Bachelor of Business (Public Relations)

Overview

• Experience corporate communications in developing media campaigns, resolving issues, and dealing with the media.
• Complete a portfolio of work  to demonstrate your skills.
• Opportunities for work placement in consultancies, government, corporate settings and community groups.
• Graduate accredited by the Public Relations Institute of Australia.
• Prepares you for a career as a public relations officer/consultant, communications professional, corporate relations professional, publishing professional, media adviser or journalist.

Details

No two days are the same in the exciting and challenging world of public relations. A public relations career can take you from publicising a new movie, to launching a social media campaign, to improving relationships with customers, to developing a government safety campaign. Public relations is critical to success in business as it helps organisations build and protect their reputation and relationships with the community, employees, and other stakeholders.

Your public relations course brings the real world into the classroom. You’ll learn how to build organisational relationships, write for and liaise with the media, and make public relations decisions across the corporate, government, agency and not-for-profit sectors.

What’s distinctive about public relations at QUT is that the course builds two career paths, allowing you to experience the roles of an in-house practitioner and public relations consultant. In the role of an in-house practitioner, your final year at QUT gives you the chance to act as a public relations manager and plan an annual communication program to maintain relationships for real-world organisations. As a consultant, your final year at QUT involves a real-world project where you pitch an idea to a real-world client and prepare a campaign to address their needs.

You’ll graduate with a portfolio of work to demonstrate your skills and potential to employers. Work placement opportunities in consultancies, government, corporate settings and community groups are available. You’ll also have access to events run by professional bodies such as the Public Relations Institute of Australia, and opportunities to create your own career networks. A public relations degree at QUT takes you all over the world. Our graduates hold positions in Brisbane, Sydney, New York, London and Norway, among other local and international destinations.

Career outcomes

QUT’s public relations course is well recognised in educating industry professionals. This means you will enter an industry which has an established network of QUT graduates currently working in positions around the world, including:

• public relations consultant
• communications adviser
• corporate relations executive
• media adviser or press secretary
• media and communications officer or manager
• stakeholder relations adviser or manager
• publicist
• community relations officer
• corporate affairs manager.

Professional recognition

This course is accredited by the industry’s peak professional body, the Public Relations Institute of Australia, which provides access to professional education and career opportunities. QUT maintains strong links with this body and a number of our teaching staff hold executive positions.

Your degree at a glance

Year 1 

You will build a base of broad business knowledge through the core units, covering all areas of business from finance, accounting and economics through to marketing and global business. With generic skills in all areas, you will gain an understanding of how businesses operate within the commercial and social environment. You will begin your studies in public relations in the second semester, with an introduction to founding principles, an overview of the profession, and an insight into the future of public relations practice in contemporary organisations. 

Year 2 

You will build knowledge and skills in public relations techniques, learning how to write and prepare public relations tactics and tools such as media releases, social media programs, and events for real-world clients. In doing so, you will develop a portfolio of public relations materials to show potential employers. You will also build skills in public relations planning, allowing you to identify the best practices of public relations by analysing successful public relations campaigns from Australia and around the world. You will also have the opportunity to personalise your degree with the selection of a second study area. 

Year 3 

Acting as an internal adviser, you will explore corporate communication issues for organisations and track contemporary issues through case studies. You will also take the role of a public relations consultant, advising a real-world client on their problem or opportunity. Working in partnership with other students to form a consulting team, you will prepare a campaign plan to present to your client. Your writing skills will be further developed through your campaign portfolio. Work placements are also available to match your interests in consultancies, government, corporate settings and community groups. 

Units

Public Relations major units

• Introduction to Public Relations
• Public Relations Techniques
• Public Relations Planning
• Marketing and Audience Research
• Corporate Communication
• Global Public Relations Cases
• Public Relations Management
• Public Relations Campaigns

Recommended complementary study areas

Second major and minor options

• Advertising
• Marketing
• Integrated Marketing Communication
• Management
• Human Resource Management
• Language

Additional minor option

• Tourism and Entertainment Marketing

Entry requirements

Minimum academic requirements

Did you complete secondary school in Australia?

Course fees

Your actual fees may vary depending on which units you choose. All fees are based on current fixed fee prices. We review fees annually.

Scholarships and financial support

You can apply for scholarships to help you with study and living costs.

These scholarships are available for this course:

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