Principles, history, theory and practice of public relations in business, organizations and agencies. Analyses of public relations programs; the responsibility of the public relations practitioner to management and to relevant publics; ethics of public relations practice; the future of the field and career opportunities.

Introduces students to the role of research and measurement in public relations planning and evaluation. Emphasizes research design and the use of primary and secondary research to establish a situation analysis and audience analysis. Students learn how to use data sets and conduct appropriate data analysis, quantitatively and qualitatively. Students also learn how to report, interpret and present research findings.

Covers the basics of public relations writing, including the principles of effective professional writing, finding and generating newsworthy information for print, electronic and "new" media. Topics covered include: news releases, fact sheets, brochures, online public relations, media kits, speech writing, crisis communication, and spokesperson training. Writing portfolios are assembled for purposes of future internships and employment. All classes held in a computerized writing laboratory.

Covers public relations theories and strategic planning processes and how they are applied to "read world" public relations cases and problems. Emphasis is on the role of strategic problem solving and public relations. Case study analysis is used to explore the effectiveness of PR strategies and expose students to a variety of PR applications (e.g., media relations, social media, internal communication, international promotion, investor relations, IMC). Students also learn and discuss ethical decision-making in various PR situations.

Learn the vital role communication practitioners play in contemporary crisis communication and reputation management, and the tools used to prepare for and manage emergency situations from a communications perspective. Learn to balance the roles as the strategic thinker (assessing organizational vulnerability, team development, etc.) and the effective tactician (message development, channel selection, etc.) and reconcile them against the reality organizations in crisis face when serving myriad stakeholders in the digital age. Class instruction includes: lectures, case studies and in-class exercises designed to develop real-time thought processes and writing for situations that could threaten brand reputation.

Work experience in public relations in specific organizational settings, supervised by an approved professional coupled with related academic work assigned. Approval of departmental internship director required in advance of internship. May be taken more than once to a maximum of three credits total. 0 credit is SNC/UNC grade assessment; 1-3 credits is S/U grade assessment.

Senior capstone course in public relations issues management for corporations, government and non-profit groups. Working in teams, students design a public communication campaign involving media management, community relations, educational outreach or other methods of advocacy in the public forum for achieving social justice goals using public relations strategies and tactics. Students design public communication campaign proposals for local or national clients. Student campaign designs are read and responded to by industry professionals, the client and the instructor. Students conduct field research, analyze results and incorporate findings in their action plans.