2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations in the Southeast Region
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region” ranking.
In 2019-2020, 5,347 people earned their degree in public relations, making the major the 136th most popular in the United States.
Across the Southeast region, there were 1,616 public relations graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,544 public relations graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,277 and $25,415 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region” ranking, we looked at 27 colleges that offer a degree in public relations. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public relations programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the public relations program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The pr school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Relations in the Southeast Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Georgia Southern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Georgia Southern University is a public institution located in Statesboro, Georgia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 87 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
GaSou also took the #11 spot in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $15,536 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend GaSou.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school handed out 196 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s PR students in 2019-2020.
UF not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida is $6,302 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
The low student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 27 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Appalachian State University is located in Boone, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 89 bachelors’s PR degrees to qualified students.
Appalachian State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $13,920 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students per year to attend Appalachian State.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read more about Public Relations at Appalachian State University
Out of the 27 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Harding University landed the #4 spot on the list. Harding University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Searcy, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Harding not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Harding University is $19,375 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 27 schools in the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Georgia landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Georgia is a public institution located in Athens, Georgia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 161 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
UGA also made our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of Georgia is $13,649 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Public Relations at University of Georgia
University of Memphis did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #6. This large school is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
UofM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Memphis is $13,248 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
Murray State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Murray, Kentucky, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
Murray State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Murray State University is $11,390 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
Northern Kentucky University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #8. Highland Heights, Kentucky is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s PR degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students list, NKU has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Kentucky University is $9,049 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
Read more about Public Relations at Northern Kentucky University
Lee University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Located in Cleveland, Tennessee, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 35 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s PR students in 2019-2020.
Lee University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Lee University is $17,696 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
Mississippi College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #10. Mississippi College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Clinton, Mississippi. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
MC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for MC is $17,186 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
University of South Carolina - Columbia did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #11. Columbia, South Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s PR degrees to 167 students in 2019-2020.
UofSC also made our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for UofSC is $20,509 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full University of South Carolina - Columbia Public Relations Report
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Tallahassee, Florida is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s PR degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.
Florida A&M University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #25 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $15,060 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #13. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a large public school situated in Knoxville, Tennessee. It awarded 61 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Knoxville, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is $18,825 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Western Kentucky University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. WKU is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
WKU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #15 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $11,962 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students per year to attend WKU.
With a ranking of #15, The University of Alabama did quite well on the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. The University of Alabama is a large public school situated in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It awarded 239 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
UA did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UA is $22,597 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Eastern Kentucky University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Eastern is a fairly large school located in Richmond, Kentucky that handed out 31 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
Eastern also took the #24 spot in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern is $14,149 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette did quite well in the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking, coming in at #17. University of Louisiana at Lafayette is a fairly large school located in Lafayette, Louisiana that handed out 13 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
UL Lafayette did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #20 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. It costs about $12,487 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend UL Lafayette.
Southern Adventist University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Collegedale, Tennessee. It awarded 6 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $22,661 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students per year to attend Southern Adventist University.
Read more about Public Relations at Southern Adventist University
Auburn University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. Auburn University is a large public school situated in Auburn, Alabama. It awarded 86 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students list, Auburn has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Auburn is $24,104 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Winthrop University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
Winthrop not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #19 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Winthrop University is $19,047 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
Palm Beach Atlantic University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in West Palm Beach, Florida, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s PR students in 2019-2020.
Palm Beach Atlantic also made our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $25,887 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students per year to attend Palm Beach Atlantic University.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Belmont University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. Belmont University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 5 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Belmont, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Belmont is $35,548 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Barry University landed the #23 spot on the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. Barry University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Miami, Florida. It awarded 4 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
Barry University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #23 on our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Barry University is $17,994 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
With a ranking of #24, Lipscomb University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region list. Lipscomb University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s PR degrees to qualified students.
Lipscomb also made our “Best Public Relations Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #13. The estimated yearly cost for Lipscomb is $24,749 for southeast region bachelor’s degree pr students.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Florida-Online came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value PR Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southeast Region ranking. University of Florida-Online is a small public school situated in Gainesville, Florida. It awarded 52 bachelors’s PR degrees in 2019-2020.
The estimated yearly cost for University of Florida-Online is $7,492 for Southeast Region Bachelor’s Degree PR students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Bill Koplitz.
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