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Public Relations Degree
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Program type:
Major
Format:
On Campus
Online
Hybrid
Est. time to complete:
4 years
Credit Hours:
120
Learn all areas of Public Relations, from investor and community relations to media
relations and more.
UNT's Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations from
the Mayborn School of Journalism emphasizes the skills of persuasion gained from extensive
hands-on experience working in state-of-the-art technology labs and with different
media. Public relations professionals are responsible for developing and maintaining
the public image for corporations, non-profits, government agencies, educational institutions,
professional sports organizations, civic groups and more.
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Request More InfoWhy Earn a Public Relations degree?
Developed in close partnership with industry, the Mayborn School of Journalism curriculum gives students broad and diverse skills for work in multiple media platforms. Students develop the skills needed to analyze, evaluate and inform a global audience, as well as to consider the ethical implications of mass communication and its impact in today's world. Mayborn students have access to multimedia labs featuring state-of-the-art computers, software and video equipment. The school emphasizes curriculum and career advising and mentoring by professionally trained faculty and staff.
Our strategic communication concentrations — Advertising and Public Relations — prepare students to work in advertising, public relations and integrated communication careers in a variety of settings, including advertising, public relations and marketing agencies, corporations, non-profit agencies, government, public affairs and more. You can gain critical thinking skills, creative practices and professional experience by studying cases, developing campaigns and completing internships.
To help real-world clients such as non-profit organizations, Mayborn students create
materials including advertisements for traditional and non-traditional media, newsletters,
news releases, public service announcements, websites and social media strategies.
The Mayborn's student-managed agencies — SWOOP Advertising, AGENZ Public Relations
and HATCH Visuals — provide the opportunity to learn by doing real work for real clients.
Program not available in Frisco for Fall 2023.
Marketable Skills
- Oral and written communication
- How to collect, analyze and interpret information
- Knowledge of media operations
- Storytelling with graphic design/visual materials
- Teamwork
Public Relations Degree Highlights
UNT is located within the fifth-largest media market in the country, offering access
to numerous outstanding internship opportunities at advertising agencies throughout
the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
While working toward your degree, you will receive hands-on experience through coursework,
our cutting-edge classrooms and labs, and through our extensive student-run media
outlets, such as North Texas Daily, NTTV and NT Daily Radio.
Our student organizations are regularly recognized as among the best in the nation
and provide students with valuable connections, mentorship opportunities and the chance
to learn from alumni and other working professionals.
Explore international media systems, including the press, magazines, broadcasting
and online media, and earn credit hours through our study abroad opportunities.
The Mayborn faculty brings more than 400 years of combined experience in real-world
settings to our classrooms to inform and inspire our nearly 1,000 students. And Mayborn
alumni work at the heart of some of the world's leading media and communications companies.
The Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT is among the nation's top
schools for journalism and mass communication, with undergraduate and graduate degree
programs that prepare students for careers in print and digital journalism, broadcast
journalism, advertising, public relations and photojournalism.
Career Outlook
A career in journalism is exciting, dynamic and critical to the future of an informed and enlightened American society. The Mayborn School of Journalism provides students with the creative and critical-thinking skills to prepare them to work in fields including:
- Journalism — News and sports reporting, writing, visual journalism (stills and video), design, and publishing for the internet, newspapers, broadcast, magazines and books
- Advertising — For agencies, corporations, nonprofit organizations and media
- Public Relations — For agencies, corporations, government and non-profit organizations
- Internet — Web and desktop publishing, podcasting and blogging
- Education — Teaching in secondary schools or institutions of higher learning
Public Relations Degree Courses You Could Take
Applied Design for Advertising and Public Relations (3 hrs)
Lab setting that incorporates lectures and demonstrations with hands-on experience
where students learn and apply the fundamentals of core software applications used
in the advertising and public relations industry. Lectures also cover an appreciation
of graphic design, typography and other principles used by professionals in advertising
and public relations.
Fundamentals of Public Relations Practices (3 hrs)
Broad overview of public relations practices covering the history, mechanism and processes
of public relations in various workplace settings and types of relations. Emphasis
is on the four-step public relations process, strategic planning, writing formats
and real-world cases. Implications of technological changes, globalization as well
as unethical and illegal practices are discussed.
Sport Media Relations (3 hrs)
Course explores the purpose, processes and careers in sport media relations including
history, media convergence, economics, budgets, operations, law and ethics of sport
media communication. Course will survey sport media careers and provide a better understanding
of sport media career opportunities.
Public Relations Campaigns (3 hrs)
Provides classroom situation where students work in teams to research, plan, create,
execute and evaluate a multimedia public relations campaign for a designated client.
Students use their accumulated knowledge from their major courses.
Public Relations for Non-Profits (3 hrs)
Examines the philosophical and theoretical foundations of public relations and volunteerism
in the United States. Students learn to apply these theories to public relations campaigns
in the nonprofit sector. Strategic communication strategies relating to both internal
and external publics are explored, including the unique legal and ethical issues impacting
non-profits.
Public Relations Communication (3 hrs)
Advanced PR writing, planning and media relations, including writing strategic communications
plans as well as writing, editing and producing a wide range of public relations communications
materials for traditional and new media.
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