This is an archived copy of the 2014-16 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Bachelor of Science in Public Relations

To be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Public Relations, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework and must fulfill the University's General Requirements for graduation and the Core Curriculum  requirements, the college graduation requirements given in Special Requirements of the College , and the requirements given in Special Requirements, Prescribed Work, and Major Requirements below.

Areas of Study (optional)

Texas Media Program

This program is designed to help students develop the characteristics that define success in advertising media planning, buying, sales, new media development, and metrics. Because advertising media is a broad and quickly evolving industry, the program offers a variety of courses, allowing students to focus their training and allowing the program itself to adapt to industry developments.

Students who complete Advertising 345J with a grade of at least B may apply for admission to the Texas Media program. Applications are distributed during the last week of classes. Admission decisions are made at the end of the semester and students admitted to the program are notified by a Secure Academic Note prior to the next add/drop registration period. Those who are not admitted may apply again the following semester, but students may apply only twice.

All Texas Media students must complete Advertising 377 (Topic 1: Advanced Media Strategies), Advertising 377 (Topic 3: Digital Media), and Advertising 377M (Topic 7: Media Negotiation). In addition, Texas Media students may choose to take at least one additional media upper-division course, which can be counted as an advertising elective. Advertising 377 or 377M may be taken concurrently if all prerequisites are met. Most students complete the program in two semesters.

Texas Sports and Entertainment Program

This program is designed to give students the knowledge to develop decisions in sports communication. The program complements the student’s education by developing their proficiency and knowledge in this area of specialization. Students must complete Public Relations 305S, 348S, and at least one other Advertising 378S or Public Relations 378S topic.

The Consent Procedure

Part of the prerequisite for some advertising and public relations courses is consent of the instructor received prior to registering. To be able to register for such a course, a student must first ask for and receive the instructor’s consent. The student may be invited to an interview with the instructor or may be asked to provide supporting materials, such as an application or an essay. The student is responsible for knowing the deadline to apply. Consent forms are available online and in the Department of Advertising.

Special Requirements

To enroll in upper-division public relations courses, a student must have completed Advertising 318J in residence with a grade of at least B and must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 and a grade point average in courses in the Moody College of Communication of at least 2.00. Students who do not fulfill these requirements will be dropped from upper-division public relations courses, normally before the twelfth class day. The grade point average requirement is waived for the transfer student during the first semester of coursework, while he or she is establishing a University grade point average. Students may enroll in Advertising 318J no more than twice.

In addition, a student with a major in public relations must have a grade of at least C in each course taken in the Moody College of Communication that is counted toward the degree and a grade of at least C in each course counted toward the major requirements; if the course is offered on the pass/fail basis only, the student must have the symbol CR.

Core Curriculum

All students must complete the University’s Core Curriculum  as well as the requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Public Relations (BSPR) listed below under Prescribed Work. In some cases, a course required for the BSPR may also be counted toward the core curriculum; these courses are identified below.

Prescribed Work*

  1. Rhetoric and Writing 309K, 309S, or 310.
     
  2. Three courses with a writing flag;one course with a quantitative reasoning flag; one course with a global cultures flag; one course with a cultural diversity in the United States flag; one course with an ethics and leadership flag; and one course with an independent inquiry flag. The same course cannot be used to satisfy the global cultures and cultural diversity flags even if the course carries both flags. Courses that fulfill flag requirements are identified in the Course Schedule. They may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements.
     
  3. Three semester hours of coursework in the Moody College of Communication dealing with the study of communication issues concerning at least one minority or nondominant group within the United States. Courses that fulfill this requirement may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements. A partial list of these communication and culture courses is given in the Communication and Culture Requirement section under the Moody College of Communication's Degrees and Programs section; a complete list is available in the college’s Student Advising Office before registration for each semester and summer session. The courses are also identified in the Course Schedule .
     
  4. Students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a single foreign language. Courses taken to meet this requirement may not be taken on the pass/fail basis. Credit may be earned by examination for any part of a foreign language sequence.

    An extensive foreign language testing program is available at the University. Students with knowledge of a language are encouraged to take appropriate tests both to earn as much credit as possible and to be placed at the proper level for further study. Students should consult with an academic adviser for information on testing.

  5. Statistics and Data Sciences 306, completed in residence. This course also meets the core curriculum mathematics requirement.
     
  6. Twelve semester hours of coursework in business, preferably three hours in marketing, three hours in management, three hours in accounting, and three hours in either legal environment of business or finance. At least six of the twelve hours must be in upper-division coursework. Marketing 338 may not be counted toward this requirement.
     
  7. At least thirty-six semester hours of upper-division coursework.
     
  8. No more than twelve semester hours of transfer credit may be counted toward the major requirements given below.
     
  9. Enough additional coursework to make a total of 120 semester hours. No more than thirty-six semester hours in one field of study may be counted toward the degree.

Major Requirements

  1. At least thirty-six but no more than forty-two semester hours of coursework, of which at least twenty-four hours must be upper-division. The following courses are required:
    1. Advertising 318J, 344K, 345J, Public Relations 317,  348, 350, 352, 353, 367, and 377K. The student must take Advertising 318J, Public Relations 367 and 377K in residence; Advertising 318J must be completed with a grade of at least B.
    2. Six additional hours in public relations or advertising.
  2. At least six semester hours of coursework must be taken in the College of Communication but outside advertising and public relations. No student may count toward the degree more than forty-eight hours (including transfer credit) in College of Communication coursework.
     
  3. No College of Communication course to be counted toward the degree and no course to be counted toward major requirement 1 above may be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis.

Order and Choice of Work

First Year

  1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester:
    1. Rhetoric and Writing 306.
    2. Courses to be counted toward the American history, American and Texas government, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and science and technology requirements of the core curriculum.
    3. Courses in a foreign language.
    4. Courses that meet flag requirements.
  2. Advertising 318J and Public Relations 317.
  3. Additional coursework to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Courses should be chosen with the guidance of a college adviser.

First-year students may not take two beginning foreign language courses in the same semester. First-year students may not take more than eight semester hours in one department.

Second Year

  1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester; four are recommended:
    1. Rhetoric and Writing 306; English 316L, E 316M, E 316N, or E 316P; and Rhetoric and Writing 309K, 309S, or 310.
    2. Courses to be counted toward the American history, American and Texas government, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and science and technology requirements of the core curriculum.
    3. Courses in the foreign language, unless the language requirement has been fulfilled.
    4. Courses that meet flag requirements.
  2. Statistics and Data Sciences 306
  3. Enough additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student’s course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Basic courses in writing are especially recommended.

Third Year

  1. Any remaining courses in the core curriculum and the prescribed work.
  2. Public Relations 348, Advertising 344K, 345J, Marketing 320F, and additional coursework to fulfill the major requirements.
  3. Upper-division electives chosen to support the major. Public relations majors normally emphasize writing courses, such as those in English, journalism, and liberal arts; public speaking courses, such as those in communication studies; psychology; marketing; and/or management.

Fourth Year

  1. The remaining courses listed as major requirements.
  2. Upper-division electives chosen to support the major.

*Changes pending approval by the University of Texas System