The online public relations minor prepares students for a variety of careers in the dynamic field of public relations. Typical job
areas include media relations, event planning, corporate communications, crises management, publicity and promotion, public
affairs and government relations. A professional PR practitioner uses a variety of communication strategies, tactics and media to
create a favorable image for his or her client. Building and maintaining positive relationships with external audiences is the core of
public relations.
A minor in public relations can benefit students in a variety of academic disciplines, including business administration, marketing, communications, liberal arts, medicine, engineering, education and social work. Whatever the field, any professional needs to know how to communicate effectively and persuasively to target audiences.
The public relations minor requires the following five courses:
| JRL 101: Introduction to Mass Communication |
| Mass communicator's role in developing political, social, and economic fabrics of a democratic society. Organization and function of newspapers, magazines, broadcast stations, and other principal media, including the role of advertising and public relations. |
| Can be taken on campus or online. |
| This course is generally offered every term. |
| |
| PR 215: Introduction to Public Relations |
| Introduces the student to the principles of public relations. Definition and historical development, opportunities and challenges, techniques, and management of public relations are included. |
| Can be taken on campus or online. |
| This course is generally offered every term. |
| |
| PR 301: Writing for Public Relations |
| PR minors only. PR: PR 215. Basic writing techniques and tools for public relations practitioners, including news writing, AP style, news releases, media advisories, media lists, pitching stories, presentations, and publications. |
| Prerequisites: JRL 101, PR 215 |
| PR 301 must be taken online during summer session. |
| This course is generally offered during the fist six weeks of summer school. |
| |
| PR 401: Applied Public Relations |
| PR minors only. PR: PR 215. A core class in the Public Relations minor focusing on PR case studies, strategic campaign planning, and tactics. Students develop campaign ideas and strategies and produce an abbreviated campaign plan. |
| Prerequisites: JRL 101, PR 215 |
| PR 401 must be taken online during summer session. |
| This course is generally offered during the first six weeks of summer school. |
| |
| PR 410: IMC for Public Relations, |
| Pre-req: PR 301 PR 401. This course provides a comprehensive look at public relations and its role in the integrated marketing communications process. Other IMC elements such as advertising, Internet marketing, sales promotion and direct marketing are also discussed. |
| Prerequisites: PR 301, PR 401 |
| PR 410 must be taken online during summer session. |
| It is generally offered during the second six weeks of summer school. |
To earn a minor in public relations a student must earn a grade of C or better in each of the five courses.
Students who double-minor in advertising and public relations may only take JRL 101 once and must replace the second offering
with one of the School of Journalism’s online 200-level or higher open-enrollment courses. JRL 489 (Media Ethics) and NE 428
(Media Law) are choices that are available online during the summer sessions.
Students can complete the minor with the two lower division courses during the school year and the online courses in one summer. Students completing the entire minor online can expect to complete it in two summers.
All courses are taught completely online via eCampus. Students need to plan on logging into eCampus on daily during the week but can do so at the time of their own choosing. Students should budget the same amount of time for an online class as they do for classroom classes.
For permission to register for online journalism classes or for more information, contact Cathy Mezera, Undergraduate Extended Learning Coordinator at sojexlearning@mail.wvu.edu.
The public relations minor is not available to any student enrolled in the P.I. Reed School of Journalism. |
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