Deakin University of Australia

About Deakin University
Established in the 1970s as one of the new generation of Australian universities, Deakin combines a university's traditional focus on excellent teaching and research with a desire to seek new ways of developing and delivering courses.
Deakin has recieved nine Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in the 2007 Carrick Awards (now the Australian Learning and Teaching Council awards).


Course structure for a focus in Communication and Media
Students complete 24 credit points of study which comprises a major sequence
of 8 credit points in Professional and Creative Writing and a sub-major of 4 credit
points in Anthropology, Australian Studies, Film Studies, History, International
Relations, Journalism, Language and Culture Studies, Literary Studies, Philosophy,
Public Relations, Politics and Policy Studies or Sociology. The remaining 12 credit
points enable students to make unusual study combinations with the freedom
to choose from a wide range of electives and major sequences. This flexibility
ensured depth in promotional and creative writing – essential for developing
writers.

For those concentrating in Public Relations
This course is accredited by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA),
granting graduates automatic eligibility for membership. You will have the
opportunity to establish links with professionals in industry through the
PRIA Young Practitioners’ program.

The course has a strong industry work experience component, enabling you
to gain valuable skills and experience within a public relations organisation in
Australia.



‘The lecturers have all been heavily involved in the
industry and were able to give a real perspective of
what kind of environment we would be working in’.
Caitlin Stonehouse
Bachelor of Arts (Public Relations), graduated 2007
Research Communications and Partnerships Officer,
Heart Foundation

Information found at http://www.deakin.edu.au/

IULM University of Languages and Communication

Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (IULM) was the first university in Italy to formally offer undergraduate courses in public relations. Around 40,000 students now take public relations as either part of their major or as an elective. There is confusion in Italy over the function of public relations, especially the disciplines of public relations. IULM wants to explore the confusions in public relations and come up with a mutual understanding over the functions of PR. 

The website highlights the education levels of students taking public relations courses. "The levels of education for those working in public relations include 23.2 percent with a high school degree, 56.3 percent with a bachelor’s degree and 20.4 percent with a master’s degree."(http://www.prssa.org/prsic/italy.aspx) Clearly more students work in public relations with a bachelor's degree but there are less working with a masters degree, mainly because there are limited programs available for a masters degree in public relations. 

IULM offers an exchange student program, however all courses are taught in Italian. 

All information was adapted from http://www.iulm.it/?idPage=960

University of Texas travels to Ireland

After sending out emails to many public relations professionals around the world, I received very little information back. Making phone calls and sending more emails didn't seem to work, so now we need to work with the information we can find.

I found a great study abroad program from the University of Texas: Austin to University College Dublin. This is solely a public relations study abroad opportunity. The website for this opportunity is as follows: http://communication.utexas.edu/students/international/ip-maymester.html 

Students have the opportunity to study in Ireland during a summer session. They will enroll in two courses that are equivalent to courses offered at the University of Texas. Students will stay in the dorms to gain a better perspective on international education. 

This is a great opportunity to study abroad in Ireland for undergraduate students. I have done a lot of researching and this is one of the study abroad programs that really stood out!

University of Leicester

"Elite without being Elitist" stated the Times Higher Education Winners Brochure when discussin the University of Leicester when it named the University THE University of the Year in 2008.

Although the University does not have a specific degree in Public Relations, the Department of Media and Communication offers an extensive list of communication and media classes. The University website states that "Graduates from a degree such as this tend to find employment in the communication mix in the widest sense, that is, in all areas from public relations and advertising, through to media production itself". This is much like the program offered here at James Madison: a student takes many communication courses with only a few specialized Public Relations Courses, and from graduation they can go into a wide variety of fields.

In order to be accepted to the program, a student must apply and be offered a position, but once accepted, students learn about the changing nature of communications and the impact of media on individual and societies (locally, regionally, and globally). Students leave the program with a broad social and scientific understanding of the roles media and communications play in Britain and around the world. The program lasts three years with 6 modules (courses) per year. In their final year, students are required to complete a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation within the field of media and communications.

http://www2.le.ac.uk/

TEI of Western Macedonia

TEI of Western Macedonia began their Department of Public Relations and Communication at their Kastoria campus in 1999, making it the first program of it's kind in the Greek Higher Education System. The four year program emphasizes practical and specialized knowledge of the PR and communication fields.

Students at TEI take many communication-based courses, much as they do here at James Madison; however they do have a wider selection of PR classes than they do here, and they go into more depth in certain areas (such as Principles of Marketing, and International Communication and Public Relations).

Students are also required to do Practical Training during their 8th semester in the program, where they work 5 days a week for 6 months in the PR field before they can receive their degree. During this time they can implement the skills and knowledge they acquired in their coursework. They then give a dissertation about their experiences before graduation.

The department takes part in the European project Erasmus and is a member of Euprera (the European Public Relations and Education and Research Association). The department also organizes conferences and symposia which helps it's students make contact with professionals and provides information for it's students and the academic community.


http://kastoria.teikoz.gr/pr/html_eng/index.php

University of Westminster

The University of Westminster allows you "a chance to specialise in public relations while studying in London, the hub of Europe's PR industry". The university offers both a BA and a MA in public relations, within their school of Media, Arts, and Design, much as James Madison offers a Public Relations Concentration within their Communication Studies program. The courses at Westminster include intensive training by active PR practitioners. Students gain a good understanding of the media in general, and journalism specifically, while studying journalist techniques and media theories from the perspective of the Public Relations Industry.

During the three year BA program, students gain concrete skills, from running a press conference, to constructing websites and written work, to developing and running PR campaigns. These skills are very similar to the skills stressed in the public relations program here at James Madison: we take several public relations- specific writing courses as well as designing and analyzing public relations campaigns in our senior-year capstone course.




Information:
http://www.westminster.ac.uk/schools/media/public-relations/ba-public-relations

Images:
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-http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://internationalvuedu.easycgi.com/international/opea/library/infophotos/westminster- Uni.jpg&imgrefurl=http://internationalvuedu.easycgi.com/international/opea/OPEA_Exchange_Info.asp%3FID%3D231&usg=__GoI7rWuslR9_AExTr06fs_R4CQQ=&h=317&w=399&sz=152&hl=en&start=1&sig2=iZH2ediACPOewTtTTqucew&tbnid=gvdQh5U5FFFSGM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duniversity%2Bof%2Bwestminster%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den&ei=n5PoSpy3KZHIMZnfzfYH

First Response

 I posed a few questions to the graduate program at NYU. I asked the graduate admission counselor a few questions about the Master's program in Public Relations and Corporate Communication. Their master's program offers a wide variety of classes as well as a Capstone project, which students can focus on international public relations. Ms. Schlam wrote me back with some useful information.

 "The M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication has some classes that deal with international issues, and some students complete their internship at corporations that deal with international issues. We do not have the option for graduate students to study internationally at this point. All classes are completed on site in New York City. Students who are full-time complete the degree in 1 ½ - 2 years. Part-time study can range from 2-5 years. As a graduate student you are eligible to partake in research with faculty members. The Capstone project acts as a thesis or senior presentation to conclude your degree."

Emily Schlam

Graduate Admission Counselor

New York University

School of Continuing and Professional Studies