Nov 27, 2024

2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog

2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog This is not the most recent catalog version; be sure you are viewing the appropriate catalog year.

Public Relations Minor

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The public relations minor utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to combine courses from the areas of public relations, communications, journalism, marketing and technology to provide students with a solid foundation and understanding of the necessary tools and skills that are commonly practiced within today’s PR discipline.

Learn

Public Relations Writing
Social Media
Research
Public Relations Principles and Practice
Integrated Campaign Planning through PR, Marketing, Advertising, and Social Media
Ethics Within Public Relations
Crisis Management in Public Relations
Case Studies
Hands-on Applicable Skills Through an Optional Internship Experience

Opportunities

The dynamic field of public relations leverages relationship management principles in order to foster connections between an organization and its specific publics or audiences. Public relations practitioners are highly desired organizational resources, whether in business, education, athletics, health care, government, or human services. Public relations professionals are accomplished problem solvers, conflict managers, writers, speakers, event planners, and media relations experts. Public relations professionals manage the organizational messaging, promotes clarification of decisions, products, and services that contribute to a positive reputation and increased organizational success.

Graduates of the public relations program work in all segments of the field including public relations agencies and firms; corporate communication offices, media relations, event planning, social media, fundraising, and not-for-profit public relations.

Department Information

English Language & Literature | Joseph Csicsila, Ph.D., Department Head | 612 Pray-Harrold, 734.487.4220, jcsicsila@emich.edu

Advisor Information

Lolita Cummings, APR, 603H Pray-Harrold, 734.487.0952, lcummin2@emich.edu

Jamie Ward, Ph.D., 134 Judy Sturgis Hill, 734.487.0970, jward29@emich.edu

Minor Requirements: 24 hours

Required Courses: 18 hours
JRNL 215 - News Writing and Reporting 3 hrs
PURL 201 - Public Relations and Public Responsibility [GEKS] 3 hrs
PURL 221 - Fundamentals of Social Media 3 hrs
PURL 312 - Introduction to Public Relations 3 hrs
PURL 314 - Writing for Public Relations 3 hrs
PURL 333 - Integrated Campaigns 3 hrs
Restricted Electives: 6 hours

Choose six hours from the following
CMT 336 - Electronic Publishing Technology 3 hrs
COMM 350 - Persuasion 3 hrs
COMM 354 - Organizational Communication 3 hrs
COMM 357 - Interviewing as Communication 3 hrs
COMM 359 - Small Group Communication 3 hrs
COMM 370 - Nonprofit Organizational Communication 3 hrs
COMM 475W - Introduction to Communication Research [GEWI] 3 hrs
CTAT 141 - Digital Media Production for Non-Majors 3 hrs
JRNL 306W - Feature Writing [GEWI] 3 hrs
MKTG 360 - Principles of Marketing 3 hrs
PURL 317 - Crisis Management in Public Relations 3 hrs
PURL 403 - The Agency 3 hrs
PURL 408W - Case Studies in Public Relations [GEWI] 3 hrs
PURL 490L4 - Internship in Public Relations [GELB] 3 hrs
WRTG 444 - Writing for the Web 3 hrs

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for the fulfillment of the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult the online catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

Earn a minimum total of 124 credits at the 100-level and above. Courses with numbers below 100 will not be counted toward this degree requirement. At most 8 credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses will be counted toward this requirement.
Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below).
Complete a Writing Intensive (GEWI) Course in your major.
Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement. (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details.)
Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor; students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits in excess of the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 124 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used in the calculation of an EMU GPA.
Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU in order to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses taken at EMU and those applied to a student’s major or minor will be used in the calculation of their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or with similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.