Now in its 3rd year, the PRNEWS Education A-List has doubled in size, totaling 50 public and private institutions. The 2023 list features schools training future PR pros and marketers and enhancing knowledge of practitioners already in the field.
The schools, colleges and universities listed award certificates, Bachelors, Masters and PhDs. In addition, many offer classes in person, asynchronously and online.
Nearly all tout internships or other experiential learning opportunities, whether in social media labs or student-staffed PR firms and consultancies. Several offer study abroad programs, some with opportunities for internships.
Moreover, that so many programs emphasize data-driven decision making, research methods and analytics is encouraging. It's clear that I went into PR to avoid working with numbers has lost credence at institutions on the 2023 list.
Also refreshing is the number of institutions revising course syllabi and curricula, as well as adding electives. Offerings in health communication, crisis PR, digital analytics, strategic communication, technology certification and sports and fashion PR were noticeable.
On top of that, we detect a rise in joint programs with business schools, a renewed emphasis on writing, DEI content and strategic thinking.
Considering the spotlight on communication, it's not coincidental that PR is among the most popular majors at the 255 U.S. colleges and universities that offer it. Indeed, institutions awarded some 21,000 undergraduate PR degrees last year.
It is our goal that prospective PR pros and those seeking additional training will find this list valuable.
Schools are listed alphabetically.