Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations online

Media writing is a course designed to introduce students to the forms, limitations and potentials of writing for and about the various media, including writing for radio, television, film, and print journalism.

In the twenty-first century, organizations are a central fact of human existence. This class provides an introduction to organizational communication, preparing students to understand and effectively participate in organizational life. The course surveys various aspects of organizational communication from an overview of theoretical frameworks to applications. Particular attention is paid to process, forms, and functions of organizational communication, and to contemporary organizational issues such as diversity, technology, and team work.

Designed to fulfill the needs of future journalists and public relations practitioners, this course allows students to focus on a wide selection of topics, including database collection, survey design, assessment, and the use of qualitative versus quantitative research in the newsgathering process. Enrollees also will study recent research about journalism, PR, and allied fields.

This course defines public relations and explores the appropriate functions and outlets for public relations activities. The course explores the basic tools of public relations. Students learn about various initiatives and tactical executions of the practice. This course is writing Intensive.

This course will explore various online and social platforms and teach the strategic approach to using the technological tools for communication and public relations. Students will examine real-world cases, explore the latest strategies for engaging audiences using various online platforms and learn the tactical use of core online and social platforms. Both theoretical foundations and practical applications of online/social communications will be studied. Students will create, run and evaluate a digital communication campaign for a selected product, service or organization. This is a technology intensive course.

Through the study of communication theory as it relates to business and the professions and through practice simulations, the student acquires a knowledge of those communicative and motivational skills essential for success in business and professional life.

The course examines styles, techniques and strategies for writing and producing content for online and traditional audiences. Students explore the differences between writing for online versus traditional linear forms. Students will gain an understanding of how to research, plan, write and develop content effectively for a variety of online and traditional platforms and strategic purposes including: online news and lifestyle media, blogs, corporate web sites, advertising, public relations, marketing and social media.

Analysis of public relations case studies to identify PR principles and strategies applied to organizations to solve communication and business challenges. Analysis also includes assessment and evaluation of existing public relations campaigns and industry best practices.

This course provides background and practice in developing written communications important in the practice of public relations. Using a workshop format, the course emphasizes critical strategic thinking, planning, writing and targeting communications designed to influence specific audiences and stakeholders.

The course explores the concept(s) of corporate social responsibility (CSR), philanthropy and corporate strategy. Various real-world organizational CSR programs are analyzed to examine the scope and complexity of CSR and its impact on global and local business and society.

This senior-level course is the culminating academic experience for communication students. Students prepare a research study and advanced project within the realm of their public relations major area and academic interests. This capstone course will provide students with an opportunity to create materials that will prove beneficial to their individual career objectives.

Through a comparison of numerous cultures, students explore the primary distinguishing characteristics of culture and identify strategies for relating their own culture to those of others. Emphasis is placed on an eclectic cultural design. The primary goal is to provide students with practical and theoretical knowledge and an understanding of intercultural communication in contemporary life situations.

In this survey course, students learn and are trained in how to tell stories using a mobile phone in a formalized way, applying professional aesthetics to serve a variety of communication goals in multimedia-based disciplines such as broadcast news, film, TV, and audio. Students will use their written ideas and learn how to formulate and refine those ideas and determine the best multimedia storytelling format. This course empowers the student, utilizing many of the tools students already know, and provides them with a foundation of professional techniques and best practices to produce content common in the communication industry.

A study of the relationship between the news media and society in the United States, with emphasis on legal and ethical issues.

This course focuses on designing and creating content for digital spaces. Students will learn to analyze and to write, both individually and collaboratively, in digital genres for various audiences. Students will explore methods of writing and editing for online publication, from site architecture analysis and design strategies to content development and line editing. Students will understand how the arrangement of content and the choice of digital genre impact writing effectiveness, and they will learn to use editing strategies and tools employed by professional writers in a wide range of digital situations. This course is UCC Writing Intensive and UCC Technology Intensive.

Introduces basic principles, policies, problems, and successful methods of business organization and management. Emphasizes management’s ability to analyze, plan, coordinate, and control the varied activities of production, personnel, finance, and marketing. Also examines social responsibility and environmental factors affecting business policy and operation.

Major emphasis on techniques for solving business problems, the development of marketing policies, and the sale of consumer and industrial products. Various marketing decisions are examined with respect to product planning, channels of distribution, promotion activity, selling and sales management, pricing, and international marketing.

Digital social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and YouTube, have become increasingly important elements of consumers’ daily routines and, as such, are attracting a growing level of attention by marketers. Social media change the nature of social interactions, which enables new ways for consumers to express positive as well as negative feelings and thoughts about a brand. Brands can use social media, either in the form of social network sites or company-owned pages, to not only establish powerful brand communities, but can also elevate their after-sale service via social media through individualized consumer communications. Social networks lead to a substantially accelerated diffusion of information and thus require a different handling with more-active-than-ever customers. The course is designed to help students understand and assess brands’ successful or unsuccessful practices of social media marketing by focusing on uses and applications of social media marketing. Thus, it takes an applied approach to social networks and social media platforms. Students in this course will develop the relevant knowledge about social media platforms through practices, demonstrations, and analyses of social media business applications.