Advertising and Public Relations Bachelor of Science Degree

This advertising and public relations degree prepares you to analyze audiences, craft persuasive messages, and create compelling connections with the right audiences on the right platform, from websites, social media, and blogs to video and photography sites and news channels.


Overview for Advertising and Public Relations BS

Why Study RIT's Advertising and Public Relations Degree


  • Gain Real-World Experience: One required block of cooperative education means you'll gain hands-on, full-time, paid work experience in industry.

  • Accelerated Bachelor/Master's Pathway: Pair your advertising and public relations degree with a master's degree in communication.

  • Jobs at Industry-Leading Companies: Recent graduates are employed Apple, Blue Bear Creative, Caribou Coffee, CGI Communications, and The Walt Disney Company, to name a few.

  • Teaching Partnership Program Available: 4+1 or 3+2 programs enable you to earn your bachelor’s degree at RIT and a master’s degree in education at one of our partner universities.

Smartphones, smart tech, data capturing, social media, and the ever-evolving internet landscape have changed every facet of how an audience can be reached and influenced. Connecting the right message, the right timing, and the right communication channel has never been more complex or more data-informed.  For the advertising and public relations leaders of the future, being highly skilled in both the theories of persuasive communication and the tools to support it will be critical to success. 

RIT's Advertising and Public Relations Degree: Human-Centered, Tech-Infused

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Careers and Cooperative Education

Typical Job Titles

Account Executive (advertising, marketing, and communications firms) Advertising Script Writer Advertising Traffic and Production Manager
Campaign Manager Content Producer Copywriter
Digital Advertising Placement Strategist Event Planner Marketing Manager
Media Operations Specialist Media Placement Strategist Merchandise Service Coordinator
Project Coordinator Public Relations Manager Social Media Manager

Industries

  • Advertising, PR, and Marketing
  • Higher Education
  • Internet and Software
  • Journalism, Media, and Publishing
  • Medical Devices
  • Non-Profit
  • Health Care
Post-Graduation Salary and Career Info for Advertising and Public Relations BS

Cooperative Education

What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries. 

Co-ops take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. A liberal arts co-op provides hands-on experience that enables you to apply your knowledge in professional settings while you make valuable connections between course work and real-world applications.

Students in the advertising degree are required to complete one cooperative education experience.

Co-op and Experiential Learning Options for Advertising and Public Relations BS

Featured Work and Profiles

Curriculum for 2024-2025 for Advertising and Public Relations BS

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Advertising and Public Relations, BS degree, typical course sequence

Course Sem. Cr. Hrs.
First Year
COMM-105 3
An introduction to the discipline of communication and the fields of advertising, journalism, and public relations. Topics include: the history and evolution of the discipline, major theories, principles of ethics, methods of research, writing styles, digital portfolio development, professional organizations, and potential careers. Students meet professors in the School, explore opportunities to engage with the professional and academic community beyond the classroom. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS or COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-201 3
The public speaking course is designed to equip the student with knowledge of the theories and principles necessary for formal public speaking. Informative and persuasive speeches are the focus with emphasis on organization, evidence, language use, strategy, delivery, and effective use of media aids. Public speaking is generally offered each semester. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-211 3
An introduction to principles and practices of advertising. Topics include advertising theories, ethics, regulation, consumer research, media planning, message strategy, and campaign planning strategy. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-212 3
An introduction to the practice of public relations. Topics include history, research areas, laws, ethics, and social responsibilities as they relate to the theory and practice of public relations. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MATH-101 3
This course provides the background for an introductory level, non-trigonometry based calculus course. The topics include a review of the fundamentals of algebra: solutions of linear, fractional, and quadratic equations, functions and their graphs, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic and rational functions, and systems of linear equations. (Prerequisites: Students may not take and receive credit for MATH-101 and MATH-111. See the Math department with any questions.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
YOPS-10 0
RIT 365 students participate in experiential learning opportunities designed to launch them into their career at RIT, support them in making multiple and varied connections across the university, and immerse them in processes of competency development. Students will plan for and reflect on their first-year experiences, receive feedback, and develop a personal plan for future action in order to develop foundational self-awareness and recognize broad-based professional competencies. (This class is restricted to incoming 1st year or global campus students.) Lecture 1 (Fall, Spring).
 
