Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies: Public Relations Option

Communication in Public Relations Option Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

A degree in Communication Studies-Public Relations guides students to become culturally competent communicators in a multicultural world and has produced graduates that are helping the public in a variety of occupations from public health, to education, to nonprofit communications. With the rise in misinformation and disinformation, courses in communication studies and public relations guides students to become more aware and informed citizens.

With the advent of the digital revolution organizations are interfacing with the public now more than ever. The exciting field of public relations offers students the opportunity to help companies, organizations and celebrities promote their brands and communicate with their customers, employees and fans.  As a Public Relations major, students have the opportunity to learn how to develop social media and traditional media campaigns, work with the media, write speeches and manage many forms of an organization, or client’s communications.

Offered both online and in-person, students graduating with a degree in Communication Studies-Public Relations are in high demand and the curriculum in this major prepares students for successful careers in social media, corporate communications, entertainment PR, public affairs, health communications, internal communications, marketing, advertising, law, teaching and more.

There are two options to declare this program:
In-Person: most of the classes will be in person, with some occasional online classes.
Online: all of the classes will be online. Note that the online option operates using a different tuition model.

Major Requirements:

• CMST 200 cannot be taken for credit towards the Communication Studies Majors.
• Students are required to take an introductory PR writing course before starting the core PR sequence. Students should take JRNM 209, JRNM 332, or CMST 319 before enrolling in CMST 461. After successfully completing CMST 461, students should take CMST 462 and CMST 465.

World Language Requirement: Two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.

Grade Requirements: a minimum cumulative GPA ≥2.0 by graduation.

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement.  Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.

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University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

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Section B–Required Upper Division Core Credits–choose three 5-credit 400-level CMST courses. The following courses cannot count in this section (B): CMST 480, CMST 481 or CMST 495, CMST 499. Any course used in Section B cannot count in Section D.

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Section D–Public Relations Specialty–choose 4-6 credits from the approved list. Any course used in Section D cannot count in Section B or C.

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Section E–Experiential–choose 5-10 credits from the approved list. 

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB

General Education Requirements (GER)

• Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
  • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
  • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
• Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences

University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List

Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term expected to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.

1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Core Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Students who earn a BA in Communications in Public Relations at EWU should be able to:

• craft compelling written messages;
• deliver an effective public speech;
• demonstrate the ability to design or conduct sound communication research;
• develop a campaign plan that effectively applies public relations strategies;
• use communication theories to critically analyze the characteristics of mediated messages.