Media & Strategic Communication BA/Public Relations MA (0601)

The Media & Strategic Communication Department offers a combined bachelor’s degree and master’s degree program that enables students to take graduate courses beginning in their junior year and to complete half of the coursework for the Iona MA in Public Relations by the end of their senior year.

The graduate courses taken during their junior and senior years will substitute for corresponding undergraduate requirements. The tuition for graduate courses taken as an undergraduate will be the same as for regular undergraduate courses.

BA in Media & Strategic Communication, Public Relations

Overview

College Core	45 credits
Open Electives	36 credits
MSC Degree Requirements	39 credits
TOTAL	120 credits

Note:

The following courses in the major program are “professional courses” and not liberal arts courses: MSC 327 , MSC 329 , MSC 337 , MSC 428 , MSC 432 and MSC 435 . The number of liberal arts electives varies according to the number of nonliberal arts credits taken. Students are required to complete a minimum of 90 liberal arts credits in order to graduate with a BA degree.

Credit Requirements

Credit requirements for undergraduates remain at 120 credits, but 18 credits will be counted for both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Prerequisites

Must be enrolled in PR concentration for Media & Strategic Communication BA or have taken the four required courses for the PR concentration.
Must have at least a 3.0 GPA at end of sophomore year to enroll as junior.
Must pass an interview and review process by the Graduate Coordinator for Public Relations Program.

Undergraduate Major Requirements

Undergraduates must take MSC 200 and MSC 213 and are encouraged to take MSC 498 - Internship in Media & Strategic Communication .

Corequisites and Replacement Courses

Undergraduate students must take the following graduate courses:

MSC 300 - Media Law and Ethics replaced by PR 605 - Media Law and Ethics
MSC 496 - Seminar in communications replaced by PR 980 - Thesis/Project Preparation and PR 981 - Thesis/Project
MSC 230 - Digital Literacy and Practice replaced by PR 629 - Converged Technologies for Public Relations
MSC 397 - Research Methods in Mass Communication replaced by PR 604 - Applied Communications Research

MA in Public Relations

Graduate Core Requirements

PR 604 - Applied Communication Research
PR 605 - Media Law and Ethics
PR 609 - Writing for the Media
PR 615 - Principles of Public Relations
PR 616 - Public Relations Campaigns
PR 617 - Media Relations
PR 618 - Public Relations for Non-Profit Organizations
PR 628 - Public Relations for Entertainment and Sports
PR 629 - Converged Technologies for Public Relations
PR 699 - Internship in Communication
PR 980 - Thesis Project Preparation
PR 981 - Thesis/Project

Culminating Experience or Internship Requirements

Students in the combined BA/MA program are required to take a professional internship as PR 699 and to complete the culminating experience as courses PR 980 and 981. They are not eligible for the alternative culminating experience of an exam and final paper.