Public Relations & Strategic Communication (BA)

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Offered by the School of Communication .

Admission to the Program

Formal admission to the major requires a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 (on a 4.00 scale). Students should declare their major by the end of the sophomore year and no earlier than the end of the first year.

Students who are unable to achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 and declare a major in communication are not allowed to take courses in the school after they have completed 60 hours of undergraduate credit.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 2 )
Completion of all requirements for a major (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 9 )

AU Core Requirements

Completion of AU Core foundation requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.2-8.6 )
Completion of AU Core Habits of Mind requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.7 )
Completion of AU Core integrative course requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.8-8.11 )

For additional information, see AU Core Curriculum .

Major Requirements

42 credit hours with grades of C or better, including at least 21 credit hours at or above 300-level
- Subject to the approval of an advisor, a maximum of 12 credit hours in communication transferred from another university may be substituted for required communication courses
- With approval of the student’s advisor, up to 6 credit hours taken abroad may be applied toward the communication major requirements
- COMM-301 Public Relations (3) with grade of B or better
Related requirements taken outside the School of Communication with grades of C or better
Note: These courses are not included in the major GPA.
- 3 credit hours from United States history (HIST ) coursework
- 3 credit hours from ECON coursework or MKTG-250 Fundamentals of Marketing and Business for Communications (3)
- Minor or second major outside the School of Communication
Minimum of 72 credit hours outside the field of communication are required for the major
- Transfer students majoring in public relations & strategic communication are required to graduate with a total of 72 credit hours outside the field of communication
Minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA

Course Requirements

Core (6 credit hours)

Professional (12 credit hours)

COMM-301 Public Relations (3) (with grade of B or better)
COMM-337 Public Relations Writing (3)
COMM-346 Public Relations Case Studies (3)
COMM-380 Public Communication Research (3)

PRSC Topics and Skills (12 credit hours)

Complete 12 credit hours from the following:

Capstone (3 credit hours)

COMM-437 Public Relations Portfolio (3)

Electives (9 credit hours)

Complete 9 credit hours from the following if not taken to fulfill PRSC Topics and Skills, with no more than 6 credit hours combined of COMM-291 Communication Field Experience (1) , COMM-391 Communication Careers Internship (2) , and COMM-491 Senior Professional Internship (3) :

Related Requirements

Complete the following with grades of C or better:

Note: These course are not included in the major GPA.

United States History (3 credit hours)

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

Economics or Marketing (3 credit hours)

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

Outside Minor or Second Major

Minor or second major outside of the School of Communication

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. See Admission to a Combined Bachelor’s / Master’s Program and Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees for more information.