RAPID GROWTH: PR MASTER DEGREES GREW BY 300% IN 10 YEARS Considering the growth of U.S. master-degree PR programs—up from 26 in 2000 to 75 today, says the Commission on Public Relations Education—it’s a wonder they keep coming, but they do. Among them, based on feedback from practitioners and trade press, are our Top 10 “up-and-comers.” They aren’t necessarily better than other PR and communications graduate programs, but judging by the feedback we’ve received, and the quality of the schools involved, we wouldn’t be surprised if they are. For certain, they’ve topped the profession’s buzz meter as the “most popular” choices among people who want to get into the field quickly, and people in the field who want to get on the fast track to top management. What makes them popular is their educational philosophy, which is decidedly “practice-makes-perfect.”

1. Back to School
10 Up-and-Coming Graduate PR Degree Programs

2. Back to School
10 Up-and-Coming Graduate PR Degree Programs
RAPID GROWTH: PR MASTER DEGREES GREW BY 300% IN 10 YEARS
Considering the growth of U.S. master-degree PR programs—up from 26 in 2000 to 75
today, says the Commission on Public Relations Education—it’s a wonder they keep
coming, but they do. Among them, based on feedback from practitioners and trade press,
are our Top 10 “up-and-comers.”
They aren’t necessarily better than other PR and communications graduate programs, but
judging by the feedback we’ve received, and the quality of the schools involved, we wouldn’t
be surprised if they are. For certain, they’ve topped the profession’s buzz meter as the
“most popular” choices among people who want to get into the field quickly, and people in
the field who want to get on the fast track to top management.
What makes them popular is their educational philosophy, which is decidedly “practice-
makes-perfect.”
Research by: Don Bates, PR Instructor, New York University
Don Bates teaches basic and advanced public relations writing at New York University and in private workshops and in
public programs run by the PRSA-National Capital Chapter and other professional organizations.

3. First Grad PR Program to
Be PRSA Certified
• Program: MA in Public Relations
• Degree: M.A.
• Location: Muncie, IN
• GRE required: Yes
• Date established: On-Campus 1968, Online
2009
• Credits for graduation: 33-36
• On campus: Yes
• Online: Yes
• Graduates per year: approx. 20 (both on-
campus and online)
• Graduates to date: 600+
Learn More
• Description: Recently certified by PRSA, this is
the first graduate PR program in the U.S. to
receive this distinction. Stresses PR planning and
management to achieve public understanding
based on two-way communication. Emphasizes
mastery of professional skills. Students learn
interrelationship of management, organization,
and communication theories.
Ball State University

4. Strategic Communications
Taught by Pros
• Program: Strategic Communications
• Degree: M.S.
• Location: New York, NY
• GRE required: No
• Established: 2002
• Credits for graduation: 36
• On campus: Yes
• Online: No
• Graduates per year: approx. 40
• Graduates to date: approx. 350
Learn More
• Description: Students learn from practicing
professionals. The part-time program focuses on
becoming a strategically oriented
communication executive. Courses cover
planning, research, writing and creative insight.
Knowledge gained in the program is immediately
applicable. From day one, the program helps
students to move into and progress upward in
professional communication careers.
Columbia University

5. Building Strategic Leaders
• Program: Strategic Communications
• Degree: M.S.
• Location: Boston, MA
• GRE required: No
• Established: 2002
• Credits for graduation: 36
• On campus: Yes
• Online: No
• Graduates per year: approx. 40
• Graduates to date: approx. 350
Learn More
• Description: Students learn from practicing
professionals. The part-time program focuses on
becoming a strategically oriented
communication executive. Courses cover
planning, research, writing and creative insight.
Knowledge gained in the program is immediately
applicable. From day one, the program helps
students to move into and progress upward in
professional communication careers.
Emerson College

6. Marrying Health and Strategic
Communications
• Program: MA in Communication
• Degree: M.A.
• Location: Fairfax, VA
• GRE required: Yes
• Established: 2002
• Credits for graduation: 33
• On campus: Yes
• Online: No
• Graduates per year: approx. 20
• Graduates to date: approx. 90
Learn More
• Description: There are two areas of
specialization: health communication and
strategic communication. Health communication
explores the use of PR and public affairs to
improve the health and well-being of individuals
and communities. Strategic communication
focuses on developing and executing public
communication campaigns based on public
relations theory and research.
George Mason University

7. Responding Ethically to
Communications Challenges
• Program: Master of Professional Studies in
Public Relations and Corporate Communications
• Degree granted: M.P.S.
• Location: Washington, DC
• GRE required: No
• Established: 2007
• Credits for graduation: 30
• On campus: Yes
• Online: No
• Graduates per year: approx. 100
• Graduates to date: 250+
Learn More
• Description: Emphasizes strategic thinking,
planning, evaluation, writing and leadership.
Equips students to respond ethically and
confidently to communication challenges.
Associated with Center for Social Impact
Communication (CSIC), which seeks to
establish industry standards for responsible
communication practices, and to educate and
inspire students to have a social impact.
Georgetown University

