Courses | Online Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations

Curriculum Details

180 total credits required

EOU’s online bachelor’s degree in public relations includes 17 program-specific courses covering essential topics for modern PR professionals, like:

Creating social media-based public relations campaigns that capture the new standard in the public relations industry
Utilizing research-focused public relations for the environment of message penetration and narrative management
Prioritizing transparent communication instead of corporate propaganda

We’ve designed our curriculum with a strong focus on ethical advocacy, ensuring our graduates approach PR as cultural diplomats and narrative managers in a global, interconnected world. At the end of your program, you will complete practicum and capstone courses within a public relations agency or other organization. You will gain relevant field experience in your own community while building a portfolio that highlights your skills for future employers.

Required Courses

PRLS 201 Introduction to Public Relations Credit Hours: 3

This course introduces basic concepts, theories, issues and routine practices of public relations as a communication management function in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. It examines how organizations can ethically and scientifically build productive, mutually beneficial relationships with various stakeholders through effective communication.

PRLS 211 Public Relations Techniques Credit Hours: 3

This course familiarizes students with the toolbox of the public relations industry, particularly the techniques for media relations. Students will become versed on how the traditional mass media and the new media operates in today’s society. Furthermore, students learn to practice basic procedures/tactics in dealing with the media to achieve public relations goals.

PRLS 301 Writing and Production for Public Relations Credit Hours: 4

This course teaches students how to gain the basic skills in writing for public relations across different media platforms. Students learn how to tell a story persuasively with strategic goals in mind. Many genres in public relations communication will be practiced to achieve a certain level of proficiency.

PRLS 311 Public Relations Case & Campaigns Credit Hours: 4

This case study course teaches students to use public relations as a four-step problem solving process to help an organization manage its relationship with various stakeholders. Students learn to critically analyze signature public relations cases using theories, strategies, and tactics learned in prior classes. With this knowledge, students learn to conduct formal and informal research to articulate communication goals, flesh out message strategies, and design public relations campaigns as a routine management function for organization effectiveness.

BA 312 Principles of Marketing Credit Hours: 4

A principles course focusing on the basics of marketing. Students will complete market research projects, analyze target markets, determine marketing mixes (products, price, promotion, place) as well as selecting the appropriate marketing channels for target audiences. Students will also examine the relationship between pricing, customer value perception and brand equity.

COM 325 Intercultural Communication Credit Hours: 3

This course examines how communication behavior differs among cultures in various contexts such as workplace, school, healthcare, and diplomacy. Students learn to be adaptive different worldviews, meaning system, stereotypes, and ethnocentric behavior. Major issues such as identity, ethnocentrism, and multiculturalism will be discussed.

PRLS 401 Public Relations Campaign on Social Media Credit Hours: 4

This course surveys the recent development and best practice in social media-based public relations campaigns. Students learn to use the basic tools in digital storytelling techniques and social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to generate publicity and manage the relationship with public stakeholders. More importantly, students learn to use social media to deploy different genres of public relations campaign, such as issue management, crisis communication, employee relations, and community engagement.

PRLS 490 Legal and Ethical Problems in Public Relations Credit Hours: 4

This course examines the First Amendment-related legal and ethical issue in public relations practice. Students learn to appreciate the moral foundation of media law and the principle of social responsibility required of public communication. More importantly, they learn to weigh competing principles and values to render a decision with a degree of moral certainty. Critical ethical issues such as truthfulness and honesty, privacy, confidentiality, conflict of interest, editorial independence, indecency, fair trial, due care, detrimental reliance, and stereotypes will be discussed.

PRLS 498 Practicum Credit Hours: 2

This course guides students to apply the knowledge they learned from previous courses to public relations jobs in local or regional organizations. Students select the reputable business organization, government agencies, or public relations firms to engage in real-world communication practice to further hone their skill in conducting public relations as a routine problem-solving process.

PRLS 499 Capstone: Portfolio Presentation Credit Hours: 3

This course is the culmination of students’ program of study in public relations with a portfolio presentation based on either an experiential learning project or a graduation thesis. Students apply accumulated knowledge and skill to a real-world public relations problem, developing a workable plan or an insightful analysis of the problem in order to solve it. This portfolio presentation requires students to demonstrate their mastery of the subject matter to potential clients or employers and, thus, help them search for jobs and chart their long-term career in public relations.

Program Options

Students in this program choose to pursue either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree path. The B.A. option includes a foreign language requirement, while the B.S. includes 12 additional credits.

Transfer Information

EOU offers a generous transfer policy for course credits to make it even more affordable and accessible to learn. The online Bachelor’s in Public Relations allows up to 135 credits from previous college coursework to be transferred into EOU. All EOU majors require a minimum of 20 EOU credits.

Get in Touch

We are here to answer any questions you may have. Contact an enrollment counselor at 855-805-5399 or complete the request for information form and we will be in touch.