Principles of Public Relations

This course is designed to provide an overview of the field of public relations, including information about its history, theoretical foundations, the PR planning process, possible career paths, and key terms, concepts and issues you’ll need to understand to work in public relations or related industries.

Course Syllabus [pdf]

Download the course syllabus for full details about expectations, readings, assignments and more.

Learning Outcomes/Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to do the following:

• Define public relations, and explain how it differs from similar fields such as advertising and marketing.
• Discuss public relations as a profession, including some possible career options.
• Identify key historical figures and describe important milestones in the development of public relations as a profession.
• Describe key public relations theories and be able to apply them to current public relations issues.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the public relations process, including various strategies and tactics, and when and why one might use them.
• Demonstrate an understanding that public relations is a management function, dependent upon valid and reliable research, ethical behavior, clear writing, the ability to work with multiple, diverse groups of people, and more.