Public Relations Minor
for the Undergraduate Minor in Public Relations
The Public Relations (PR) minor is designed to provide undergraduate students with a foundational understanding of how public relations practitioners manage relationships between organizations and their stakeholders and manage the reputations of those organizations. Courses within the PR minor will help students develop skills in writing, research, strategic planning, relationship management, and crisis communication that can be applied in business, nonprofit, or government contexts.
Students who plan to pursue careers in public relations, advertising, journalism, communications, marketing, or other related fields will find that the PR minor serves as a valuable complement to the courses in their major. Students from other majors who wish to have a better understanding of the role public relations plays in organizations and who wish to sharpen skills in writing, persuasion, strategic planning, and public communication will also benefit from the minor. The minor requires a minimum of 18 credit hours. Students must complete at least six hours of advanced course work for the minor distinct from credits earned for their major.
View all College of Media undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
for the Undergraduate Minor in Public Relations
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of public relations | 9 | |
| Courses all students must complete: | ||
| Introduction to Journalism | ||
| Intro to Public Relations | ||
| Public Relations Strategies | ||
| Writing for public relations and media | 3-4 | |
| Students must select one course from: | ||
| Writing for Public Relations | ||
| Newsgathering Across Platforms | ||
| Communicating Public Policy | ||
| Advanced topics in public relations | 6 | |
| Students must select two courses from: | ||
| Advertising and Society | ||
| Advanced Special Topics in Advertising 1 | ||
| Persuasion Consumer Response | ||
| Working with the Press | ||
| Crisis Communications | ||
| Special Topics 1 | ||
| Strategies of Persuasion | ||
CMN 377 | ||
| Health Communication Campaigns | ||
| Total Hours | 18-19 | |
- 1
Will be announced in course description as "Eligible for PR minor."
for the Undergraduate Minor in Public Relations
Students in the Public Relations minor will:
- Understand the ways in which public relations as a field, together with its unique and original practices, is different from, and yet similar to, other fields (e.g., advertising, marketing, journalism).
- Apply scholarly theory and methods to design, implement, and assess public relations campaign effectiveness.
- Recognize the ethical and legal concerns impacting the practice of public relations. They will conform to the ethical guidelines of the Public Relations Society of America and to relevant state and federal laws.
- Identify, describe, and employ public relations in specialized areas such as entertainment, health, government, tourism, sports, or environmental sustainability.
- Learn the importance of inclusivity in the historical evolution of PR and foster innovation through increased diversity in the workplace.
- Acquire communication skills in content creation specific to PR’s traditional and innovative formats, including oral, written and visual media.
for the Undergraduate Minor in Public Relations
Public Relations Minor website
media-ssc@illinois.edu
Declare Public Relations Minor