Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Public Relations Specialists
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Western Governors University, Utah Valley State, Dixie State, and Salt Lake Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider University of Utah, Southern Utah University, Westminster College, and Brigham Young.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Westminster College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Western Governors University, Brigham Young, Westminster College, and College of Eastern Utah.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of College of Eastern Utah, Westminster College, University of Utah, and Brigham Young.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Brigham Young, Westminster College, and University of Utah.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Western Governors University.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Westminster College, College of Eastern Utah, University of Utah, and Snow College.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
Brigham Young University • Provo, UT
Studying Communications, Public Relations Emphasis (completion in 2006)
• 1/20/2012
"I have enjoyed a very successful career thus far and credit my BYU education for providing the right preparation. I have always felt confident in my work as a result of that education. I'm grateful that I had such a wonderful learning environment."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend the public relations program at BYU to anyone and everyone pursuing a career in this field. I enjoyed all my classes, was never afraid to approach my professors and felt well-prepared for my career. The learning atmosphere was incredible. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | I have received nothing but positive feedback from potential employers when they learn I graduated from BYU. In my experience, BYU as a whole has a reputation for producing well-trained, capable, and hard-working individuals, and the PR program is no different. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I greatly enjoyed the public relations program at BYU and felt it gave me the necessary training and education to be successful. All of my professors had real-world experience, which was important to me, and the classes provided a good mix of hands-on learning and textbook instruction. I have had no problems securing employment. |
| Instruction | 8 | I would say the quality of instruction was very high overall, but nothing compares to on-the-job experience. I appreciated the wide variety of hands-on learning opportunities we had, including case studies, graphic design projects and several actual clients we got to work with and produce campaigns for. My program also required an internship, which was crucial in my career preparation. |
| How Difficult | 8 | BYU is typically known as a challenging institution, so the program was difficult compared to most others I have heard about. However, I never struggled in any of my classes and grasped the concepts easily. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I would say BYU leaned more toward hands-on learning, which I enjoyed a lot. Most of my classes dealt with actual PR cases or clients and required us to produce solutions/campaigns/etc., instead of just reading from textbooks. This really helped prepare me for the real world of public relations. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | This is one of the best things I found about BYU. I loved attending spring and/or summer terms, which offered more casual settings and interactions. I also took advantage of online classes to be able to take more public relations electives that interested me. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | BYU is state-of-the-art. The library is very large and situated in the middle of campus. Computer labs are located all over campus and have support people available to help. The PR program had just relocated to a new building when I started so all of our classrooms and lab spaces were more than adequate. In addition to professors' office hours, teaching assistants were available for each class and helped tremendously with any questions. I found my professors to be very approachable and genuinely interested in my progress. |
| Social Life | 10 | I loved being at BYU as an undergraduate student and I enjoyed many social opportunities. I got involved in athletics early on, which eventually led to my choice of sports media relations. I also met and married my husband there! There is always something happening on campus, from sporting events to concerts to game nights and more. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I have not had very much official interaction with my school's job placement or career services departments. However, after I graduated, I was immediately hired by the company I interned for and I obtained my current position through an alumnus of my program. So my connections to BYU have helped in my employment searches. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I have not had much interaction with the alumni network of my school other than requests for donations. However, I plan to be more involved when I have more time and have donated back to my school. |
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