Department Information
The Department of Public Relations provides exemplary leadership, education, and scholarship to advance public relations’ unique role and responsibilities to foster organization-public relationships through effective communication and actions in support of a civil society and democratic ideals.
Website
CONTACT
Email | 352.273.1220 (tel) | 352.273.1227 (fax)
P.O. Box 118400
2085 WEIMER HALL
GAINESVILLE FL 32611-8400
Map
Curriculum
Students who have not been admitted to the College of Journalism and Communications must have a 3.0 overall grade point average to enroll in courses other than PUR 3000. Students minoring in mass communication generally need department approval to register for PUR courses.
Courses
MMC 1009 Introduction to Media and Communications 1 Credit
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Introduces the tools, resources and academic and extra-curricular activities offered by the College of Journalism and Communications. Includes lessons on the history and organization of the college and academic and career preparation.
Prerequisite: 1JM or exploratory major, 2JM, or 3JM classification, or instructor approval.
MMC 2121 Writing Fundamentals for Communicators 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
One-third of the course is to ensure students have sufficient skill in grammar and punctuation to write with clarity. In two-thirds of the course, students put principles of good writing into practice with short writing assignments that have real-world applications.
MMC 3030 Personal Branding for Communicators 1 Credit
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Professional development course that stresses how to communicate and connect as professionals. Emphasizes mastery of writing, speaking, presentation and employment-seeking skills, working with media, handling media interviews and using social media to establish a professional identity.
Prerequisite: Journalism and Communications major of junior standing or higher.
MMC 3203 Ethics and Problems in Mass Communications 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
A cross-disciplinary introduction to ethics-relevant situations faced by media professionals. Topics include professional standards of conduct, audience representation and engagement and issues associated with the production, presentation and delivery of messages that reflect the best interests of audiences, clients and stakeholders.
Prerequisite: Journalism and Communications major of sophomore standing or higher and (ADV 3008 or MMC 1009 or MMC 2604 or PUR 3000 or RTV 3001 with minimum grade of C).
MMC 3254 Media Entrepreneurship 1 Credit
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Introduces media entrepreneurship with a focus on how digital technologies are transforming industries. Work in teams to develop new digital media businesses. Develop and pitch ideas, explore market analysis, develop business and financial plans, and study social media strategies.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher.
MMC 3420 Consumer and Audience Analytics 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Provides practical analytical skill-sets, benefiting those who plan careers in analytics/research, social media, media business, advertising/marketing, and public relations.
Prerequisite: junior standing or higher.
PUR 3000 Principles of Public Relations 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Nature and role of public relations in a democratic society, activities of public relations professionals, major influences that affect organizational behavior, and ethics and professional development of practitioners in the private and public sectors. Emphasizes management functions and developing effective public relations strategies.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher.
PUR 3463 Sports Communication 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Instruction, analysis, and training in the principles and practice of public relations in sports organizations. Emphasizes media relations and skills essential for sports communication professionals, including handling media interactions across platforms, problems, crises, and integration of positive communications strategies with strategic goals of sports organizations.
Prerequisite: Junior standing.
PUR 3500 Public Relations Research 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Using principles of scientific research to establish, monitor and evaluate communications programs: research planning, theory, design - sampling, surveys, experiments, focus groups, content analysis and participant observation; qualitative and statistical analysis and reporting of research with advanced technologies.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000 with minimum grade of C, statistics with minimum grade of C and junior standing.
PUR 3622 Social Media Management 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Social media management explores the use of the internet to build connections, market businesses, and engage audiences. With billions of people connected online, businesses are constantly cultivating new ways to join the online conversation. Highlights the various platforms and best techniques used in social media.
Prerequisite: junior standing or higher.
PUR 3801 Public Relations Strategy 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Develops skills in strategic public relations management based on an analysis of current and historical case studies.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000 and PUR 3500 with minimum grades of C.
PUR 4100 Public Relations Writing 4 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Prepares students to meet the demands of the marketplace for persuasive, professional public relations writing skills.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000 and JOU 3101 and ENC 3252 with minimum grades of C.
PUR 4103 Public Relations Visual Communication 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Preparation of visual communications generally produced by public relations departments. Emphasizes printed publications for internal and external audiences. Diversity of publics is emphasized. Includes management's viewpoint on, reasons for and state-of-the-art of publications.
PUR 4203 Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Public Relations 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Ethical responsibilities of the public relations professional: identifying the moral dimensions of issues that arise in the practice of public relations, increasing the ability to employ reason as a tool for dealing with moral issues, providing knowledge and skills necessary to reach and justify ethical decisions, and eliciting a sense of personal and professional responsibility.
Prerequisite: PUR 3500 and PUR 3000 with minimum grades of C.
PUR 4400C Crisis Communications 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Crisis Communications focuses on key elements of crisis and issues management ? before, during and after a crisis. In an age when a company?s every move is subject to instant, vivid, unfiltered, and global scrutiny and attack, the need for effective, proactive crisis management is greater than ever.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000 with a minimum grade of C.
PUR 4404C International Public Relations 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Analyzes the impact of international activities on the public relations function.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000.
PUR 4410 Principles of Fund Raising 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Fund raising: the high demand, low supply occupation unique to the charitable nonprofit subsector.
PUR 4442 Public Interest Communications 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Delves into strategies to drive social change, strategic planning process for social change communications campaigns, and tools and tactics that make these campaigns effective. Gain insight to the richness of the field and the power that communications has to address problems and profoundly affect peoples lives.
Prerequisite: junior standing or higher.
PUR 4443 Global Social Change Communication 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Explains core elements of strategic communications to support global social change through case studies and the application of theory. Taught from the practitioner's perspective, extensive real-life examples provide an opportunity to learn the critical functions of effective communications.
PUR 4800 Public Relations Campaigns 3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Utilizing the principles and techniques of public relations to create comprehensive campaigns for actual clients.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000 and PUR 3500 and PUR 4100 and VIC 3001 and MMC 3203 and MMC 3420 and senior standing.
PUR 4905 Individual Problems 1-3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Students and the instructor choose a problem or project which will give the student experience in his or her major field.
Prerequisite: at least 10 credits of professional courses and department chair approval.
PUR 4912 Public Relations Undergraduate Research 0-3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Provides an opportunity for firsthand, supervised research. Mentored but self-directed work that enables individuals or a small group to explore an issue of interest and to communicate their results to others.
PUR 4932 Special Study 1-3 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Variable content provides opportunity for advanced study in the principles, processes and effects of public relations.
Prerequisite: PUR 3000.
PUR 4940 Public Relations Internship 1-3 Credits
Grading Scheme: S/U
Student and instructor will select an appropriate work area in public relations for on-the-job training. Student will work a minimum of 100 hours per semester for 1 credit; 200 hours per semester for 2 credits; 300 hours per semester for 3 credits. Progress reports and summary are required. (S-U)
Prerequisite: JOU 3101 with a C or better, and PUR 3000 with a C or better, and PUR 3500 with a C or better, and a 2.5 GPA, and Department Approval.
VIC 3001 Sight, Sound and Motion 4 Credits
Grading Scheme: Letter Grade
Visual literacy is a prerequisite for success in most areas of mass communication. Teaches fundamentals of design across print, web, and multimedia platforms. Also emphasizes how visual forms convey messages to readers.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or higher.