Public Relations

Types of Degrees Public Relations Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public relations & advertising graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	3,129
Graduate Certificate	331
Doctor’s Degree	36

What Public Relations Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, public relations majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Public Relations Majors

Public Relations majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Public Relations Majors

When studying public relations, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Public Relations Majors

As you progress with your public relations degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Public Relations Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with public relations:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Advertising and Promotions Managers	5.4%	$117,130
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	4.7%	$66,040
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Community Health Workers	17.9%	$39,540
Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers	8.2%	NA
Green Marketers	5.4%	$117,130
Health Educators	14.6%	$54,220
Public Relations and Fundraising Managers	10.3%	$114,800
Public Relations Specialists	8.9%	$60,000
Technical Writers	10.9%	$71,850

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Public Relations?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of public relations majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	99
Black or African American	454
Hispanic or Latino	401
White	1,569
International Students	352
Other Races/Ethnicities	254

Geographic Diversity

Public Relations appeals to people across the globe. About 11.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Public Relations

Some careers associated with public relations require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to public relations have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.6%
Some College Courses	8.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	57.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	12.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.6%
Doctoral Degree	1.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

Online Public Relations Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	28	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	55	7
Bachelor’s Degree	99	30
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	195	54
Post-Master’s	14	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Public Relations

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to public relations.

Major	Number of Grads
Communication & Media Studies	56,620
Radio, Television & Digital Communication	18,257
Journalism	12,280
Communication & Journalism (Other)	1,238
Publishing	371

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.