Public Relations and Advertising, B.A.

Students must complete the Oakland University General Education Requirements, General College of Arts and Sciences requirements , College of Arts and Sciences Exploratory requirement , Major Requirements, and an appropriate number of free elective classes to meet the overall credit requirement for the degree (in most cases a minimum of 124; some degrees may require a greater number).

As a general rule, no more than eight credits of coursework used to satisfy one major, minor or concentration may be applied toward another, but exceptions to this rule may be allowed with the written approval of the program coordinators.

Schedule of Classes

Specific offerings for each semester may be found in the Schedule of Classes.

General Education Requirements

In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their general education courses.

Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundations, Explorations, and Integration. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the catalog.

Requirements for the liberal arts major in public relations and advertising, B.A.

The B.A. curriculum in public relations and advertising prepares students for careers in public relations, advertising, media planning and strategic consulting, or for graduate studies in related fields. Through practical application and rigorous coursework in theory and applied methods, students learn to analyze and interpret public opinion, create successful campaigns, engage critical problem solving, and building meaningful relationships.

The public relations and advertising major requires a minimum of 44 credits (11 courses), of which 20 credits must be at the 3000 level or above. The requirements are distributed as follows:

Required core courses (minimum grade of a (C) is required)

Theory courses - choose one (minimum grade of a (C) is required)

COM 3000 - Relational Communication Theory (4)
COM 3002 - Cultural Theory in Communication (4)
COM 3200 - Persuasion (4)
JMS 3003 - Media Theory (4)

One Capstone course related to the major - choose one (minimum grade of a (C) is required)

COM 4950 - Internship (4)
COM 4970 - Communication Capstone (4)

PR/Advertising Elective Courses - choose three

COM 4404 - Crisis Communication (4)
PR 2400 - Introduction to Advertising (4) (may count as an elective or a required course but not both)
PR 2500 - Introduction to Public Relations (4) (may count as an elective or a required course but not both)
PR 3400 - Case Studies in Public Relations (4)
PR 3410 - Advertising Agency Workshop (4)
PR 3420 - Advertising Creative Strategy (4)
PR 3440 - Advertising Copywriting (4)
PR 3510 - Public Relations and Advertising Campaigns (4)
PR 3520 - Internal Public Relations (4)
PR 3540 - Social Media in Public Relations (4)
PR 4900 - Special Topics in Public Relations and Advertising (4) (if appropriate; requires department approval.)

Elective Courses - choose two

COM 2403 - Group Dynamics and Communication (4)
COM 3000 - Relational Communication Theory (4) (may count as an elective or a theory course but not both)
COM 3002 - Cultural Theory in Communication (4) (may count as an elective or a theory course but not both)
COM 3200 - Persuasion (4) (may count as an elective or a theory course but not both)
COM 3300 - Communication, Culture, and Belonging (4) *
COM 3401 - Communication in Organizations (4)
COM 3402 - Communication in Leadership (4)
COM 4402 - Health Communication (4)
COM 4414 - Health Communication and Close Relationships (4)
JMS 2000 - Introduction to Journalism (4)
JMS 2600 - Media and Social Identity (4) *
JMS 2656 - Introduction to Digital Media Production (4)
JMS 3000 - News Writing and Editing (4)
JMS 3003 - Media Theory (4) (may count as an elective or theory course but not both)
JMS 3120 - Feature Writing (4)
JMS 3290 - Media Storytelling for Social Justice (4) *
JMS 3350 - Video Storytelling (4)
JMS 3602 - Television Studies in the Streaming Age (4)
JMS 3603 - Popular Music Studies (4)
JMS 3606 - Media, Gender and Sexuality (4) *
JMS 3607 - Rise of Electronic Media (4)
JMS 4100 - Multimedia Journalism (4)
JMS 4200 - Media Design (4)
JMS 4900 - Special Topics in Journalism (4)

Note

Courses count as either a core or an elective course and may not be double counted. Students must take one department approved diversity equity, and inclusion (DEI) course. *Approved DEI courses have an asterisk.