8. Graduate School of Political
Management
• Program: Masters in Strategic Public
Relations
• Degree granted: M.P.S.
• Location: Alexandria, VA
• GRE required: Yes
• Date established: Fall 2007
• Credits for graduation: 33
• On campus: Yes
• Online: Yes
• Graduates per year: NA
• Graduates to date: 200+
Learn More
• Description: Takes advantage of connections
in the Nation’s Capital, focusing on public
policy and advocacy roles of PR firms and of
PR departments in corporations, government
agencies, and not-for-profit associations.
Students employ new and traditional media to
deliver targeted messages to specific
audiences, serving as communication
strategists as well as tacticians.
George Washington University

9. Emphasizing Research and
Theory
• Program: Master of Arts in Communication
• Degree: M.A.
• Location: Washington, DC, campus
• GRE required: Yes
• Established: 2001
• Credits for graduation: 40 credits
• On campus: Yes
• Online: Yes
• Graduates per year: Approx. 26
• Graduates to date: Approx. 260
Learn More
• Description: Emphasizes academic
excellence and applied knowledge. Instructors
teach what they do as practitioners; top scholars
teach science, research and theory. By
combining practice and scholarship, students
acquire skills and knowledge to help them
advance in the workplace. Students pursue
degrees full-time and part-time on campus in
Washington, D.C., or online.
Johns Hopkins University

10. Designed with Input
from PR Execs
• Program: Master of Science in Public
Relations and Corporate Communication
• Degree: M.S.
• Location: New York, NY
• GRE required: No
• Established: 2005
• Credits required for graduation: 42
• On campus: Yes
• Online: No
• Graduates per year: 50 (328 now enrolled)
• Graduates to date: 200
Learn More
• Description: Designed with the assistance of
top executives in corporations and PR agencies.
Combines theory and practice with emphasis on
strategic planning, management, writing, oral
communication, research, and evaluation.
Faculty includes leading scholars and PR
practitioners. Awarded PRWeek magazine’s
inaugural "PR Program of the Year" award.
New York University

11. International, Investor or
Healthcare PR
• Program: Master of Science in Public
Relations Program in the School of
Communications
• Degree: M.S. in PR
• Location: Hamden, CT
• GRE required: Yes
• Established: 2009
• Credits for graduation: 36
• On campus: Yes
• Online: Some courses offered online
Learn More
• Description: Designed for early to mid-career
professionals interested in a public relations
career, or in advancing their current career in
the field. Students may specialize in
international, investor or healthcare public
relations. Full-time students spend nine months
on campus, followed by a research thesis or
professional project.
Quinnipiac University

12. Annenberg School for
Communication & Journalism
• Program: Public Relations Studies Program
• Degree: Master in Strategic Public Relations
• Location: Los Angeles, CA
• GRE required: Yes
• Established: 1998
• Credits for graduation: 40
• On campus: Yes
• Online: Not currently
• Graduates per year: 59 in 2011
• Graduates to date: 376
Learn More
• Description: Trains highly skilled, strategically
oriented professionals able to “hit the ground
running.” Based on continuing interaction with
professional leaders and findings of program’s
Generally Accepted Practices Study (GAP) of
PR trends and practices. Majority of students
enroll in International Program, which enables
them to study and work in China, the UK, or
South Africa.
University of Southern California

13. Back to School
10 Up-and-Coming Graduate PR Degree Programs
80% OF INSTRUCTORS WORK IN PR FIRMS
As a result, 80 percent or more of their instructors are high-level practitioners from PR firms,
corporations, government agencies, and not-for-profit enterprises. What they bring to these
programs is less about academic credentials and much more about PR skills, knowledge,
and experience learned on the job. Unlike many tenure-tracked academicians, the
instructors are virtually all part-time adjuncts.
The Commission on PR Education says the PR field is split on whether a master’s degree is
necessary for assuring or hastening PR success – but opinion is clearly moving in a
favorable direction. If someone obtains a PR graduate degree, the Commission adds, it
“should add the equivalent of three years’ professional experience.”
Research by: Don Bates, PR Instructor, New York University
Don Bates teaches basic and advanced public relations writing at New York University and in private workshops and in
public programs run by the PRSA-National Capital Chapter and other professional organizations.

14. Back to School
10 Up-and-Coming Graduate PR Degree Programs
A PR MASTER’S DEGREE EQUALS THREE YEARS’ EXPERIENCE
Students in our up-and-comers want exactly that. As one NYU newbie explained, “I’m
interested in gaining applied knowledge about how to deliver strategies, messages and
activities that will add to my clients’ or employer’s success right now.”
Columbia’s program emphasizes: “From day one…you will be able to take what you learn in
the classroom and apply it in your workplace to inspire and implement meaningful change.”
All Top 10 share the same goal — graduating students who are educated to take their place
as strategic thinkers and doers in the expanding public relations profession and associated
fields. A master’s degree from one of these programs more than likely will provide a big leg
up on the competition.
Research by: Don Bates, PR Instructor, New York University
Don Bates teaches basic and advanced public relations writing at New York University and in private workshops and in
public programs run by the PRSA-National Capital Chapter and other professional organizations.

15. The #1 online grad
school center for
communications
professionals