Public Relations Program Requirements

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Rev. 7-19-2011 1

Public Relations Program Requirements

Public relations majors earn a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, Public Relations (BSJ) degree upon successful completion of the program.

To graduate, all School of Journalism (SOJ) majors must complete a minimum of 128 credit hours.

In addition to required SOJ core and public relations program courses, students must take a specified number of courses outside the SOJ. They also are required to complete a minor and fulfill WVU’s General Education Curriculum (GEC) requirements.

Finally, the SOJ’s national accreditation guidelines require that students take a minimum of 80 hours outside the SOJ, 65 of which must be liberal arts courses. Typically, students meet those requirements through the GEC and minor courses but should consult with their academic advisor to insure they are on track to graduate.

Students must complete:

SOJ Core Courses 12 hours

Program Core Courses 18 hours

Minor Requirements 15 hours*

Required Courses Outside the SOJ 34 hours

WVU GEC Requirements 39 hours

General Electives 10 hours*

Total 128 hours

* Credit hours may vary.

Students should refer to the requirements and sample schedule outlined on the following pages, as well as the following on the SOJ website, when planning their course schedule:

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Rev. 7-19-2011 2 SOJ Core Courses (12 hours)

JRL 101. Introduction to Mass Communication. 3 Hr. JRL 215. Media Writing. 3 Hr.

JRL 428. Law of the News Media. 3 Hr. JRL 489. Media Issues and Ethics. 3 Hr.

Program Core Courses (18 hours) PR 215. Intro to Public Relations. 3 Hr. JRL 318. Reporting for Print Media. 3 Hr.

OR PR 493. Multimedia Storytelling. 3 Hr. PR 319. PR Editing and Design. 3 Hr.

OR PR 333. Web Design. 3 Hr. OR JRL 319. Copy Editing. 3 Hr. PR 324. Public Relations Writing. 3 Hr. PR 422. Research and Case Studies. 3 Hr. PR 459. PR Campaigns-Capstone. 3 Hr.

OR PR 458. Public Health Relations. 3 Hr.

Minor Requirements (15 or more hours)

All students are required to complete a minor outside the SOJ. Students may select a minor by referencing the University’s minor catalog. If there is not an established minor in a discipline, a student may choose to complete a second concentration. Students with questions about a second

concentration should contact the SOJ’s Advising Center staff.

Required Courses Outside the SOJ (34 hours) Business:

BUSA 340. Survey of Finance. 3 Hr.

OR ACCT 201. Principles of Accounting. 3 Hr. Foreign Language:

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Rev. 7-19-2011 3 Library Skills:

ULIB 101. Introduction to Library Research. 1 Hr. Political Science:

POLS 102. Introduction to American Government. 3 Hr. POLS 220. State and Local Government. 3 Hr.

Psychology:

PSYC 101. Introduction to Psychology. 3 Hr. History:

HIST 153. Growth of the American Nation since 1865. 3 Hr. Economics:

ECON 201. Principles of Microeconomics. 3 Hr. ECON 202. Principles of Macroeconomics. 3 Hr. English:

Students should consult the list of WVU’s GEC courses on the website for qualifying courses.

Public Speaking:

COMM 103. Presentational Speaking. 3 Hr.

OR SPA 270. Effective Public Speaking. 3 Hr. OR THET 102. Acting. 3 Hr.

OR ENTR 310. Communication/ Law and Ethics. 3 Hr.

WVU GEC Requirements (39 hours)

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Rev. 7-19-2011 4 OBJ 1: Communication

ENGL 101. Composition and Rhetoric. 3 Hr. ENGL 102. Composition and Rhetoric. 3 Hr. OR

ENGL 103. Accelerated Academic Writing. 3 Hr.*

*This course has admissions requirements. Students using ENGL 103 to satisfy OBJ 1 still need to take 128 hours to graduate.

OBJ. 2: Basic Mathematical Skills and Scientific Inquiry LAB SCIENCE. 8 Hr.*

*Students must take eight hours of the same lab science.

MATH. 3 Hr.*

*Students should consult the list of WVU’s GEC courses and confer with their academic advisor.

STAT 111. Understanding Statistics. 3 Hr.*

*Students must take the journalism-specific sections of STAT 111 lecture and lab.

OBJ. 3: The Past and Its Traditions

HIST 152. Growth of the American Nation to 1865. 3 Hr. OBJ. 4: Contemporary Society

*Students should consult the list of WVU’s GEC courses and confer with their academic advisor. Only one course is required to satisfy the objective. However, students still need to take 128 hours to graduate.

OBJ. 5: Artistic Expression

OBJ. 6: The Individual in Society UNIV 101. University Orientation

OR JRL 115. Journalism Orientation. 1 Hr. PHIL 100. Problems of Philosophy. 3 Hr.

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Rev. 7-19-2011 5 OBJ. 7: American Culture

OBJ. 8: Western Culture

JRL 101. Introduction to Mass Communication. 3 Hr. (This course is also an SOJ core requirement).

OBJ. 9: Non-Western Culture

General Electives (10 or more hours):

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Rev. 7-19-2011 6

Public Relations Program Sample Schedule

Public Relations students must take these courses to graduate. Your actual schedule may differ.

1st Semester:

Courses Credits

JQE N/A

Obj. 1 ENGL 101 3

Obj. 6 PHIL 100 OR 130 3

Obj. 2 Lab Science 4

Obj. 5 course from approved list 3 Obj. 6 JRL 115/UNIV 101 (or equiv.) 1

Obj. 8 JRL 101 3

Total Credits 17

2nd Semester:

Obj. 1 ENGL 102 3

Obj. 2 Same Lab Science 4

Obj. 3 HIST 152 3 POLS 102 3 ULIB 101 1 Total Credits 14 3rd Semester: Courses Credits

Obj. 2 MATH 121 (or other math) 3

Foreign Language 3

Obj. 4 course from approved GEC list 3

HIST 153 3

ENGL literature from approved GEC list 3

JRL 215 3

4th Semester:

Obj. 2 STAT 111 (or equiv.) 3

PSYC 101 3

Same Foreign Language 3

PR 215 3

JRL 318 3

Obj. 7 course from approved list 3

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Rev. 7-19-2011 7 5th Semester: Courses Credits ECON 201 3 PR 319 or approved equiv. 3 POLS 220 3 NE/JRL 428 3 Minor/2nd Concentration 3 ACT 201/BUSA 340 3 Total Credits 18 6th Semester: Courses Credits PR 324 3 JRL 489 3 ECON 202 3 Minor 3

COMM 103, SPA 270, THET 102

or ENTR 310 3

7th Semester:

Obj. 9 course from approved GEC list 3