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Public Relations

Why is this major important?

A company’s “publics” are its audiences and stakeholders. Public relations (PR) is the art of maintaining a positive relationship with these groups. An essential function for every brand, public relations involves listening to publics, discovering how they feel about an issue and/or organization, and then helping their client or organization craft meaningful campaigns or programs that help meet the publics’ needs.

Why choose the Valenti School

At the Valenti School of Communication, our focus is on preparing students to practice public relations in the real world. Our curriculum ranges from segmenting publics to crafting campaigns for entrepreneurs/startups. More specifically, our students learn:

  • How to communicate effectively with clients
  • How to write in a way that media and clients alike will value
  • How to apply creative ideas to organizational messages
  • How to develop an evidence-based campaign
  • How to incorporate social media strategically into a campaign
  • How to create, maintain, and use a brand to model public messages

Gaining real-world experience

We offer immersive courses designed to break the traditional classroom structure and let students work alongside clients, target audiences and other major stakeholders such as the media. Our public relations students are able to work with a variety of clients, including organizations housed in the Bauer College of Business Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship . They are also able to gain experience through Valenti Integrated, our student-run agency that provides services to real-world clients, that provides credit hours to students.

Outside of the classroom, public relations students at the Valenti School of Communication benefit from the countless internship opportunities that Houston, a major media market, has to offer. These include internships at landmark organizations like the Children’s Museum, the Houston Zoo, the City of Houston Mayor’s Office, Houston Methodist Hospital, the Houston Rockets, and dozens of public relations agencies. Additionally, students also have opportunities to be leaders of student organizations like the Public Relations Student Society of America in which they gain experience in building relationships and networking with other professionals throughout the city.

For more information on our student organizations, visit our Student Organizations.

Featured Courses

  • Issues Management
  • Strategic Social Media
  • Public Relations Campaigns
  • Strategic Applications in Communication
  • Understanding Publics

Want to learn more about the courses and requirements for this area of study?

Visit the UH Course Catalog.