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2024 Best Public Relations & Advertising Master's Degree Schools

97 Colleges in the United States
2,542 Master's Degrees
$50,942 Avg Early-Career Salary
Public Relations & Advertising is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #60 most popular master's degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 97 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of public relations & advertising. Combined, these schools handed out 2,542 master's degrees in public relations & advertising to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Public Relations & Advertising Master's Degree Schools The public relations master'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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree 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.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

More Ways to Rank Public Relations & Advertising Schools

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

The public relations 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 the Best Public Relations & Advertising Master's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Public Relations & Advertising in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for public relations & advertising students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

14 Top Schools for a Master's in Public Relations

1
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in public relations & advertising. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their master's degree from Georgetown University earn $25,856 more than the typical public relations student.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Georgetown University

2

University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the public relations program state that they receive average early career income of $52,873.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from University of Southern California

3

It is hard to beat Northwestern University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in public relations & advertising. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising master's degree recipients from Northwestern University get an earnings boost of about $8,856 over the average income of public relations & advertising graduates.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Northwestern University

4

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in public relations & advertising needs to check out George Washington University. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the public relations & advertising degree program at George Washington University earn $12,733 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from George Washington University

5
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA

Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising master's degree recipients from Boston University earn a boost of about $4,901 above the average income of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Boston University

6
10 Annual Graduates

SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Southern Methodist University

7
33 Annual Graduates

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the large city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

8
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Public Relations & Advertising master's degree recipients from Syracuse University get an earnings boost of around $3,169 over the typical income of public relations & advertising majors.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Syracuse University

9

UT Austin is a very large public university located in the large city of Austin.

Students who graduate with their master's from the public relations program report average early career income of $44,299.

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

10

UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.

Those public relations & advertising students who get their master's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $15,464 more than the average public relations student.

More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

11
23 Annual Graduates

UA is a very large public university located in the city of Tuscaloosa.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from The University of Alabama

12
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
7 Annual Graduates

U Miami is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Coral Gables.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from University of Miami

13
Emerson crest
Emerson College
Boston, MA
17 Annual Graduates

Emerson is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Boston.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Emerson College

14
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Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
30 Annual Graduates

Temple is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in public relations & advertising from Temple University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Public Relations & Advertising students that almost earned our Best Public Relations & Advertising Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
15 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
16 Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT
17 Chapman University Orange, CA
18 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
19 American University Washington, DC
20 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
21 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
22 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
23 Washington State University Pullman, WA
24 Belmont University Nashville, TN

Public Relations & Advertising by Region

View the Best Public Relations & Advertising Master's Degree Schools for 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

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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 722
Public Relations 447
General Organizational Communication 353
Advertising 260
Communication Management and Strategic Communications 219
Other Public Relations, Advertising, & Applied Communication 168
Health Communication 126
Technical & Scientific Communication 88
International & Intercultural Communication 69
Sports Communication 47

Related Major Annual Graduates
Communication & Media Studies 4,407
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 2,343
Journalism 1,181
Communication & Journalism (Other) 314
Publishing 210

Notes and References

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