Public Relations
Communicate Effectively
Student studying Public Relations gain a specialized skillset to communicate on behalf of an individual or organization through writing, visual communications, public speaking and social media. ½ûÂþÌìÌà Public Relations students graduate fully prepared for careers in strategic communications, public relations, community and media relations, nonprofit organization management and government advocacy.
What Can I Do With a Degree in Public Relations?
Public relations majors are prepared for a field of work that is ever-changing and utilizes writing, visual communications, public speaking and social media. Employers in this area are looking for individuals who can think on their feet, respond to their client's needs, and represent their company well. Graduates are prepared for careers as public relations specialists in commercial, nonprofit and government organizations. Students can also pursue fields in project management, media relations, and corporate media. These skills translate to multiple fields and graduates pursue a wide variety of career paths.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Build your own campaigns
Students take courses in public relations that teach strategies used by commercial, government and nonprofit organizations. Our faculty members teach courses from a strategic communications perspective, blending advertising, sales promotion, and public relations skills. Together, these areas of study give our students the opportunity to learn how to plan and implement marketing and advertising campaigns. Our students also learn how to write for corporate communications while analyzing the best practices for media relations and corporate media production.
Hone your communication skills
The public relations program at ½ûÂþÌìÌà strives to provide a strategic set of experiences to compliment classroom instruction.
- Jay Firm, a student-run public relations firm, gives students first-hand experience in client management and collateral material production.
- Classes in presentation skills, public relations, PR media production, visual communications, and marketing communications give students a knowledgebase upon which to build PR skills .
- Electives, like feature writing and advanced public relations, that give you the opportunity to broaden your knowledge and practice of communications.
Work in your field
Students who join our student-run organizations have additional opportunities to get hands-on practice with the skills they learn in class. To build professional experience, many students also participate in internships. Past Public Relations student interns have held positions at:
- La Torre Communications
- PA Breast Cancer Coalition
- Turkey Hill Dairy
Communications Minor
A Communications minor is offered to students majoring in other programs. This minor explores written, spoken, and visual communications. Elements which translate to nearly every field.
The curriculum is complemented by our student organizations, the ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian, ECTV-40, WWEC, and the Jay Firm. These give students the chance to explore multiple forms of media.
Student Groups and Facilities
½ûÂþÌìÌà is home to several student-run and community-based campus media outlets. Participation in these media allows you to gain hands-on, practical experience from day one. Campus media at ½ûÂþÌìÌà includes a combination of traditional broadcast and print media, as well as a public relations agency and collaborative news coverage of the community.
The ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian
The ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian is ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ's weekly newspaper. The full-color newspaper is produced completely by student writers and editors--from a variety of majors--and is distributed weekly when classes are in session. The ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian covers news, feature stories, movie reviews, sports and various interest pieces as determined by the ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian staff. The ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian is distributed to the campus community and local subscribers. The newspaper's offices are located on the second floor of the Steinman Center. The ½ûÂþÌìÌÃian also offers a digital version of the newspaper and interactive elements .
ECTV-40
ECTV-40 is our video production student group. Students will work as part of a video production team to create programming, distributed on our 24-hour cable-access news channel, but also to produce video content for our channel. ECTV gives students the ability to put the video production skills that they learn in class into practice, and get a broader picture of what certain career paths might look like. Do you want to become a Content Creator or a Freelance Video Producer? ECTV gives you the chance to get behind the camera, in front of the camera, or in the control room of a working broadcast production studio. This will give you the experience and the tools to explore various fields of video production.
WWEC 88.3 FM
Located on the dial at 88.3 FM, and . WWEC-FM is a student-managed radio station affiliated with the Department of Communications. The radio station gives students the ability to practice both their audio production skills, and gives them the ability to produce a portfolio of radio performances. We host students of all majors, and even some community members as campus DJ's. Our DJ's are given the opportunity to host a show at the same time every week. WWEC features student-designed programming, and students have taken advantage of this to produce various radio shows of differing topics. The FCC-licensed, radio station can be heard across a seven-mile radius from the College – and around the world through TuneIn.
Jay Firm
The Jay Firm is our in-house, student-run communications agency. The mission of The Jay Firm is to provide public relations students with an opportunity to independently practice public relations and marketing communications for clients outside of the classroom. The firm is currently modeled as a voluntary learning laboratory where students work pro bono for clients to expand the skills that they have learned in class. The Jay Firm also gives students in other disciplines, the necessary background to explore Marketing.
