Academic Programs Catalog

College of Communication Arts and Sciences

Department of Advertising and Public Relations

Undergraduate Program
Minor in Public Relations

The Minor in Public Relations, which is administered by the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, within the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, is available as an elective to students who are enrolled in any bachelor's degree program at Michigan State University. With the approval of the department that administers the student’s degree program, courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for the minor may also be used to satisfy the requirements for the bachelor’s degree.

The minor is designed to provide an understanding of the role of public relations in contemporary society, along with knowledge and experience in developing public relations materials for use in corporate, governmental, and nonprofit organizational settings. Areas of focus include public relations and society, writing for traditional media and social media, public relations techniques, research methods, public relations campaigns and cases, public relations strategies, portfolio development, and public relations ethics.

Students are eligible to apply for the minor if they: 

  1. are of sophomore standing or higher;
  2.  have an overall grade-point average of 3.0; 
  3.  have successfully completed Public Relations 260;
  4.  have successfully completed Public Relations 225 or Journalism 200.

To apply, students must submit an application stating their interest in the minor. Applications are due by the tenth week of the semester. If the number of applicants meeting the basic qualifications exceeds the number of spaces available, selection will include evaluation of an interest statement and academic performance in prerequisite classes. Students will be notified of the decision after the completion of the semester.

Requirements for the Minor in Public Relations

The students must complete the following (14 to 20 credits):
1. All of the following courses (9 or 10 credits):
COM 300 Methods of Communication Inquiry 4
PR 325 Intermediate Social Media and Public Relations Techniques 3
PR 425 Public Relations Strategy and Ethics in a Digital World 3
Students majoring in Journalism should take Statistics and Probability 200 (3 credits) in place of Communication 300.
2. One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
ADV 486 Integrated Campaigns (W) 3
COM 475 Communication Campaign Design and Analysis (W) 4
3. Complete 2 to 6 credits from the following:
ADV 402 Public Relations Topics in Advertising 1
COM 402 Public Relations Topics in Communication 1
JRN 402 Public Relations Topics in Journalism 1