Home   >  Programs   >  Public Relations Major
Two Public Relations Majors wearing Drake sweatshirts smile as they casually venture through campus

Public Relations Major

Everybody has a story. In Drake’s Public Relations major, you’ll learn how to help clients shape their own and share it strategically.

School of Journalism & Mass Communication | On-Campus

Loading...

What You'll Learn

Public relations experts are problem solvers. Whether to draw attention to a new product or initiative, inform an audience about a message, or defuse a crisis, their job is to make it happen. As a Public Relations major at Drake University, you’ll learn how to build trust with your audience, shape your client’s reputation, and connect with the world.

For corporate communications, event planning, fundraising, speechwriting, investor relations, and similar roles, you’ll develop strategic thinking skills, a global perspective, and an ethical framework that will enable you to quickly advance into leadership.

The best way to embark on this path is through practice, which the program embeds into the curriculum. On top of internships, campus publications, and professional student groups, you’ll work with real-world clients in five of six public relations classes, putting your research, planning, and communication skills to the test.

About the Public Relations Major at Drake

  • Follow in the footsteps of award-winning students who go on to careers around the world.
  • Jump-start your career with internships in Des Moines and some of the nation’s biggest media markets.
  • You’ll focus on a single client during a year-long Senior Capstone project.
  • Double majors welcome: become even more marketable with a degree in political science, business, marketing, history, psychology, or sociology.
  • One of only 50 programs worldwide to earn the Certification in Education for Public Relations.
  • The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Program Facts

  • 120 total credits; 78 credits for the major
  • On campus with a few courses offered online
  • Full time or part time
  • Four years to completion; accelerated option available

Program Options

Drake’s Public Relations program is one of the world’s best—a status we’ve earned by providing individual mentorship, expert-guided instruction, and real-world experiential opportunities that lead to meaningful careers.

B.A.J.M.C. in Public Relations

In addition to core classes covering topics such as communications law and ethics, reporting and writing, and digital media strategy, you’ll study every angle of the PR business, from economics and psychology to writing, research, management, and planning.

Open JMC Major

Explore everything the School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers and then choose your path. Take your first two years to sample electives in advertising, public relations, sports media and communication, magazine and brand media, and digital media production.

Meet the Faculty

Drake’s Public Relations faculty are more than skilled educators: they’re adept practitioners, with years of experience working with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, and other clients seeking to build strong bonds with their respective audiences.

Eric Kwame Adae

Eric Kwame Adae

Assistant Professor, Public Relations

Jennifer Glover Konfrst

Jennifer Glover Konfrst

Associate Professor, Public Relations

Mu He

Mu He

Assistant Professor, Public Relations

Kelly Bruhn, APR, Fellow PRSA

Kelly Bruhn, APR, Fellow PRSA

Associate Dean; Professor, Public Relations

All Faculty Members

What You'll Do

PR is about connecting with people. At Drake, we think that developing campaigns and orchestrating promotional efforts is the best way to do that. You’ll begin in the classroom before getting additional practice on campus and in the greater Des Moines community.

A Drake Public Relations student presents the solution their team drew up for a real-world client while standing in front of a screen with a slide presentation

Work With Real-World Clients

You’ll work with actual clients in five of your six PR classes. You’ll design and pitch PR plans and develop strategies based on research meant to solve real problems and support the community around you.

A Public Relations student runs a podcast, using a microphone and laptop in one of Drake's media labs

Student Media

Sharpen your storytelling talents while working as a writer, editor, photographer, videographer, or designer for our award-winning student media outlets, such as The Times-Delphic and Drake Mag.

Two Drake Public Relations Majors assist with cleanup and planting efforts outdoors for a local non-profit client

Campaign for a Local Non-profit Client

During your senior year, you'll collaborate with other PR majors to create a comprehensive strategic communications campaign for a local nonprofit client, developing a powerful piece for your professional portfolio in the process.

Drake Public Relations students use laptops around a table to research internships

Internships

SJMC’s internship coordinator can help you find an internship that meets your professional goals. Drake PR students have worked at organizations including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Edelman, Childserve, Mayo Clinic, and Bank of America.

A group of Public Relations students hold a club meeting around a wooden table, laptops open and whiteboard behind

Student Organizations

Join the Public Relations Student Society of America to build your network and polish your professional skills, go on the air for the Drake Broadcasting System, or create communications for Drake Athletics or University Communications and Marketing.

A Drake journalism student goes through a walk through campus, passing by the corner of a black building with large windows

Scholarships

Entering first-year students are eligible for several journalism and mass communication awards, including the Katherine Futch Scholarship and the SJMC Dean Team.

Experiential Learning

Careers & Skills

Organizations of every size, in every industry, need public relations—and you’ll find graduates of Drake’s PR program working for large corporations, small businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and PR and marketing agencies. As a PR expert, you can fill many roles, including organizing special events, fundraising, speechwriting, investor relations, and crisis communications. At Drake, you’ll have the chance to examine each of those possibilities and build a course of study that leads to the result you want.

Employers

  • Disney Cruise Lines
  • Crocs
  • Wells Fargo
  • Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield
  • Weber Shandwick
  • Science Center of Iowa
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness

Skills

  • Strategic planning and issues management
  • Public relations research
  • Public relations campaign management and strategy
  • Writing for print, broadcast, social media, and internal communication channels
  • Visual communication
A Drake Public Relations Major smiles during a meeting with a career advisor in a well-lit office

Salary & Growth Outlook

$

Median salary for public relations specialists in 2024. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

“I’m forever thankful for Drake SJMC’s push for students to get out in the field so early. It seems daunting at first to put yourself out there with no experience, but the professors are endlessly encouraging and helped me with mock interview practices and countless resume and cover letter revisions.”
Ellie Detweiler, JO’20

Related Programs

As a public relations expert, you’ll connect with different audiences effectively. Some students find their PR skills also translate well to a career in advertising, the political arena, or as a journalist telling important stories.

Advertising, BAJMC

Blends creativity and strategy to teach campaign development, media planning, and digital content creation for careers in advertising and marketing.

Strategic Political Communication, BAJMC

Want to influence public opinion? Learn from people who do it every day. Drake’s Strategic Political Communication program is at the heart of the political world.

Multimedia Journalism, BAJMC

Learn to report, tell, and produce stories for traditional and digital media platforms in a major that prepares you to become an effective journalist.

Take the Next Step

As a PR professional, you’ll control the narrative. At Drake, you’ll get the skills to write your own.

Request Info Visit Apply
Two Drake Public Relations students focus on a project on a shared laptop