The Department of Public Relations at the University of Florida was formed in 1972 in response to a growing industry need for professionals trained in persuasive communications, with a background in journalism and the ability to think strategically as part of a management team.
All evidence indicates that throughout its history, the Department has successfully prepared students for entry into the workplace. Our alumni are employed in agencies and departments in industries ranging from athletics to zoology. UF public relations graduates work in politics and banking, in corporations, agencies and nonprofits.
Our mission is to provide exemplary leadership, education and scholarship to advance public relations’ unique role and responsibilities to foster organization-public relationships through effective communication and actions in support of a civil society and democratic ideals. The department educates the standard bearers of the profession for an interdependent local and global society.
At the University of Florida PR students focus on societal and organization/public issues, including ethics, gender and diversity, multicultural impact, social responsibility, political participation, civic engagement and nation building. Areas of inquiry include new media technologies, fundraising, philanthropy, public health education, organization/public relationship quality and cultivation, socially responsible behaviors and actions, social change methods, and the exploration of the impact of group/community/organizational culture on semantics and effective message design and evaluation. The scope of this work includes corporations, non-profit, government, civil society and media organizations domestically and internationally.
The Department is committed to providing an educational environment of exceptional quality for students interested in pursuing knowledge of the public relations field and to advance the field itself through ethical scholarship. We hold firmly to the ideals of the Academy, where students are encouraged to pursue knowledge within a strong ethical framework. It is our belief that the Department exists to provide optimum assistance and guidance to all students in their research in and pursuit of knowledge. We believe in providing an academic environment where our faculty are recognized for their efforts to share that understanding with their students, the public relations field and the academic community. To these ends, the Department strives to:
- Provide cutting-edge instruction and pedagogy to our students.
- Conduct high-quality scholarship that advances the fields of public relations and communication.
- Provide service and outreach to the academic and professional communities of which we are a part both nationally and internationally.
- Support the missions of the College of Journalism and Communications and University of Florida.
We will continue to be recognized as a world-class public relations education program. We will achieve academic leadership in providing an outstanding educational experience for our students and providing them the knowledge and strategic skills essential to ensure their competitiveness in the marketplace. Our faculty has earned the respect of the academic and professional communities through its achievements in public relations and communication scholarship.
The Department of Public Relations will continue to achieve academic success through our association with the finest teaching faculty members, a commitment to strong research, and a continuous modernization of our curriculum to meet industry needs. We achieve our goals through encouraging involvement, initiative, creativity, continuous learning and research, and in creating an academic environment where faculty, staff and students are able to do their absolute best.
Pursue a Public Relations Degree at CJC
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Public Relations is a flexible degree that teaches you how to strategically communicate using a variety of methods. The CJC PR program, which received its Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) accreditation, was named PR Week’s Outstanding Education Program in 2023.
As a PR major, you’ll be prepared to work either within an organization or at an agency and potential careers include:
- Corporate communicator
- Social change communicator
- Social media strategist
- Policy and public affairs manager
- Account manager
- Digital strategist
- Employee communication specialist
- Audience insights researcher
Public Relations Degree Options
Strategic Communications for Social Change
Public interest communications is an emerging field that uses strategic communications grounded in research and science to achieve sustained and positive social change in areas ranging from climate change and racial justice to health care access and housing policy. It borrows from its sister fields of public relations, advertising, journalism and marketing and is informed by sociology, psychology, neuroscience and political science.
The issues to which public interest communications is applied transcend the interests of any single organization. The idea is to create lasting change by going beyond just raising awareness to motivating people to effect positive societal change.
Why Should I Pursue Public Interest Communications?
Public interest communications is needed now more than ever. Be one of a new generation of students representing an array of cultures and voices, and equipped with public interest communications and research skills that you can use to effect positive social change in the world.
Public interest communications is a rewarding field for anyone who wants to help make a positive difference in the world. Do you see a broad societal problem? You can apply public interest communications to help solve it. Careers range from being a communications director at a nonprofit organization or a media relations officer at a foundation to being an account executive at a strategic communications firm.
Public Relations is designed to prepare students for entry-level jobs as technicians, such as producing social media strategies and tactics or effective multimedia news releases, as well as for career advancement as managers, such as formulating a communication plan for a new initiative or forecasting the reputational impact of an organizational decision or action. Excellent writing and critical thinking skills are essential. Learn more about our curriculum here.
