Curriculum
Several blocks of courses are offered in the Public Relations curriculum, including the General Education courses, those needed for the Basic Distribution and preprofessional areas, those for the Quantitative option or Foreign Language option and those for the Outside Concentration, and those within Blocks 1-2 of the major. The student must complete all of the required courses for the major plus 6 hours in professional electives. Up to 44 hours of Advertising, Telecommunication, Journalism, Mass Communication and Public Relations courses may be applied toward the 124 required for graduation. A minimum of 90 hours of non-College of Journalism and Communications hours must be completed for the B.S. degree.
| Block 1: Required Core Courses | Credits | ||
| JOU 3101* | Reporting | 3 | |
| MMC 4200 | Law of Mass Communication | 3 | |
| PUR 3000* | Principles of Public Relations | 3 | |
| PUR 3500* | Public Relations Research | 3 | |
| PUR 3801 | Public Relations Strategy | 3 | |
| PUR 4800 | Public Relations Campaigns | 3 | |
| PUR 4100* | Public Relations Writing | 3 | |
| PUR 4103 | Public Relations Visual Communications | 3 | |
| STA 2023 | Intro to Statistics I | 3 | |
| -or- | |||
| STA 2122 | Statistics for the Social Sciences | 3 | |
| Total | 27 | ||
* Only a grade of C or higher is acceptable for the major.
Block 2:
A minimum of nine hours must be taken from a list of 16 professional electives.
Course choices include international public relations, public relations
ethics and an internship.
Technical Communications Specialization
This curriculum trains technical communications specialists. Students must take a core of
journalism and other courses and select with the adviser at least 21 semester hours of
technical courses outside the College.
Degree Requirements
You must meet the established degree requirements for the University
of Florida and the College of Journalism and Communication. Specific requirements
(minimum grades, prerequisites) are indicated in the University Catalog.
You must meet the degree requirements of the Catalog in effect when you
began your college program or the requirements of a subsequent catalog.
You must be a "continuous" student to use an older catalog. Continuous
means being a student at least one full semester a year.
"Gatekeeper" Courses
Students who are not classified 3JM or 4JM must have a 2.7 or higher
overall GPA to take all courses in this college with these exceptions:
MMC 2100, RTV 2100, RTV 3007, ADV 3008, and PUR 3000.
Concentration Requirements
The Department specifies that you complete 12 hours in one department outside
of this College (with 9 of those hours at the 3000- or 4000-level unless they
are prerequisites of same) or a Department-approved area concentration. Students
are reminded they may elect to complete a minor rather than an outside concentration.
Recommended Schedule
A recommended schedule for the Public Relations major in the form
of a SASS Audit is included in the following pages. It's an ideal schedule
that doesn't take into account vagaries and the inevitable changes in
courses and curriculum. Consider it a guide. In most instances, courses
can be moved ahead or behind one semester -- but please watch your prerequisites.
Internships
Internships are not required for the major in Public Relations, but
they ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
If you've completed a minimum of 10 hours (usually MMC 2100, PUR 3000 and two other courses in the College) you may apply for an internship. You should consult the internship coordinator for the semester in which the work is to be taken. That person will have on file a listing of internship opportunities. You are urged to interview for positions which interest you.
If you are enrolled for a part-time internship (usually in the Gainesville area) you receive one hour credit for 10 hours of on-the-job work per week (150 total hours). You get two credits for 20 hours (300 total hours), three credits for 30 hours or more of work per week (450 total hours).
Check with your adviser for advice on the particular type of internship experience that will be most beneficial to you.
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