Communications Department

Assistant Professor Moak, Chair

The Department of Communication seeks to prepare students for a career in Public Relations, with emphasis areas in Sports Communications and Marketing Communications. Public Relations is one of the fastest-growing fields, and is expected to grow significantly during the next decade. Public Relations professionals work within all types of organizations, agencies and business to help create and maintain mutually-beneficial relationships with the public. Typically, Public Relations careers require skills in oral and written communication; understanding of the mass media; ability to understand audiences; knowledge of strategic and crisis planning, and other skills. Students majoring in Public Relations will meet professionals in the classroom, as well as the workplace. Non-majors will benefit by acquiring and honing communications skills crucial for the workplace in nearly any field.

There are three options for Public Relations majors: The Basic Public Relations track allows students advanced opportunities to develop their readiness for the Public Relations workplace. Students interested in the Sports Communication emphasis will receive a basic framework of Public Relations knowledge, with additional classes focusing on understanding work in various sports organizations and environments. Students interested in the Marketing Communications emphasis would major in Public Relations, with an emphasis in Marketing Communications. The fields of Marketing and Public Relations, while fundamentally different from each other, require some of the same skills and knowledge areas from the other. Students in this emphasis area would take marketing and business courses to help prepare them for their careers. All students are expected to complete a Public Relations internship.