Certificate in
Public Relations

Note: All of the courses in this program are available by distance education.

Sample Distance Course Module

If a challenging career consulting with professional businesses, community organizations, or government agencies sounds appealing, then public relations may be for you. Public relations practitioners work with a variety of leaders and other professionals to protect and enhance organizational reputation; manage issues and crises; conduct media relations; develop internal and external communication programs; develop and manage communication budgets; and write supporting communication materials such as plans, reports, news releases, business presentations, newsletters, website content, and much more.

Recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Certificate in Public Relations provides a curriculum that will hone your practical, analytical, and theoretical skills to prepare you for a career in public relations.

See more courses and programs relating to Communication and Media.

Admission Requirements

Because of increasingly stringent hiring practices and trends in the public relations field, students must have an undergraduate degree or three-year community college diploma; mature students must have, at least, a high school diploma and four years of progressive work experience in public relations practice, or in a business, professional, or technical field.

Undergraduate students wishing to pursue a continuing education certificate program should be aware of possible restrictions; please refer to Curriculum Advising for complete details.

Course Prerequisites

Successful completion of all stated prerequisites is required for registration in a course. Students who register in a course without successful completion of the prerequisites will be required to withdraw.

Program Open House

Students who have questions about the admission requirements and/or would like to know more about this certificate are invited to attend a Program Open House. Please see Open House for dates, times, and location.

Certificate Requirements

The successful completion of the equivalent of eight 39-hour courses with a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher, is required for the certificate.

Certificate Registration

Students may be registered in only one certificate program at any one time. To allow maximum flexibility in crediting external courses and/or courses previously taken at Ryerson, students should register in the certificate at the beginning of their first course (see also Courses and Programs FAQ). For complete details on the advantages of early registration, registration deadlines, and Transfer Credit restrictions, all students should read Registration in a Certificate Program.

Requirements for Graduation

To graduate, you must successfully complete the published certificate curricula from the year you registered in the certificate. Certificate requirements must be completed within six years from the time you were first admitted into the certificate program. In some circumstances, certificate requirements may change, resulting in courses no longer being available. In such cases, Course Substitutions/Directives may be requested. Also, you must apply on RAMSS to graduate, prior to the appropriate application deadlines (see Important Dates).

Recommended Sequence

CDPR 201
CDPR 111
CDPR 104
CDPR 108
CDPR 106
CDPR 113
CDPR 114
CDPR 105
CDPR 107

Required Courses

CDPR 107   Public Relations:  Public Relations Project
CDPR 111   Public Relations:  Writing for Public Relations
CDPR 201   Public Relations:  Public Relations Principles I

Electives (five 39-hour courses or equivalent combination of electives totalling 195 hours)

39-Hour Courses

CDPR 104   Public Relations:  Planning Programming and Budgeting
CDPR 105   Public Relations:  Research and Program Evaluation
CDPR 106   Public Relations:  Media Relations
CDPR 108   Public Relations:  Social Media in Public Relations
CDPR 113   Public Relations:  Internal Communications Management
CDPR 114   Public Relations:  Reputation Management

19.5-Hour Courses

Students may substitute two of the following 19.5-hour courses for any of the above 39-hour electives.

CDPR 102   Public Relations:  Business Presentations
CDPR 103   Public Relations:  Advanced PR Writing
CDPR 115   Public Relations:  Corporate Social Responsibility

Note to registered certificate program students
Effective Fall 2011, the Certificate in Public Relations has been revised. Students who were formally registered in the certificate prior to July 1, 2011, must complete the requirements in effect at the time of their registration.
Required
CDPR 104, CDPR 105, CDPR 106, CDPR 113, and CDPR 114 are now 39-Hour Electives.
Electives
Elective groups added; students must complete five 39-hour electives or equivalent combination of electives totaling 195 hours.
CDPR 101 deleted as a 19.5-Hour Elective.
CDPR 108 added as a 39-Hour Elective.
CDPR 102, CDPR 103, and CDPR 115 added as 19.5-Hour Electives.

Distance Education

The following courses are available in a distance education format this academic year.

CDPR 107   Public Relations:  Public Relations Project
CDPR 111   Public Relations:  Writing for Public Relations
CDPR 201   Public Relations:  Public Relations Principles I
CDPR 102   Public Relations:  Business Presentations
CDPR 103   Public Relations:  Advanced PR Writing
CDPR 104   Public Relations:  Planning Programming and Budgeting
CDPR 106   Public Relations:  Media Relations
CDPR 108   Public Relations:  Social Media in Public Relations
CDPR 113   Public Relations:  Internal Communications Management
CDPR 114   Public Relations:  Reputation Management