General Education – Artistic Perspective
3
 
General Education – Ethical Perspective
3
 
General Education – First-Year Writing (WI))
3
 
General Education – Natural Science Inquiry Perspective
3
 
General Education – Elective
3
Second Year
COMM-202 3
The history and development of U.S. media, theoretical aspects of mass communications, the composition of media audiences, law and regulation of mass communications and how the media affect and are affected by society are presented. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
COMM-221 3
This course covers a variety of forms of writing for public relations, including news releases, newsletters, backgrounders, public service announcements, magazine queries, interviews, coverage memos, media alerts, features, trade press releases, and public presentations. Students will write for a variety of media including print, broadcast, and the web. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-223 3
In an increasingly visual culture, and culture of online user-created content, non-designers are called upon in the professional realm to illustrate their ideas. Graduates entering the workforce will encounter situations where they will benefit from possessing a visual communication sensibility and vocabulary to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences, including professional designers. Creative approaches to challenges, such as visual thinking, are also shown to improve students’ comprehension and problem-solving abilities. Digital Design in Communication is an opportunity for undergraduates to receive an introduction to principles of visual message design from a critical rhetorical perspective. They will also get the opportunity to apply these principles to a variety of visual products such as advertisements, logos, brochures, resumes, etc. A variety of computer software applications are available to support the research, writing, visualization, and design of messages. Lecture 3 (Fall, Summer).
COMM-304 3
Intercultural communication provides an examination of the role of culture in face-to-face interaction. Students may find a basic background in communication, anthropology, or psychology useful. Lecture 3 (Fall or Spring).
STAT-145 3
This course introduces statistical methods of extracting meaning from data, and basic inferential statistics. Topics covered include data and data integrity, exploratory data analysis, data visualization, numeric summary measures, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. The emphasis of the course is on statistical thinking rather than computation. Statistical software is used. (Prerequisites: Any 100 level MATH course, or NMTH-260 or NMTH-272 or NMTH-275 or (NMTH-250 with a C- or better) or a Math Placement Exam score of at least 35.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 
General Education – Global Perspective
3
 
General Education – Social Perspective
3
 
General Education – Scientific Principles Perspective
3
 
General Education – Elective
3
 
Open Elective
3
Third Year
COMM-301 3
An introduction to human communication theory, including a history of the field and major theories from the intrapersonal, language, interpersonal, small group, public, organizational, mass, visual, and computer-mediated communication contexts. Theories based both in the humanities and the social sciences are covered. This course should be taken during the student's second year. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-321 3
An opportunity for undergraduates to learn the verbal and visual skills utilized in the creation of advertising messages. To create an effective strategy for an advertising campaign, the advertising copywriter/art director team needs to combine linguistic and visual metaphors into a persuasive message. Students will develop creative advertising messages by researching and writing a creative brief and then implementing the plan by transforming concepts into actual advertising messages and campaigns. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-322  
This course introduces students to the managing and planning of advertising and public relations campaigns. It takes a team project approach thereby helping students learn how to work together in class as well as in a competitive agency. Service-learning will be used to expose students to community causes. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 or equivalent courses.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-401 3
An introduction to the methods and ethics of scientific, scholarly communication research including methods of locating, analyzing, critiquing, and conducting communication research. The course focuses on empirical research methods and leads to the development of a research project proposal suitable for implementation in senior thesis in communication. This course should be taken during the student's third year. (Prerequisites: COMM-301 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-499 0
One semester of full-time paid work experience in a professional setting related to the communication major. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) CO OP (Fall, Spring, Summer).
MKTG-230 3
An introduction to the field of marketing, stressing its role in the organization and society. Emphasis is on determining customer needs and wants and how the marketer can satisfy those needs through the controllable marketing variables of product, price, promotion and distribution. (This class is restricted to undergraduate students with at least 2nd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 
General Education – Immersion 1, 2, 3
9
 
