CURRICULUM
Coursework in the Master of Science in Public Relations and Corporate Communications
includes subjects ranging from public relations writing and media relations to international public
relations and corporate communications management. You select from an array of Core courses offered
in the evenings and on weekends. The Core requirements are designed to ensure that you gain a firm
grasp of the most important elements of public relations and corporate communications. You choose
the remainder of your courses from one of two
concentration
areas: Public Relations Management or Corporate and Organizational Communications. The program
is rounded out by the real-world experience of a
Practicum
and completed by a
Capstone
project.
The M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communications can be completed in four to five
semesters of full-time study or seven to 10 semesters of part-time study and includes 14
three-credit courses for a total of 42 credits.
CORE COURSES
The eight required Core courses provide you with the fundamental knowledge and skills
essential for success in the PR and corporate communications profession. The Core courses give you
an in-depth understanding of:
- Communications, ethics, law, and regulation
- Building and maintaining relationships of credibility with the news media and developing a
methodology for the successful practice of media relations
- Developing specialized skills for effective public relations writing including brainstorming,
researching, planning, structuring, wording, presenting, rewriting
- Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to produce knowledge-driven programs and to
measure the outcomes of marketing strategies, crisis management, etc.
- Developing strategic communications plans that include synthesizing internal and external
initiatives that accommodate core company principles
- Theory, history, and practice of public relations
CONCENTRATIONS
Students select one of two concentrations that build on the foundation attained in the Core
coursework:
Public
Relations Management or
Corporate
and Organizational Communications. A concentration consists of four courses chosen from one
concentration area or a combination of three courses from one concentration and one from the other.
REAL-WORLD CONNECTIONS: THE PRACTICUM
To give our students the opportunity to gain real-world experience, we cultivate practicum
relationships with a variety of corporations, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions,
governmental or nongovernmental organizations, and public relations agencies. The Practicum is
taken after the completion of your course requirements. Under the stewardship of a faculty member,
you work in client teams with other students at an on-site work placement from a list of
faculty-approved client organizations. Your assignment is to identify a communication problem or
challenge and find a solution that would benefit the organization. You establish an objective, the
achievement of which you measure as you work through the classic public relations process of
research, planning, communications, and evaluation. You may also provide supportive case analysis
based on primary research. The Practicum experience improves your strategic and tactical
communication skills and provides you with an important résumé credit.
Click
here for more information.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
The Capstone project is your final advanced individual project marking the culmination of
your master’s degree program. You select your own topic—a communications challenge facing an
organization, individual, product, service, or public policy issue, selected with faculty approval
and conducted under the guidance of a faculty member. Topics may be tightly bound, discreet ones,
such as devising a campaign to promote a new company, product, service, or public figure. The
subject also may be a specific communications subset of a large, seemingly intractable issue, such
as the use of steroids in athletics, the cost of prescription drugs, or the use of sex or violence
by the entertainment media. By semester’s end, you have created a complete communications campaign,
including research, objectives, strategies, tactics, and evaluation mechanisms, packaged into your
Capstone report.
View
more information and recent student Capstone projects.
OPTIONAL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSEWORK IN MARKETING OR JOURNALISM
As a graduate student, you have the opportunity via our continuing education offerings to
study marketing communications, marketing strategy and branding, marketing research, advertising
management, business-to-business marketing, direct and interactive marketing, entertainment and
events marketing, and sales promotion and strategies. SCPS also offers courses in journalism.
Although these courses are optional and not required or applicable to the M.S. degree, they are
offered year-round, and we encourage you to enroll if you would like to develop additional skills.
