<p>What schools are known for strong PR departments? D is also interested in journalism, marketing, and advertising?</p>
<p>I'm not sure there is a PR major. PR hires tend to be very good looking extroverts who write well. Has been my observation. </p>
<p>Marketing is taught in business schools.</p>
<p>Advertising tactitcs are also taught in Graphic design programs.</p>
<p>My S is earning a dual degree at Boston University in political science and public relations. The College of Communication has departments in film and television; journalism; and mass communication, advertising, and public relations. A marketing course offered by the School of Management is required of advertising majors.</p>
<p>I attend Simmons College (women's college) in Boston, MA, which has a very reputable communications department. Within the communications major there is a "Public Relations/Marketing" track and a "Writing" track (we don't offer a journalism major). There is also a Marketing major through the management program which is slightly different.</p>
<p>The best person I know in that field completed a "great books" program as an undergrad. At the end of his career he was one of the very top people in the world for that type of business.</p>
<p>Follow your interests, soak up everything you can, and learn to express yourself well. The rest is details.</p>
<p>University of Miami is strong in the majors you are looking for. Marketing is in the business school and PR and advertising are in the School of Communications.</p>
<p>Indiana Kelley</p>
<p>My D wants to pursue journalism but is also interested in advertising and possibly PR. She is creative but not skilled at free-hand drawing. She is very good w/ computer graphics. Would a mid-size to large university be better than a LAC if she wants to somehow combine journalism, advertising and PR?</p>
<p>I combined all three. :) I'm a huge fan of LAC's, and certainly someone can go to an LAC and end up working in one of these industries. But, if the student wants to focus on those areas as an undergraduate, a mid-sized or large university would probably be the best choice.</p>
<p>The key is to either look for journalism schools that have majors in all three areas. Or, alternatively, look for a journalism program where you can take marketing courses at the same time. In fact, even if you major in PR/Advertising within a journalism/communications school, I would recommend at least some basic marketing and business management courses if advertising or PR is a possibility. </p>
<p>My recommendations for J-schools that would give you the first option would be either Syracuse U or Northwestern. Both have top notch marketing communications programs, and Syracuse is considered to have one of the top (if not the top) PR programs in the country. USC would probably fall into the second category -- you can't major in advertising in Annenberg. Only the business school.</p>
<p>I combined all three :) A lot depends if the student is looking for a career in the more "Creative" side of things (i.e., writing press releases, writing ads, etc.) or the more "Business" side of things (i.e., marketing management, account supervision). Here would be the different options to consider:</p>
<p>1) attend a communications school such as Syracuse, Northwestern, or USC that has courses and majors in all three areas. The focus of these programs will tend to be more on the communications/creative side of PR/advertising -- i.e., how to write a press release, how to shoot a TV commercial or write an ad. I would recommend that any student thinking about PR/Advertising going this route, or majoring in straight journalism, also take some marketing and business courses as an underlying foundation to the creative side.</p>
<p>2) Attend a straight journalism program at a school that has a strong undergraduate marketing program in its business school. Combine courses in both areas. This can be a great option, especially for PR, because it gives you the business foundation those working in advertising and PR need to understand the bigger picture. However, you probably won't get to take many classes in how to write a press release or how to shoot a TV commercial. (Both can be learned on the job later though and <em>some</em> of what you'll learn in journalism courses will be directly applicable to PR/advertising.)</p>
<p>3) Major in marketing at any good business school. Indiana Kelley would be great, but so would many other business schools with good marketing departments. Focus your marketing electives on promotion and advertising marketing courses. Take plenty of English and writing-intensive courses to develop strong writing skills. Work in student media to gain the journalism side of things. Again, this won't teach you the finer aspects of the communications/creative side of advertising and PR, but it will give you the solid business skills necessary to work in other related areas such as marketing management, account management, etc -- all of which directly supervise the creative side of things.</p>
<p>4) If a student had their heart set on an LAC (certainly nothing wrong with that!) I'd say major in any major where you will develop strong writing, analysis and quantitative skills. Some LACs do offer marketing courses (usually within an economics department) or journalism/non-fiction writing courses and I'd recommend taking those as well. Do internships if possible with firms in marketing/advertising/pr. Work for student media. Then, go to graduate school to get either an MBA or a Master's in Communication/journalism with a specific focus on one of the three areas. Or, find an entry level job in one of these fields where you could learn on the job.</p>
<p>While it is certainly possible to get into advertising or PR (or journalism!) after attending an LAC, especially an LAC that has strong internship connections in these fields, competition for entry level jobs in any of these fields is fierce. The best entry level jobs often go to those who have specific skills (i.e., they can show a portfolio of ads they've produced or who have done internships in the field) and/or strong specific knowledge (i.e., they can show a list of marketing, advertising, PR or journalism courses they've taken). But, as I said, strong writing and analytic ability can be learned anywhere and the finer skills can sometimes be learned on the right entry level job as well. For advertising and PR, however, you can't go wrong with having taken some actual marketing courses. Again, marketing fundamentals can be learned on the job, but there is no replacement, in my opinion, for having taken some basic courses to give you the big picture.</p>