General Education – Electives
6
Fourth Year
Choose one of the following:
3
   COMM-402  
Introduction to the methods and ethics of qualitative and critical research. Students are introduced to interviewing, participant observation, naturalistic study, and ethnography. They also develop a disciplined ability for the critical appraisal of public discourse, cultural phenomenon, and designed objects. Both qualitative and critical research methods rely on the researcher's observational, analytic, and critical skills, and seek to understand the behaviors, beliefs, values, attitudes, assumptions, rituals, and symbol systems that characterize relationships between the source, message, media, and audience of specific communication acts. Students will also investigate the processes of rhetorical action. By the end of the course, students will have developed a research proposal suitable for implementation as the senior thesis in communication. This course should be taken during the student's third year. (Prerequisites: COMM-301 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
   COMM-430  
Ad and PR Agency I is the first session of a full-year, hands-on experiential learning course. Students work at Technically Speaking, a student advertising and public relations agency, managed by the School of Communication with support from RIT Marketing and Communications. Students will hone their advertising and public relations skills while working with their instructor and mentors in RIT Marketing and Communications, College of Liberal Arts and others on real-world campaigns and projects. Students will execute an array of projects reaching across the marketing communications spectrum, from public relations and advertising to social media and digital design. Upon registration, students must complete an application to determine their role within the student agency. The course will also include instructional time covering advertising and public relations skills and industry case studies. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 or equivalent courses.) Project 3 (Fall).
COMM-421  
An introduction to developing, executing, and managing media plans for advertising and public relations. This course covers the characteristics and uses of advertising media, media terms and calculations, media strategies and tactics, and media plan development and implementation. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall).
COMM-497 0
Communication, advertising, and public relations majors create a portfolio comprised of projects, papers, and related professional materials; Journalism majors complete a senior project. Near the end of every semester, the department hosts a portfolio review day when department of communication seniors present their portfolio or project work in a public space for review and comment by faculty, staff, and peers. The presentation constitutes completion of the course. (Prerequisites: At least 4th year student standing in ADVPUB-BS, PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS.) Studio (Fall, Spring, Summer).
Choose one of the following: 
3
   COMM-501  
A guided research seminar culminating in a major project that brings together the communication students’ communication studies and substantive work in his or her professional core. Focuses on designing, conducting, and completing an independent research project. The progress of each project is shared with the class for discussion and critiques. (Prerequisites: COMM-401 and COMM-402 or equivalent course and student standing in ADVPUB-BS, COMM-BS or PTCOMM-BS program.) Seminar (Fall or Spring).
   COMM-431  
Ad and PR Agency II is the second session of a full-year, hands-on experiential learning course. Students work at Technically Speaking, a student advertising and public relations agency that is managed by the School of Communication with support from RIT Marketing and Communications. Students will hone their advertising and public relations skills while working with their instructor and mentors in RIT Marketing and Communications, College of Liberal Arts and others on real-world campaigns and projects. Students will execute an array of projects reaching across the marketing communications spectrum, from public relations and advertising to social media and digital design. Upon registration, students must complete an application to determine their role within the student agency. The course will also include instructional time covering advertising and public relations skills and industry case studies. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 and COMM-430 or equivalent courses.) Project 3 (Spring).
 
Professional Core Courses
6
 
General Education – Electives
6
 
Open Electives
9
Total Semester Credit Hours
120

Please see General Education Curriculum (GE) for more information.

(WI-PR) Refers to a writing intensive course within the major.

* Please see Wellness Education Requirement for more information. Students completing bachelor's degrees are required to complete two different Wellness courses.

Professional Core Courses

Students choose two of the following:

MKTG-320
Internet marketing is critical to an organization's overall strategy. This course focuses on tactics and strategies that enable marketers to fully leverage the internet. Topics include the overall internet marketing landscape, technologies, customer segmenting and targeting, search, analytics and emerging internet-marketing platforms. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MKTG-330
A hands-on course focusing on developing marketing strategies for entering and competing in foreign countries. Topics include foreign market opportunity assessment, developing commercialization and entry strategies, understanding foreign customers and distribution channels, and communicating value through advertising and promotion in different markets. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MKTG-350
A study of the determinants of buying behaviors. Emphasis is on identifying target markets and customer needs, internal and external influences on lifestyle and understanding the buying decision process. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MKTG-360
Selling concepts, tools, strategies, and tactics are discussed as they apply to both external and internal customers. Students learn and experience some of problems faced and rewards earned by those in professional sales. Customer relationship management/partnering with customers and truly seeking to meet their requirements are discussed as key to long-term success. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course and 3rd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MKTG-370
An in-depth view of tools of promotion management: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing and internet marketing as well as new and alternative media. Basic concepts of how to use print, broadcast, internet and out-of-home media are studied. Planning, budgeting, creative strategy, and the roles of advertising agencies are also covered. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall).
MKTG-430
This course introduces the student to the general theories of Social Media Marketing and its relevance and importance as a Marketing tool. The student will learn how to create campaigns and the strategies and tactics in the most popular social media platforms, as generate reports and actions based on social media analytics. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course and 3rd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MKTG-489
Current issues in marketing are the focus of the course. Topics have included direct and database marketing, pricing, advanced marketing research and other current issues in marketing based on student and faculty interest. (Prerequisites: MKTG-230 or NBUS-227 or equivalent course and 3rd year standing.) Lecture 3 .

Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees

The curriculum below outlines the typical course sequence(s) for combined accelerated degrees available with this bachelor's degree.

Advertising and Public Relations, BS degree/Communication, MS degree, typical course sequence

Course Sem. Cr. Hrs.
First Year
COMM-105 3
An introduction to the discipline of communication and the fields of advertising, journalism, and public relations. Topics include: the history and evolution of the discipline, major theories, principles of ethics, methods of research, writing styles, digital portfolio development, professional organizations, and potential careers. Students meet professors in the School, explore opportunities to engage with the professional and academic community beyond the classroom. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS or COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-201 3
The public speaking course is designed to equip the student with knowledge of the theories and principles necessary for formal public speaking. Informative and persuasive speeches are the focus with emphasis on organization, evidence, language use, strategy, delivery, and effective use of media aids. Public speaking is generally offered each semester. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-211 3
An introduction to principles and practices of advertising. Topics include advertising theories, ethics, regulation, consumer research, media planning, message strategy, and campaign planning strategy. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-212 3
An introduction to the practice of public relations. Topics include history, research areas, laws, ethics, and social responsibilities as they relate to the theory and practice of public relations. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
MATH-101 3
This course provides the background for an introductory level, non-trigonometry based calculus course. The topics include a review of the fundamentals of algebra: solutions of linear, fractional, and quadratic equations, functions and their graphs, polynomial, exponential, logarithmic and rational functions, and systems of linear equations. (Prerequisites: Students may not take and receive credit for MATH-101 and MATH-111. See the Math department with any questions.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
YOPS-10 0
RIT 365 students participate in experiential learning opportunities designed to launch them into their career at RIT, support them in making multiple and varied connections across the university, and immerse them in processes of competency development. Students will plan for and reflect on their first-year experiences, receive feedback, and develop a personal plan for future action in order to develop foundational self-awareness and recognize broad-based professional competencies. (This class is restricted to incoming 1st year or global campus students.) Lecture 1 (Fall, Spring).
 
General Education - First Year Writing (WI)
3
 
General Education - Artistic Perspective
3
 
General Education - Ethical Perspective
3
 
General Education - Natural Science Inquiry Perspective†
3
 
General Education - Elective
3
Second Year
COMM-202 3
The history and development of U.S. media, theoretical aspects of mass communications, the composition of media audiences, law and regulation of mass communications and how the media affect and are affected by society are presented. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
COMM-221 3
This course covers a variety of forms of writing for public relations, including news releases, newsletters, backgrounders, public service announcements, magazine queries, interviews, coverage memos, media alerts, features, trade press releases, and public presentations. Students will write for a variety of media including print, broadcast, and the web. Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-223 3
In an increasingly visual culture, and culture of online user-created content, non-designers are called upon in the professional realm to illustrate their ideas. Graduates entering the workforce will encounter situations where they will benefit from possessing a visual communication sensibility and vocabulary to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences, including professional designers. Creative approaches to challenges, such as visual thinking, are also shown to improve students’ comprehension and problem-solving abilities. Digital Design in Communication is an opportunity for undergraduates to receive an introduction to principles of visual message design from a critical rhetorical perspective. They will also get the opportunity to apply these principles to a variety of visual products such as advertisements, logos, brochures, resumes, etc. A variety of computer software applications are available to support the research, writing, visualization, and design of messages. Lecture 3 (Fall, Summer).
STAT-145 3
This course introduces statistical methods of extracting meaning from data, and basic inferential statistics. Topics covered include data and data integrity, exploratory data analysis, data visualization, numeric summary measures, the normal distribution, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. The emphasis of the course is on statistical thinking rather than computation. Statistical software is used. (Prerequisites: Any 100 level MATH course, or NMTH-260 or NMTH-272 or NMTH-275 or (NMTH-250 with a C- or better) or a Math Placement Exam score of at least 35.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 
General Education - Global Perspective
3
 
