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2025 Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

42 Colleges in the Southeast Region
3,787 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,051 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 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 42 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for public relations & advertising students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,787 bachelor's degrees in public relations & advertising to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Public Relations & Advertising Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of public relations & advertising for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

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

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Public Relations Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Southeast 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 Southeast Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Public Relations

1
298 Annual Graduates
$45,326 Median Starting Salary
$25,817 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of Georgia if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the midsize city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Georgia earn $8,275 more than the average public relations student.

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

2
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
381 Annual Graduates
$42,099 Median Starting Salary
$28,004 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising needs to look into University of Florida. Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from University of Florida receive an earnings boost of around $5,048 above the typical income of public relations & advertising graduates.

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

3
315 Annual Graduates
$42,445 Median Starting Salary
$86,363 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat The University of Alabama if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising. UA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tuscaloosa.

Public Relations & Advertising bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Alabama get an earnings boost of about $5,394 over the typical income of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from The University of Alabama

4
167 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in public relations & advertising has to check out Elon University. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in public relations & advertising from Elon University

5
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
131 Annual Graduates
$43,917 Median Starting Salary
$60,502 Median Student Debt

U Miami is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Coral Gables.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at University of Miami get $6,866 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

6
183 Annual Graduates
$42,974 Median Starting Salary
$52,769 Median Student Debt

UofSC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbia.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from University of South Carolina - Columbia earn $5,923 more than the average public relations student.

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

7
134 Annual Graduates
$45,275 Median Starting Salary
$50,630 Median Student Debt

UK is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Lexington.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Kentucky make $8,224 more than the standard public relations graduate.

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

8
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

Located in the city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at Florida State University earn $4,009 above the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

9
111 Annual Graduates
$36,559 Median Starting Salary
$21,161 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the public relations program earn an average of $36,559 for their early career.

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

10
WKU crest
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY
68 Annual Graduates
$35,534 Median Starting Salary
$20,284 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Bowling Green, WKU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the public relations program report average early career earnings of $35,534.

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

Best Public Relations & Advertising Colleges by State

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 1,590
Georgia 224 611
Tennessee 220 277
North Carolina 213 389
Virginia 213 48
South Carolina 195 337
Kentucky 187 419
Alabama 184 390
Louisiana 171 117
Mississippi 169 34
Arkansas 167 100
West Virginia 147 11

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

Public Relations Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Relations 1,201
Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 958
Advertising 921
Communication Management and Strategic Communications 332
Sports Communication 126
General Organizational Communication 123
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 105
Technical & Scientific Communication 14
Health Communication 5
Political Communication 2

Majors Similar to Public Relations

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 10,799
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,799
Journalism 2,339
Communication & Journalism (Other) 178
Publishing 17

Notes and References

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