About the Program
Welcome to the home page of the Public Relations Degree Program in the Department of Communication Studies.
This major includes coursework in Public Relations, Journalism, Communication Studies and Business, and its curriculum is consistent with industry and professional standards as well as with the recommendations of the National Commission on Public Relations Education.
In 1999, UNI's Public Relations Major was named one of 23 "Premier" public relations education programs in the country. Several faculty are of international prominence in their fields--both as scholars and as professional leaders. Students have achieved national prominence through their individual achievements as well as through their organizational activities. The UNI Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America was named the nation's "Outstanding Chapter" in 1998, and in 1999 - besides earning other national awards - the chapter won the bid to host the 2000 PRSSA international conference in Chicago.
The Public Relations Degree Program was approved during the academic year 1977-78, and the Major began with 12 students in the following Fall 1978. The number of the program's baccalaureate degree holders now exceeds over 1,300 graduates (as of summer 1999), who are working throughout the United States in a range of professional positions.
The mission of the undergraduate public relations program is two-fold:
- To prepare students, within a liberal arts context, for positions in public relations within organizations and professional agencies; and
- To prepare students for graduate study by providing them with foundations in mass communication theory, methodology and related skills and knowledge.
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