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2021 Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges for Non-Traditional Students

104 Colleges
16,847 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,671 Avg Cost*

Finding the Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools for Non-Traditional Students

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges for Non-Traditional StudentsIn <nil>, 16,847 people earned their bachelor's in public relations & advertising, making the major the #32 most popular in the United States.

For this year's Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 104 colleges that offer a bachelor's in public relations. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public relations & advertising programs and a strong support system for non-traditional students.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the public relations & advertising program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Schools for Non-Traditional Students list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

2021 Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the United States

Check out the public relations programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.

Top 15% Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools for Non-Traditional Students

1

Fashion Institute of Technology has taken the #1 spot in this year's public relations & advertising ranking for non-traditional students. FIT SUNY is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York. FIT SUNY did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. There are approximately 2,847 students at FIT SUNY that take at least one class online. There are roughly 1,095 part time students in attendance at FIT SUNY.

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2

The #2 spot in this year's ranking belongs to The University of Texas at Austin. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #1 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. Approximately 23,198 students take at least one class online at UT Austin. 3,479 students are part time.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at The University of Texas at Austin Report

3
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Syracuse University earned the #3 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population. Syracuse not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #4 on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

About 1.1% of Syracuse students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 2,812 students take at least one class online at Syracuse. About 3,491 of the students at Syracuse are attending part time.

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4

Pepperdine University landed the #4 spot in our 2021 best public relations & advertising schools for non-traditional students. Pepperdine is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Malibu. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Pepperdine, the school also landed the #3 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

About 0.6% of Pepperdine students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 3,015 students at Pepperdine are exclusively online. About 4,069 of the students at Pepperdine are attending part time.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Pepperdine University Report

5

George Washington University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington. As a testament to the quality of education offered at GWU, the school also landed the #7 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

About 0.4% of GWU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 5,340 of GWU students are exclusively distance learners. About 8,798 of the students at GWU are attending part time.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at George Washington University

6
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL

Our rankings recognize DePaul University as the #6 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. DePaul excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

About 1.0% of DePaul students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 8,996 students take at least one class online at DePaul. 3,547 of DePaul students are attending part time.

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7
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University landed the #7 spot in our 2021 best public relations & advertising schools for non-traditional students. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the small city of East Lansing. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Michigan State, the school also landed the #9 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

The student loan default rate at Michigan State is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 33,526 students at Michigan State that take at least one class online. There are roughly 6,517 part time students in attendance at Michigan State.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Michigan State University Report

8

University of Southern California comes in at #8 in this year's ranking. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, USC has also earned the #6 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

The student loan default rate at USC is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 15,291 students take at least one class online at USC. 6,687 students are part time.

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9
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC

American University landed the #9 spot in our 2021 best public relations & advertising schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, The American University has also earned the #5 rank in our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising ranking.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. Approximately 5,283 students take at least one class online at The American University. 3,612 of The American University students are attending part time.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at American University Report

10

Our rankings recognize University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the #10 school in this year's rankings. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population. UIUC excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

About 0.6% of UIUC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 35,475 students take at least one class online at UIUC. About 10,007 of the students at UIUC are attending part time.

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11

Our rankings recognize University of Oregon as the #11 school in this year's rankings. UO is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Eugene. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UO also did well on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.0%. Approximately 8,819 students take at least one class online at UO. There are roughly 1,683 part time students in attendance at UO.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at University of Oregon

12

Our rankings recognize Southern New Hampshire University as the #12 school in this year's rankings. SNHU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Manchester.

About 2.0% of SNHU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 138,672 of SNHU students are exclusively distance learners. 102,147 students are part time.

Read full report on Public Relations & Advertising at Southern New Hampshire University

13
Gonzaga crest
Gonzaga University
Spokane, WA

Our rankings recognize Gonzaga University as the #13 school in this year's rankings. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Spokane. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Gonzaga is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

The student loan default rate at Gonzaga is lower than is typical, just 0.2% of students default in three years. 923 students at Gonzaga are exclusively online. There are roughly 661 part time students in attendance at Gonzaga.

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14

Southern Methodist University earned the #14 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. SMU not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #8 on our Best Colleges for Public Relations & Advertising list.

The student loan default rate at SMU is lower than is typical, just 1.1% of students default in three years. 912 of SMU students are exclusively distance learners. 3,019 of SMU students are attending part time.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Southern Methodist University Report

15
Rowan crest
Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ

Our rankings recognize Rowan University as the #15 school in this year's rankings. Rowan is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Glassboro.

The student loan default rate at Rowan is lower than is typical, just 1.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 7,269 students at Rowan that take at least one class online. There are roughly 3,878 part time students in attendance at Rowan.

Full Public Relations & Advertising at Rowan University Report

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 Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.

Rank College Location
16 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
17 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
18 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
19 Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA
20 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA

Public Relations & Advertising by Region

View the best for non-traditional students Public Relations & Advertising schools in a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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