The Public Relations Department offers more than 30 required and elective classes to prepare you for careers in advertising and related industries. You can find a list of these courses in the UF Course Catalog.
You can view a list of syllabi for most PR classes over the past four semesters.
The Public Relations Academic Learning Compact identifies the skills students should acquire if they follow the major’s prescribed course of study. These skills describe the core learning expectations in the areas of content knowledge and skills, communication skills and critical thinking skills that UF is required to assess for each baccalaureate degree program.
Our combination degree allows undergraduate students to take graduate-level courses and receive both an undergraduate and Master of Arts in Mass Communication degree with less time and money than pursuing both separately.
Public Relations Department Faculty & Staff
![Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D.](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Myiah-Hutchens-300x300.jpg)
Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair – Department of Public Relations
2085 Weimer
352-273-1220 Send Email See Bio![Natalie Asorey](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Natalie-Asorey-New-Headshot-300x300-1.jpg)
Natalie Asorey
Senior Lecturer – Department of Public Relations
Associate Director/Student Engagement – The Agency
Strategy Partner – Center for Public Interest Communications
![Angela Bradbery](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/6F1A1861-scaled-300x300-1.jpg)
Angela Bradbery
Frank Karel Endowed Chair in Public Interest Communications – Department of Public Relations
3200 Weimer
352-294-2013 Send Email See Bio![Christen Buckley](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/IMG_3680-scaled-300x300-1.jpg)
Christen Buckley
Assistant Professor – Department of Public Relations
3045 Weimer
Send Email See Bio![Ann Searight Christiano](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Ann-Christiano-300x300.jpg)
Ann Searight Christiano
Director, Center for Public Interest Communications
Clinical Professor – Department of Public Relations
3200 Weimer
609-647-3877 (cell) Send Email See Bio![Haoran “Chris” Chu, Ph.D.](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/New-Headshot-300x300-1.jpg)
Haoran “Chris” Chu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor – Department of Public Relations
Graduate Coordinator – Science and Health Communication
Affiliate Scholar – Internal Communication Research Hub
2066A Weimer
(352) 294-9115 Send Email See Bio![Marcia DiStaso, Ph.D., APR](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Distaso-e1499712537828-300x300.jpg)
Marcia DiStaso, Ph.D., APR
Associate Dean for Research
Professor – Department of Public Relations
2024 Weimer
(352) 273-1222 Send Email See Bio![Pat Ford](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Pat-Ford-Burson-Marsteller-1-300x300.jpg)
Pat Ford
Professional in Residence – Department of Public Relations
Affiliate Professional – Internal Communication Research Hub
2093 Weimer
352-294-0493 Send Email See Bio![Rebecca Frazer](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/headshot_frazer-scaled-300x300-1.jpg)
Rebecca Frazer
Assistant Professor – Department of Public Relations
2066B Weimer
352-294-6380 Send Email See Bio![Jay Hmielowski, Ph.D.](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Jay-Hmielowski-300x300-1567692529-1.jpg)
Jay Hmielowski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor – Department of Public Relations
Graduate Coordinator – Public Relations
3040C Weimer
352-392-3995 Send Email See Bio![Robert Judin](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Robert-Judin-Professional-Headshot-300x300-1.png)
Robert Judin
Lecturer in Public Relations and Sports Journalism – Department of Public Relations
3103 Weimer
352-392-6304 Send Email See Bio![Spiro K. Kiousis, Ph.D., APR](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Spiro2-cropped-300x300.jpg)
Spiro K. Kiousis, Ph.D., APR
Executive Associate Dean
Professor – Department of Public Relations
2096 Weimer
352-392-0466 Send Email See Bio![Linjuan Rita Men, Ph.D., APR](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/RitaMen_Headshot-300x300-2.jpg)
Linjuan Rita Men, Ph.D., APR
Professor – Department of Public Relations
Director – Internal Communication Research
3054 Weimer
352-294-2897 Send Email See Bio![Mickey G. Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/New-Mickey-300x300.jpg)
Mickey G. Nall, APR, Fellow PRSA
Senior Lecturer and Professional-In-Residence – Department of Public Relations
2084 Weimer
352-294-1572 Send Email See Bio![Isabella Ryan](https://www.jou.ufl.edu/UF24/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Isabella-Ryan-Headshot-300x300.jpg)
Isabella Ryan
Administrative Assistant – Department of Public Relations
2085 Weimer
352-273-1220 Send Email See Bio