Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many public relations, advertising, & applied communication graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	3,530
Master’s Degree	834
Graduate Certificate	63
Basic Certificate	61
Associate Degree	23
Doctor’s Degree	3
Undergraduate Certificate	3

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, public relations, advertising, and applied communication majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in public relations, advertising, and applied communication should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

public relations, advertising, and applied communication majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Majors

Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with public relations, advertising, and applied communication:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Advertising and Promotions Managers	5.4%	$117,130
Green Marketers	5.4%	$117,130
Public Relations and Fundraising Managers	10.3%	$114,800

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of public relations, advertising, and applied communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	88
Black or African American	332
Hispanic or Latino	630
White	2,187
International Students	86
Other Races/Ethnicities	207

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. About 2.4% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $68,440 to $131,570 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with public relations, advertising, and applied communication may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for public relations, advertising, and applied communication careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.6%
Some College Courses	5.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	59.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.1%
Master’s Degree	20.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.6%
Doctoral Degree	3.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.2%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	12	2
Bachelor’s Degree	10	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	37	10
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a public relations, advertising, and applied communication grad is $78,090 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 96% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $763,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to public relations, advertising, and applied communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Relations	5,039
Advertising	4,655
General Organizational Communication	1,905
Communication Management and Strategic Communications	1,802
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication	1,409
Sports Communication	943
Health Communication	424
Technical & Scientific Communication	203
Political Communication	195
International & Intercultural Communication	183

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Bill Koplitz under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.