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2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southeast Region

54 Colleges in the Southeast Region
5,369 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$34,772 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in public relations & advertising is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #52 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 54 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,369 degrees in public relations & advertising during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Relations & Advertising School

Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of public relations & advertising school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Public Relations & Advertising School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Public Relations & Advertising Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Public Relations
Bachelor's Degrees in Public Relations
Master's Degrees in Public Relations
Doctor's Degrees in Public Relations

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Relations & Advertising in the Southeast Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the public relations degree levels they offer.

10 Top Southeast Region Schools in Public Relations

1
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
386 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$40,235 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in public relations & advertising has to take a look at University of Florida. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were roughly 386 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Those public relations & advertising students who get their degree from University of Florida receive $5,463 more than the typical public relations student.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of Florida

2
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
169 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$40,082 Median Starting Salary

It's difficult to beat University of Miami if you want to pursue a degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the city of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U Miami is a great university overall.

There were roughly 169 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent data year. Public Relations & Advertising degree recipients from University of Miami receive an earnings boost of around $5,310 above the typical earnings of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of Miami

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
391 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
1.8% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in public relations & advertising has to check out University of Georgia. Located in the midsize city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 391 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at University of Georgia make $5,429 more than the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of Georgia

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
363 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
6.3% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat The University of Alabama if you wish to pursue a degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the small city of Tuscaloosa, UA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #139 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 363 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public relations & advertising major at The University of Alabama earn $4,132 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from The University of Alabama

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NC
176 Public Relations Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 5th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 176 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Elon in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Elon University

6
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
204 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$36,111 Median Starting Salary

UofSC is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #152 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UofSC is a great university overall.

There were about 204 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UofSC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public relations program make around $36,111 for their early career.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of South Carolina - Columbia

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$36,018 Median Starting Salary

UK is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lexington. A Best Colleges rank of #230 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UK is a great university overall.

There were roughly 175 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UK in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public relations program report average early career wages of $36,018.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of Kentucky

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
155 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
10.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #121 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Florida State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 155 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent year we have data available. Those public relations & advertising students who get their degree from Florida State University receive $5,392 more than the standard public relations graduate.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Florida State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$39,285 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Tulane is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New Orleans. A Best Colleges rank of #78 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Tulane is a great university overall.

There were approximately 5 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at Tulane University of Louisiana get $4,513 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Tulane University of Louisiana

9
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
8.3% Growth in Graduates

Belmont is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #206 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Belmont is a great university overall.

There were about 36 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent data year. Public Relations & Advertising degree recipients from Belmont University get an earnings boost of around $2,301 above the typical earnings of public relations & advertising graduates.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Belmont University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southeast Region award.

RankCollegeLocation
10University of South Florida - Main CampusTampa, FL
11West Virginia UniversityMorgantown, WV
12The University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleKnoxville, TN
13Appalachian State UniversityBoone, NC

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges by State

Explore the best public relations & advertising schools for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Georgia287639
Florida2821,746
North Carolina279413
Virginia27482
Tennessee269281
South Carolina248345
Kentucky244436
Louisiana242124
Mississippi23464
Arkansas234134
Alabama233475
West Virginia207114

View All Rankings >

Public Relations & Advertising is one of 5 different types of Communication & Journalism programs to choose from.

Public Relations Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication1,571
Public Relations1,474
Advertising1,035
Communication Management and Strategic Communications455
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication274
General Organizational Communication186
Sports Communication184
Political Communication55
Health Communication49
Technical & Scientific Communication46

View All Public Relations Focus Areas >

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies14,251
Radio, Television & Digital Communication3,646
Journalism2,731
Communication & Journalism (Other)534
Publishing14

View All Public Relations Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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