General Education - Social Perspective
3
 
General Education - Scientific Principles Perspective
3
 
General Education - Elective
3
 
Open Electives
6
Third Year
COMM-301 3
An introduction to human communication theory, including a history of the field and major theories from the intrapersonal, language, interpersonal, small group, public, organizational, mass, visual, and computer-mediated communication contexts. Theories based both in the humanities and the social sciences are covered. This course should be taken during the student's second year. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-321 3
An opportunity for undergraduates to learn the verbal and visual skills utilized in the creation of advertising messages. To create an effective strategy for an advertising campaign, the advertising copywriter/art director team needs to combine linguistic and visual metaphors into a persuasive message. Students will develop creative advertising messages by researching and writing a creative brief and then implementing the plan by transforming concepts into actual advertising messages and campaigns. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-401 3
An introduction to the methods and ethics of scientific, scholarly communication research including methods of locating, analyzing, critiquing, and conducting communication research. The course focuses on empirical research methods and leads to the development of a research project proposal suitable for implementation in senior thesis in communication. This course should be taken during the student's third year. (Prerequisites: COMM-301 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
COMM-421 3
An introduction to developing, executing, and managing media plans for advertising and public relations. This course covers the characteristics and uses of advertising media, media terms and calculations, media strategies and tactics, and media plan development and implementation. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall).
COMM-499 0
One semester of full-time paid work experience in a professional setting related to the communication major. (This class is restricted to ADVPUB-BS or PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS Major students.) CO OP (Fall, Spring, Summer).
MKTG-230 3
An introduction to the field of marketing, stressing its role in the organization and society. Emphasis is on determining customer needs and wants and how the marketer can satisfy those needs through the controllable marketing variables of product, price, promotion and distribution. (This class is restricted to undergraduate students with at least 2nd year standing.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring, Summer).
 
General Education - Immersion 1, 2, 3
9
 
General Education - Electives
6
Fourth Year
COMM-304 3
Intercultural communication provides an examination of the role of culture in face-to-face interaction. Students may find a basic background in communication, anthropology, or psychology useful. Lecture 3 (Fall or Spring).
COMM-322 3
This course introduces students to the managing and planning of advertising and public relations campaigns. It takes a team project approach thereby helping students learn how to work together in class as well as in a competitive agency. Service-learning will be used to expose students to community causes. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 or equivalent courses.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
Choose one of the following:
3
   COMM-402  
Introduction to the methods and ethics of qualitative and critical research. Students are introduced to interviewing, participant observation, naturalistic study, and ethnography. They also develop a disciplined ability for the critical appraisal of public discourse, cultural phenomenon, and designed objects. Both qualitative and critical research methods rely on the researcher's observational, analytic, and critical skills, and seek to understand the behaviors, beliefs, values, attitudes, assumptions, rituals, and symbol systems that characterize relationships between the source, message, media, and audience of specific communication acts. Students will also investigate the processes of rhetorical action. By the end of the course, students will have developed a research proposal suitable for implementation as the senior thesis in communication. This course should be taken during the student's third year. (Prerequisites: COMM-301 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).
   COMM-430  
Ad and PR Agency I is the first session of a full-year, hands-on experiential learning course. Students work at Technically Speaking, a student advertising and public relations agency, managed by the School of Communication with support from RIT Marketing and Communications. Students will hone their advertising and public relations skills while working with their instructor and mentors in RIT Marketing and Communications, College of Liberal Arts and others on real-world campaigns and projects. Students will execute an array of projects reaching across the marketing communications spectrum, from public relations and advertising to social media and digital design. Upon registration, students must complete an application to determine their role within the student agency. The course will also include instructional time covering advertising and public relations skills and industry case studies. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 or equivalent courses.) Project 3 (Fall).
Choose one of the following:
3
   COMM-431  
Ad and PR Agency II is the second session of a full-year, hands-on experiential learning course. Students work at Technically Speaking, a student advertising and public relations agency that is managed by the School of Communication with support from RIT Marketing and Communications. Students will hone their advertising and public relations skills while working with their instructor and mentors in RIT Marketing and Communications, College of Liberal Arts and others on real-world campaigns and projects. Students will execute an array of projects reaching across the marketing communications spectrum, from public relations and advertising to social media and digital design. Upon registration, students must complete an application to determine their role within the student agency. The course will also include instructional time covering advertising and public relations skills and industry case studies. (Prerequisites: COMM-211 and COMM-212 and COMM-430 or equivalent courses.) Project 3 (Spring).
   COMM-501  
A guided research seminar culminating in a major project that brings together the communication students’ communication studies and substantive work in his or her professional core. Focuses on designing, conducting, and completing an independent research project. The progress of each project is shared with the class for discussion and critiques. (Prerequisites: COMM-401 and COMM-402 or equivalent course and student standing in ADVPUB-BS, COMM-BS or PTCOMM-BS program.) Seminar (Fall or Spring).
COMM-497 0
Communication, advertising, and public relations majors create a portfolio comprised of projects, papers, and related professional materials; Journalism majors complete a senior project. Near the end of every semester, the department hosts a portfolio review day when department of communication seniors present their portfolio or project work in a public space for review and comment by faculty, staff, and peers. The presentation constitutes completion of the course. (Prerequisites: At least 4th year student standing in ADVPUB-BS, PTCOMM-BS, COMM-BS or JOURNAL-BS.) Studio (Fall, Spring, Summer).
COMM-714 3
This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of strategic communication in advertising, public relations, health communication, crisis/risk communication, and/or political communication. This course will cover problem identification, audience research, message creation, and execution of strategic communication activities. It will also cover ethics and strategic communication through digital media. By the end of the course, students should be able to analyze and execute various components to help solve problems or achieve an organization’s goals and objectives. Seminar 3 (Fall).
 
