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2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southwest Region

19 Colleges in the Southwest Region
2,591 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$38,541 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public relations & advertising, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #52 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 19 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,591 degrees in public relations & advertising during the 2020-2021 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 Southwest Region Your choice of public relations & advertising school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Public Relations & Advertising School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

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

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Public Relations & Advertising Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Public Relations & Advertising in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of public relations degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Public Relations

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
616 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
0.2% Growth in Graduates

The University of Texas at Austin is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were roughly 616 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Those public relations & advertising students who get their degree from The University of Texas at Austin receive $6,067 more than the average public relations grad.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from The University of Texas at Austin

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$42,606 Median Starting Salary

Southern Methodist University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 107 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year. Public Relations & Advertising degree recipients from Southern Methodist University receive an earnings boost of around $4,065 above the average earnings of public relations & advertising graduates.

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

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
103 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$39,394 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Texas Christian University if you want to pursue a degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 103 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program make an average of $39,394 in the first couple years of working.

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

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
417 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
15.6% Growth in Graduates

Texas Tech University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in public relations & advertising. Texas Tech is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lubbock. A Best Colleges rank of #168 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Texas Tech is a great university overall.

There were roughly 417 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Texas Tech in the most recent data year. Those public relations & advertising students who get their degree from Texas Tech University earn $7,492 more than the standard public relations student.

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

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
184 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
8.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #211 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UH is a great university overall.

There were approximately 184 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at UH in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public relations program state that they receive average early career wages of $36,173.

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

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In TX
37.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were roughly 8 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Texas A&M University - College Station

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
107 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$38,266 Median Starting Salary

ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 107 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public relations program report average early career wages of $38,266.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from Arizona State University - Tempe

8
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
334 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
5.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 334 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public relations program earn around $36,149 for their early career.

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

9
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
159 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$32,289 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were roughly 159 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at NAU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public relations program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,289.

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

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Public Relations Degrees Awarded
$41,881 Median Starting Salary

Located in the midsize suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were about 71 public relations & advertising students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent year we have data available. Those public relations & advertising students who get their degree from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus earn $3,340 more than the typical public relations student.

More information about a degree in public relations & advertising from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 1,922
Arizona 287 285
Oklahoma 257 286

View All Rankings >

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

Public Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Advertising 934
Public Relations 618
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 318
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 236
General Organizational Communication 197
Sports Communication 187
Technical & Scientific Communication 70
Health Communication 11
International & Intercultural Communication 10
Communication Management and Strategic Communications 10

View All Public Relations Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Public Relations

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 6,936
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,247
Journalism 1,758
Communication & Journalism (Other) 37
Publishing 5

View All Public Relations Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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