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Public Relations Major

Complete a degree in public relations

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As a public relations major, you will take courses in communication, marketing, and graphic design. You will graduate with a degree that will prepare you to successfully manage information between an organization and the public. You will have the opportunity to complete an internship in the public relations field, which will allow you to apply what you are learning in the classroom.

Our public relations degree is grounded in core business classes that will set you apart from the competition with your knowledge in business and communication. The public relations major allows you to choose areas that most interest you, including sports, nonprofit, media production, and journalism.

SBU's public relations degree will prepare you to succeed in a variety of PR jobs across various industries.

The Public Relations degree is offered through SBU's Robert W. Plaster College of Business. 

Resources

Major Map (PDF)

Degree Plan

100%
Job
placement
rate

(100% of SBU public relations majors graduating in 2020-21 had employment in their field at the time of graduation.)

SBU College of Business Job Placement and Salary Data (PDF)

Professor and students walking to class

The SBU Advantage

  • More than 75% of students in the business administration division complete at least one internship before graduation.
  • A unique blend of courses in business, marketing and communication, gives you a breadth of knowledge in multiple disciplines essential to the public relations industry.
  • Small class sizes and dedicated faculty create a close-knit community to help you thrive as you benefit from personalized instruction and build lifelong friendships.
  • Put your communication skills to work through SBU Student Media opportunities, such as writing for the online student newspaper or contributing to the Infuse student podcast.

Faith Integration

In our marketing courses in the public relations major, we use Biblical truth as the foundation for our communication strategies. For example, you will explore how the "Golden Rule" is key to building trusting and long-term relationships with customers.

Psalm 15 - SBU's College of Professional Programs and the Robert W. Plaster College of Business have a Psalm 15 initiative, which provides intentional integration of faith and academic discipline. Using Psalm 15 as a basis, the Colleges have identified eight character traits that should be the hallmark of the students and graduates. These character traits are emphasized in coursework and in a special lecture series. The highlighted character traits are: Integrity, Service, Respect, Charity, Faithfulness, Truthfulness, Humility and Perseverance.

Ethics and Professional Development — As part of an intentionally Christian education, students in the Robert W. Plaster College of Business take a senior-level course in Ethics and Professional Development. The course teaches Christian personal and professional ethics and equips students with life skills such as career development, etiquette, and servant leadership, with the goal of producing ethical business leaders who will be servant leaders in the workplace.

Careers

Examples of organizations that have employed our graduates:

  • Askinosie Chocolate
  • Bass Pro Shops
  • Citizens Memorial Healthcare
  • Commerce Bank
  • Ridewell Corporation

Internships

Examples of organizations that have provided internships for our students:

  • Jet.com
  • D3 Technologies
  • Community Outreach Ministries
  • Citizens Memorial Hospital - Marketing department
  • iHeartMedia (Los Angeles)

Nicole Byrd
"The many team projects we did in our classes prepared me for what I'm currently doing. I collaborate extensively with the company president, vice president, director of special projects and director of branding. I don't think I would have the capability of handling these communications if it weren't for having the experience in dealing with different backgrounds and personalities that the group projects gave."
Nicole Byrd '10
Marketing Coordinator with Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty

Clubs and Organizations

JumpStart

Want to start a business as a student? At SBU, you have the opportunity to receive guidance and funding as you build a business while pursuing your degree. One of our students, Lillian, started a hair accessory business on Etsy and earned over $12,000 in profits her first year! You even have the chance to earn funds for your business through the Jumpstart entrepreneurship competition.

Sentrepact

Sentrepact is an opportunity for you to mentor high school students as they partner with local businesses in their community. You will be putting your learned skills from the classroom into practice through partnering with high school students and providing advice on how to improve their business partnerships.

Delta Mu Delta

Delta Mu Delta is an international honor society established to recognize superior scholastic achievement of business administration students. The purpose of Delta Mu Delta is to promote higher scholarship in education for business, and to recognize and reward scholastic attainment in business subjects. Delta Mu Delta is an invitation-only society for juniors and seniors in the top 20% of their class with a minimum GPA of 3.25.

Financial Management Association (FMA)

Financial Management Association (FMA) offers amazing opportunities for business students. In the SBU FMA chapter, students have the opportunity to meet and network with local finance professionals, engage in investment competitions, participate in community service, and network with SBU peers. As a member of FMA, a national organization, students gain access to FMA's extensive online library, online forecasting competition, job posting board, and international networking and award opportunities.

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)

Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is the largest career student business organization in the world. FBLA has more than 10,000 members and more than 500 chapters. 

SBU's FBLA chapter consistently excels at the yearly state and national competitions, earning 58 top-ten national finishes so far!