General Education - Electives
6
 
Open Electives
6
 
Graduate Communication Elective
3
Fifth Year
COMM-702 3
Over the course of this term we will cover mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, to major trends, followed by current applications of previous paradigms, and finally into the development of new theoretical frameworks. While the main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence, we will also focus on how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will be able to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design. (This class is restricted to degree-seeking graduate students or those with permission from instructor.) Seminar 3 (Fall).
COMM-703 3
This course is designed to introduce students to qualitative and quantitative research methods in communication and guide them in choosing the appropriate method for their thesis research project. Topics may include research perspectives, ethics and IRB, variables, sampling methods, reliability and validity, survey, experiments, content analysis, in-depth interview, focus group, observations/ethnography, and mixed methods. (Prerequisites: COMM-702 or equivalent course.) Seminar 3 (Spring).
COMM-720 0
An introduction to graduate study and research in communication including the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological parameters of communication and its sub-disciplines. Participants will interact with the faculty teaching required and elective communication courses. Attention will be drawn to scholarly writing and research design. When possible, the course is organized in conjunction with the department’s colloquium series. (This course is restricted to COMMTCH-MS Major students.) Seminar 1 (Spring).
Choose one of the following:
6
   COMM-800  
A guided research project that focuses on designing, conducting, and completing a research project. The project culminates in a public presentation and defense. Thesis (Fall, Spring, Summer).
   COMM-800  
A guided research project that focuses on designing, conducting, and completing a research project. The project culminates in a public presentation and defense. Thesis (Fall, Spring, Summer).
   COMM-801
 Comprehensive Exam plus two (2) Graduate Electives‡
 
 
Graduate Professional Core
9
 
Graduate Communication Elective
3
Total Semester Credit Hours
144

Please see General Education Curriculum for more information.

(WI) Refers to a writing intensive course within the major.

* Please see Wellness Education Requirement for more information. Students completing bachelor's degrees are required to complete two different Wellness courses.

† Students will satisfy this requirement by taking either a 3- or 4-credit hour lab science course. If a science course consists of separate lecture and laboratory sections, student must take both the lecture and lab portions to satisfy the requirement.

‡ These can be from the Graduate Professional Core or a Graduate Communication Elective, or a combination of both.

Admissions and Financial Aid

First-Year Admission

First-year applicants are expected to demonstrate a strong academic background that includes:

  • 4 years of English with a strong performance is expected.
  • 3 years of social studies and/or history with a strong performance is expected.
  • 3 years of math is required and must include algebra, geometry, and algebra 2/trigonometry. 
  • 2-3 years of science.

Transfer Admission

Transfer applicants should meet these minimum degree-specific requirements:

  • A minimum of college algebra is required.

Learn How to Apply

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid.

RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs. When all these are put to work, your actual cost may be much lower than the published estimated cost of attendance.
Learn more about financial aid and scholarships

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Contact

Program Contact
  • Heather Roth
  • Assistant Director of Recruitment and Retention Outreach
  • Dean’s Office
  • College of Liberal Arts
  • 585‑475‑5456
  • hmrgla@rit.edu
Offered within the
School of Communication