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2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

27 Colleges in the Plains States Region
1,081 Bachelor's Degrees
$36,154 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #32 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 27 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for public relations & advertising students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,081 bachelor's degrees in public relations & advertising during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Public Relations & Advertising School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region The public relations bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality public relations program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for public relations & advertising students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Public Relations & Advertising Schools

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Public Relations & Advertising in the Plains States Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Relations

1
42 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

2
240 Annual Graduates
$39,532 Median Starting Salary
$23,258 Median Student Debt

University of Nebraska - Lincoln is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the large city of Lincoln, UNL is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln make $3,378 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

3
Drake crest
Drake University
Des Moines, IA
55 Annual Graduates
$42,274 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Drake University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Drake is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at Drake University earn $6,120 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Drake University

4
135 Annual Graduates
$39,633 Median Starting Salary
$24,750 Median Student Debt

Iowa State University is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Iowa State is a very large public university located in the city of Ames.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising major at Iowa State University get $3,479 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Iowa State University

5
1 Annual Graduates

UST MN is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Paul.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of St Thomas Minnesota

6
38 Annual Graduates
$37,176 Median Starting Salary
$21,096 Median Student Debt

UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls.

Soon after graduation, public relations bachelor's recipients usually make about $37,176 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from University of Northern Iowa

7
24 Annual Graduates
$38,698 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public university with a large student population.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University receive $2,544 more than the average public relations student.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from South Dakota State University

8
25 Annual Graduates
$38,749 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public university with a large student population.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University - Main Campus make $2,595 more than the standard public relations grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from North Dakota State University - Main Campus

9
57 Annual Graduates
$32,380 Median Starting Salary
$23,329 Median Student Debt

Missouri State is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Springfield.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program earn an average of $32,380 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Missouri State University - Springfield

10
Webster crest
Webster University
Saint Louis, MO

Webster is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program earn about $36,745 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Webster University

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges by State

Explore the best public relations & advertising colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Missouri 228 292
Minnesota 215 76
Iowa 197 284
Kansas 184 93
Nebraska 180 284
North Dakota 149 25
South Dakota 148 27

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One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Public Relations & Advertising has other similar majors worth exploring.

Public Relations Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 323
Public Relations 250
Advertising 131
General Organizational Communication 123
Sports Communication 77
International & Intercultural Communication 68
Communication Management and Strategic Communications 60
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 22
Health Communication 20
Political Communication 7

Majors Similar to Public Relations

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 3,082
Journalism 1,483
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 179
Communication & Journalism (Other) 133
Publishing 3

Notes and References

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