Public Relations

Be a part of something bigger than yourself

Get the word out. The public relations concentration will provide you with the skills you need to be an efficient and effective communicator for any brand or organization. By emphasizing the foundational skills and values of journalism, the concentration prepares you to orchestrate and coordinate a communications campaign of any scale or purpose.

Through a series of introductory-level journalism courses and public relations offerings specifically tailored to make you an expert in your field, you’ll learn the ins and outs of what it takes to create and mediate a message, and how those messages function for brand representation and in society at large.

Description of the video:

Nick Browning appears in his office.

Nick Browning:

What does it take to be successful in public relations? Alright. That's a great question.

Music begins. The Media School’s logo fades in.

Nick Browning:

If you're someone that's inquisitive, you're going to do well. If you're someone that

Nick Browning appears in his office.

Nick Browning:

wants to do different things and can adjust on the fly, you're going to do well.

Lower-thirds appear: Nick Browning. Assistant professor.

Nick Browning:

And I think maybe most importantly, is if you're someone that wants to learn.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

You must be sharp-minded.

Lower-thirds appear: Esi Thompson. Assistant professor.

Esi Thompson:

You must be open-minded, ready to absorb things.

Sofia Godinez appears.

Sofia Godinez:

I've taken some great classes

Lower-thirds appear: Sofia Godinez. Student.

Sofia Godinez:

in the PR concentration that I've learned a lot from.

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

The PR concentration has been a wonderful time.

Lower-thirds appear: Trevor Outlaw. Student.

Trevor Outlaw:

You get a lot of good, real-world experience. The professors here are absolutely wonderful.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

We have a very good blend, a very effective blend

Students take notes in a classroom.

Esi Thompson:

of theory and practice.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

Of learning directly how to do it and then practicing doing it.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

I think my favorite class was

Lower-thirds appear: Bryn Eudy. Student.

Bryn Eudy:

PR Campaigns. It was the first opportunity that students get to really dive in and get some hands-on experience.

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

PRSSA is a wonderful organization. It's the largest public relations student organization in the whole nation.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

PRSSA is a national student

Students network with media professionals at Media Career Day.

Bryn Eudy:

pre-professional organization for students studying public relations.

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

It's just a really great way to meet people who are in the same discipline as you. It's a great way to meet people who

Students listen to a Media Career Day panel.

Trevor Outlaw:

want to be able to get this professional experience. There's lots of different

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

competitions they do within PRSSA.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

I got to go to Austin, Texas, for a national PR conference.

Students wear VR goggles in the Franklin Hall commons.

Nick Browning:

Students ask me: What is a typical day like

Students ride scooters past colorful blocks and giant pill bottles in the Franklin Hall commons.

Nick Browning:

in the public relations profession? And my answer to that is pretty simple:

Nick Browning appears in his office.

Nick Browning:

I'll tell you when I have one.

Students listen to a lecture.

Bryn Eudy:

When I first started looking into public relations

Nick Browning teaches a class.

Bryn Eudy:

I thought that it was

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

only an industry where you would write press releases and work with media

Students listen to a lecture.

Bryn Eudy:

but after having the opportunity to go through the PR curriculum at IU, I've learned that it's

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

a lot more broad than that.

Sofia Godinez appears.

Sofia Godinez:

You can do so many different things. So like even if you're remotely interested in a communication job and PR, I think it's a great route.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

When I came into IU

Pan of the chairs in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

I knew I wanted to study PR.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

To me PR has its roots in storytelling.

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

My favorite part of working in PR is knowing that

Students listen to a lecture.

Trevor Outlaw:

I'm going to be able to contribute to something

Trevor Outlaw appears in a recording studio.

Trevor Outlaw:

that's going to be broadcast somewhere in the world.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

PR is about connecting

Students network with media professionals at Media Career Day.

Bryn Eudy:

people. The type of PR that I'm interested in helps

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

foundations and nonprofits tell their stories.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

It's all about building

Students network with media professionals at Media Career Day.

Esi Thompson:

relationships. Advocating. That for me is what PR is.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

That for me is the exciting part of public relations.

Bryn Eudy appears in the Beckley Studio.

Bryn Eudy:

It's a very supportive industry. It's an industry where

Media professionals speak on a panel at Media Career Day.

Bryn Eudy:

you get to have some agency over your work, over the kind of things that you do, and

Students listen in the audience of a Media Career Day panel.

Bryn Eudy:

it's empowering to know that from a young age.

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

In every single industry, because there is relationship in there, you do need PR in there.

Students listen to a lecture.

Esi Thompson:

So once you have PR, you've opened yourself to a world of opportunities,

Esi Thompson appears in her office.

Esi Thompson:

independent of where you find yourself. And that is what you need in today's world.

External shot of Franklin Hall and the Sample Gates.

Words appear:

Filmed: Ethan Hamilton & Anna Howell

Edited and Produced: Ethan Hamilton

Indiana University

iub.edu

What you’ll learn

to write, report and edit for clarity, concision and effectiveness
to be an efficient verbal and visual communicator, and to craft appropriate and carefully tailored messages through that communication
to understand the functionality of public relations campaigns and the principles and concepts key to their development

Curriculum

This program focuses on principles, research and application of best practices in developing and managing effective communication campaigns.

See concentration requirements

Courses

You’ll learn to create meaningful campaigns in real-world settings in your courses. Here are a couple experiences to look forward to.

Public Relations Campaigns

Develop and pitch a proposal for a local nonprofit organization, learning experientially about campaign preparation and execution.

Public Relations for Nonprofits

Explore the tools nonprofit organizations use to create and shape goals for public support.

Student work

Indiana Donor Network public relations campaign

Students in one section of the fall 2018 Public Relations Campaigns class developed a proposed campaign for the Indiana Donor Network, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and enhancing the quality of life through organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation.

The campaign, which seeks to encourage more Hoosiers to become donors, includes qualitative and quantitative research, followed by development of communications objectives, strategies, tactics, schedules, budgets and measurement metrics.

QR Codes and logos for Indiana Donor Network to 'Register to be a donor here'

T-shirt designs with Donate for life logos

Faculty

Learn from faculty members who are experienced practitioners — including former executives at international firms — and internationally ranked researchers across specialties such as international communication, corporate communication, crisis communication, public activism and diplomacy, social media and communication effectiveness, and stakeholder communications.

Meet Media School faculty

Student organization

Public Relations Student Society of America

The IU Beth Wood chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America provides practical opportunities to explore and prepare for careers in public relations. The chapter hosts monthly meetings, offers networking opportunities, provides public relations services for clients and competes in the national Bateman Case Study Competition.

Visit the chapter’s website

Careers

In this concentration, you’ll learn how to develop a campaign and manage a crisis, as well as the theory behind the discipline. You’ll graduate prepared for a public relations career at a corporation, government agency or nonprofit organization in a variety of positions, such as media specialist, communications director or marketing strategist.

Explore PR careers

I learned so much from getting involved in various campus organizations and student media, which has shaped me into the professional I am today.
Christine Spasoff, BAJ’14, account supervisor at Spectrum Science Communications

Public Relations

Be a part of something bigger than yourself

What you’ll learn

Curriculum

Courses

Public Relations Campaigns

Public Relations for Nonprofits

Student work

Indiana Donor Network public relations campaign

Faculty

Student organization

Public Relations Student Society of America

Careers

The Media School social media channels