Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

Types of Degrees Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public relations, advertising, & applied communication graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	3,154
Master’s Degree	896
Basic Certificate	76
Graduate Certificate	75
Associate Degree	24
Doctor’s Degree	9
Undergraduate Certificate	5

What Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to public relations, advertising, and applied communication and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

A major in public relations, advertising, and applied communication prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

As a public relations, advertising, and applied communication major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Major?

People with a public relations, advertising, and applied communication degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Advertising and Promotions Managers	5.4%	$117,130
Communications Professors	10.0%	$68,910
Green Marketers	5.4%	$117,130
Public Relations and Fundraising Managers	10.3%	$114,800
Public Relations Specialists	8.9%	$60,000

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication?

This major is dominated by women with about 74% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of public relations, advertising, and applied communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	85
Black or African American	268
Hispanic or Latino	584
White	1,921
International Students	100
Other Races/Ethnicities	196

Geographic Diversity

Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication appeals to people across the globe. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

Some degrees associated with public relations, advertising, and applied communication may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to public relations, advertising, and applied communication have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Some College Courses	5.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	59.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.1%
Master’s Degree	20.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.6%
Doctoral Degree	3.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.2%

Online Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	12	2
Bachelor’s Degree	10	5
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	41	13
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to public relations, advertising, and applied communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations	4,566
Advertising	4,315
Communication Management and Strategic Communications	2,031
General Organizational Communication	1,835
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	1,470
Sports Communication	1,161
Health Communication	416
International & Intercultural Communication	245
Political Communication	221
Technical & Scientific Communication	167

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.