Communication in Public Relations Option Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
A degree in Communication Studies-Public Relations guides students to become culturally competent communicators in a multicultural world and has produced graduates that are helping the public in a variety of occupations from public health, to education, to nonprofit communications. With the rise in misinformation and disinformation, courses in communication studies and public relations guides students to become more aware and informed citizens.
With the advent of the digital revolution organizations are interfacing with the public now more than ever. The exciting field of public relations offers students the opportunity to help companies, organizations and celebrities promote their brands and communicate with their customers, employees and fans. As a Public Relations major, students have the opportunity to learn how to develop social media and traditional media campaigns, work with the media, write speeches and manage many forms of an organization, or client’s communications.
Offered both online and in-person, students graduating with a degree in Communication Studies-Public Relations are in high demand and the curriculum in this major prepares students for successful careers in social media, corporate communications, entertainment PR, public affairs, health communications, internal communications, marketing, advertising, law, teaching and more.
There are two options to declare this program:
In-Person: most of the classes will be in person with some occasional online classes.
Online: all of the classes will be online. Note that the online option operates using a different tuition model.
Note:
- cannot be taken for credit towards the Communication Studies Majors;
- students are required to take an introductory PR writing course before starting the core PR sequence. Students should take , , or before enrolling in . After successfully completing , students should take and .
- two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.
Grade Requirements: a minimum cumulative GPA ≥2.0 by graduation.
| PUBLIC SPEAKING | 5 |
| MASS MEDIA AND THE INFORMATION SOCIETY | 5 |
| COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION | 5 |
| INTEGRATED METHODS FOR COMMUNICATION RESEARCH | 5 |
or | STATISTICS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES |
| |
| |
| INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY | 5 |
| ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY | 5 |
| PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING | 5 |
| MEDIA WRITING | 5 |
or | NEWS WRITING |
or | INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING |
| |
| TOPICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS | |
| EVENT PLANNING AND LOGISTICS | |
| CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT | |
| FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA | |
| SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND PLANNING | |
| TOPICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS | |
| ENTERTAINMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS | |
| PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGNS | |
| PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING | |
| PUBLIC RELATIONS IN BUSINESS AND FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP | |
| SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING | |
| |
| DRAWING FOR COMMUNICATION (*) | |
| DIGITAL FOUNDATIONS | |
| USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 1 | |
| DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY (requires advisor consultation*) | |
| ZINE AND PUBLICATION DESIGN (*) | |
| WEB DESIGN 1 | |
| DIGITAL VIDEO (requires advisor consultation*) | |
| |
| |
| SENIOR CAPSTONE | 5 |
Total Credits | 68-71 |
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
First Year |
---|
Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| 5 | (Social Science BACR 1) | 5 | | 5 |
| 5 | | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 21 | 5 |
Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 21 | 5 |
| 15 | | 15 | | 15 |
Second Year |
---|
Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| 5 | or | 5 | , , or | 5 |
Diversity - graduation requirement1 | 5 | Communication in PR Section B Elective2 | 5 | Communication in PR Section B Elective2 | 5 |
Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | Global Studies - graduation requirement1 | 5 | Communication in PR Section B Elective2 | 5 |
| 15 | | 15 | | 15 |
Third Year |
---|
Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| 5 | | 5 | | 5 |
Communication in PR Section D Elective3 | 5 | Communication in PR Section E Elective4 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | | 15 | | 15 |
Fourth Year |
---|
Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | | 15 | | 15 |
Total Credits 180 |
University Competencies and Proficiencies
English
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who earn a BA in Communications in Public Relations at EWU should be able to:
- craft compelling written messages;
- deliver an effective public speech;
- demonstrate the ability to design or conduct sound communication research;
- develop a campaign plan that effectively applies public relations strategies;
- use communication theories to critically analyze the characteristics of mediated messages.