48002
| PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS
or PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICATIONS | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 |
| | Credit Hours | 15 |
| Semester Five |
|---|
| MDJ 31007 | DIGITAL ANALYTICS IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS | 2 |
MDJ 48002
| PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTICS
or PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICATIONS | 3 |
| Media and Journalism Elective | 2 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 |
| General Electives | 6 |
| | Credit Hours | 16 |
| 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 Hours | 15 |
| Third Summer Term |
|---|
| MDJ 40092 | INTERNSHIP (ELR) | 1 |
| | Credit Hours | 1 |
| Semester Seven |
|---|
MDJ 40016
| 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 Hours | 15 |
| Semester Eight |
|---|
| MDJ 40011 | ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION | 1 |
MDJ 40016
| 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 Hours | 12 |
| | Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 120 |
University Requirements
All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.
NOTE: University requirements may be fulfilled in this program by specific course requirements. Please see Program Requirements for details.
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- 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.
- Critically analyze data and trends and conduct research to inform strategic planning, support organizational objectives and measure return on investment.
- Be effective strategic communicators and clear, concise writers who are skilled at creating meaningful content across a variety of genres and platforms.
- Serve as ethical, responsible advocates who advance the public interest and serve as the conscience of an organization.
- 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.
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.