 

 

Full-Time Faculty

Troy Bethards

Dr. Troy Bethards, College Dean
Ryder King

Ryder King, Instructor
Nathan Wright

Dr. Nathan Wright, Division Head
Levi Bridge

Dr. Levi Bridge, MBA Coordinator
David Liu

Dr. David Liu, Associate Professor
Angela Brown-Peterson

Dr. Angela Brown-Peterson, Associate Professor
Bill Marr

Bill Marr, Instructor

Scholarships

The College of Professional Programs and the Robert W. Plaster College of Business offer many privately funded scholarship opportunities for their students. During a recent academic year, more than $89,000 was awarded in private scholarships to students from these college-level scholarships. Some scholarships available include:

  • Aric Beckham Memorial Scholarship
  • Bill & Geneva Williams Memorial Scholarship
  • Business College Scholarship
  • Clifford & Marie Gouge Memorial Scholarship
  • Credille Family Scholarship
  • Dexter Yager Business Scholarship
  • Don & Joan Woods Endowed Scholarship
  • Dr. B.E. Clark Distinguished Accounting Student Scholarship
  • Gary & Jane Black Excellence Scholarship
  • Gladys Henderson Memorial Scholarship
  • Melvin & Minnie Hall Memorial Scholarship
  • Nebraska Book Company Scholarship
  • Ralph Stufflebam Memorial Scholarship
  • Ruby Letsch-Roderique Business Scholarship

Taylor Center

The Robert W. Plaster College of Business is housed in the Gene Taylor National Free Enterprise Center. The Taylor Center was expanded and renovated to provide the following benefits for our students:

  • Increased number of dedicated study areas and presentation rooms that can be reserved in advance
  • Keycard access for certain majors increases building security while allowing you to access space and equipment after hours to effectively study and work on group projects
  • Student lounge and open spaces to study, relax and hang out

Public Relations Four-Year Plan

Freshman

Fall Semester

ENG 1113 English Composition I 3
MAT 1143 College Algebra 3
CIS 1103 Computer and Information Management 3
BUS 1013 Introduction to Business 3
BIB 1013 Old Testament History 3
UNI 1111 University Seminar 1
Total hours 16

Spring Semester

ENG 2213 English Composition II 3
BUS 1193 Business Calculus 3
BUS 2013 Business Communications 3
ART/FAR 1013 Introduction to Art 3
BIB 1023 New Testament History 3
UNI 1121 Introduction to Critical Thinking 1
Total hours 16
 

Sophomore

Fall Semester

COM 1103 Fundamentals of Speech Communication 3
BUS 2023 Business Statistics 3
ACC 2013 Principles of Financial Accounting 3
ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics 3
MGT 3013 Principles of Management 3
Total hours 15

Spring Semester

PSY 1013 General Psychology 3
HIS 2213/2223 U.S. History I or II 3
ACC 2043 Principles of Managerial Accounting 3
ECO 2033 Principles of Macroeconomics 3
MKT 3023 Principles of Marketing 3
Total hours 15
 

Junior

Fall Semester

BIO 1004 Principles of Biology 4
MGT 3033 Operations Management 3
COM Upper-level COM course 3
POL 1113 American Government and Politics 3
COM 2233 Introduction to Public Relations 3
Total hours 16

Spring Semester

PHS 1004 Introduction to Physical Science 4
SPF 2012 Introduction to Spiritual Formation 2
ART 2703 Introduction to Graphic Design 3
COM Upper-level COM course 3
MKT 4253 Digital and Social Media Marketing (Online) 3
  Cultural Studies 3
Total hours 18
 

Senior

Fall Semester

KIN 1162 Foundations of Physical Fitness/Wellness 2
CIS 3123 Survey of Data Science 3
FIN 3053 Business Finance 3
MKT 3083 Advertising 3
LDR 4043 Ethics and Professional Development 3
BUS 3073 Legal Environment of Business I 3
Total hours 17

Spring Semester

COM 3263 Public Relations and Crisis Management 3
MKT 3033 Consumer Behavior 3
MGT 4083 Strategic Management 3
  Upper-level COBACS course 3
  Elective for 128 hours 3
Total hours 15

*Pre-selected COM courses include COM 2023, Introduction to Sports Communication; COM 3163, Nonprofit Public Relations; COM 3313, Advanced Public Speaking; COM 3343, Multi-Media Productions for Nonprofit Organizations; and
COM 3353, Organizational Communication.

This is a proposed guideline. Please check the catalog and see your advisor for your final degree requirements.
Southwest Baptist University reserves the right to make changes to degree plans without advanced notice or obligation.
The student is responsible for understanding and completing all general education, degree, departmental and graduation requirements.

Download in PDF format:
Public Relations Plan (PDF)