Public relations, as described by PRSA, is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. With a degree in PR, professionals can be in careers such as: Brand Journalism, Crisis Communications, Events, Media Relations, Social Media, and many more disciplines.

The PR industry is constantly changing, so it is important that professionals entering the PR world have a great education background. Winona State University has a very unique PR program that is very beneficial to its students. The public relations option at Winona State University is also very unique with it’s capstone, which has made a major impact on the route students take after graduation.

In this blog post, I am going to discuss some of the unique factors of the PR department at Winona State that I have grown to love.

1. PR is part of the Mass Communication Department.

Winona State University’s Public Relations major is actually a branch off of the overall Mass Communication Department. The Mass Communication Department is made up of Advertising, Journalism, Public Relations and Creative Digital Media. Each branch of the Mass Communication Department has it’s unique classes that is tailored to the desired option for the student.

2. PR has diverse and experienced professors.

Winona State has very diverse faculty members, which I think is a cool feature of Winona State as a whole. More specifically, the WSU PR program has professors from places such as Iowa, New York and California all the way to China. I think that this diversity makes the PR program unique because it is so fun to talk with these professors about their backgrounds. My professors at Winona State have worked in the PR industry for places such as ExxonMobil, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Microsoft, and each of their stories has inspired me in my learning.

3. PRSSA is active on campus.

PRSSA is the Public Relations Student Society of America, and a very important club to get involved in if you are thinking of going into the PR industry. At our PRSSA meetings, we have been able to get professional photos taken, help each other with our LinkedIn pages and have even had the chance to visit different agencies. Some agencies we have toured include Karwoski & Courage, The Social Lights and Maccabee

4. PR has a unique capstone. 

Campaigns is a course that students spend a majority of their four years preparing for. It is very intense and demanding, while still being rewarding and fulfilling. Within this course, students have the chance to partner with national-level clients and work in teams to create a campaign similar to the ones they could be doing in an agency setting after graduation.

I will be taking campaigns this upcoming spring, so I personally haven’t experienced what campaigns is like yet. However, I have heard from students in previous years that campaigns has brought them to tears with how intense it can become, but once you make it through, there is nothing more rewarding.

Some of the past clients include: Mall of America, Target, Mayo Clinic and Anytime Fitness.

5. PR graduates get awesome jobs.

Winona State graduates often get jobs within six months of graduating from WSU. Some past graduates have gone on to work as advertising directors, news anchors, event planners, media relations specialists, social media strategies, and many more. They have been hired on at places such as Students United, Mall of America and NBC News.

Is PR the industry you want to work in? If so, do you feel Winona State would be a good option for you? What would be your dream job?