In the public relations major, you’ll learn how to connect organizations to audiences with messages crafted to drive awareness and engagement.
Our professors teach and employ cutting-edge technology, tools and techniques. We also focus on planning, executing and assessing PR campaigns using the latest metrics. As professionals do in the working world, we look for how effective strategies and tactics can change opinions, attitudes and behaviors in our target publics.
You’ll develop your skills at Cardinal Communications at McKinley Avenue, the public relations division of the student strategic communication and sales agency. At McKinley Avenue, you’ll work under the guidance of a professional adviser with real-life clients in the state-of-the-art, interactive Holden Strategic Communications Center in the Art & Journalism Building. The agency serves local businesses and gives students a path to develop a professional-grade portfolio. Through a variety of creative and strategic tactics, the agency provides clients with innovative, original solutions.
As a member in our award-winning Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter, you’ll have opportunities for practicing your skills and to learn from a working public relations pro, who serves as the chapter’s professional adviser and regularly visits for professional development and educational activities.
You’ll network with local and global leaders in public relations through PRSSA and the Vernon C. Schranz Distinguished Lectureship in Public Relations, which has annually brought public relations leaders to our campus and students for more than 40 years.
We teach empathy and self-awareness, not only for recognizing personal biases, but also for helping students to stay grounded in professional ethics throughout their careers. We are intentional in purpose and embed transformational experiences across our curriculum.
Through immersive projects, our student agency, students gain meaningful work experience in engaging audiences using the strategic communication process.
Students tell us they arrive on campus and find more than an academic home – they find a sense of belonging. Students immediately connect with a network of faculty, students and alumni, who help launch students’ career paths.
I have gotten experience and opportunities through CCIM and Department of Journalism programs and classes that other working adults who have been out in the field for a while haven’t had. If you put yourself out there and put in 100% effort, you too can create a giant toolbox and have once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come your way.
—Hannah Derleth
Public Relations Major, Class of 2020
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If you’d like to learn more about our Public Relations Major, complete our online form. Or one of the best ways to get a true feel for Ball State is to see it for yourself, so schedule a visit today! And if you’re ready to apply, review our admission requirements and complete our online application.