Overview of CPRE Reports and Resources
These signature reports provide essential models and standards for public relations undergraduate and graduate education. Starting in its earlier work, CPRE tackled what the ideal curriculum and course content should be for those seeking to enter the field of public relations. Its more recent reports updated and developed vital curriculum recommendations but began to advance considerations for excellent public relations careers by addressing issues of ethics, diversity, globalization, and professionalization of the field.
Table of Contents
Reports and Resources from 2020-Present
This Signature Report of the Commission on Public Relations Education has great import given the multiple organizational and societal recalibrations underway in the five years since the last study, and with change accelerated by the pandemic: hence our title choice, “Navigating Change.”
As with any large-scale crisis, the result is that we come out of it changed. Yet, despite the profound transformations in the work of organizations and public relations, this report reaffirms many of the key abilities expected by practitioners and taught by educators, including the continued essential value placed on writing, communication and storytelling.
But it also lays bare the additional critical requirement for professionals, new and experienced, to be able to take a systemic ethical approach to the practice, and approach the practice from a broader world view, informed by the seismic changes in technology, society, politics, the economy, and global conflicts.
What we have recognized over a year’s worth of discussions and research are increased professional expectations for undergraduate education that center on the need for talented entry-level practitioners who are critical and strategic thinkers, who understand the impact of data—and who have learned the standards for ethical practice, the need for addressing the issues of DEI, and the role of public relations in contributing to social change.
This CPRE report recommends several directives to educators to adapt to the evolving learning styles of individual students while maintaining their adherence to best practices in pedagogy and standards, and identifies six broader public relations industry expectations of future practitioners. It also reinforces the need for educators and practitioners to remain wholly connected to, and involved in, shaping the direction our educational institutions take now and in the future.
Approach and Methodology
With the involvement of CPRE’s 65-member board, preparations began in the spring of 2022 with CPRE members participating in four brainstorming sessions to generate topics they felt should be addressed in the 2023 report. Consensus topics were crowdsourced in April of 2022 in two surveys of the CPRE Board members and members of the PR Council. Topics were refined in two focus groups of Page Society members conducted in September 2022. Then, member teams developed questions for a quantitative survey to obtain benchmark perceptions of six topics. The Research Committee included curriculum-related questions from past surveys as well, for comparative purposes. Survey participation by public relations practitioners and educators representing United States and international public relations associations yielded sufficient numbers to allow advanced data analysis and interpretation.
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CPRE Industry and Educator Summits bring educators and leading professionals together to discuss workplace needs, trends and expectations. The Summits provide educators with insight into what students need to learn to be successful in the profession both today and in the future. The Summits provide leading professionals with a greater understanding of what is being taught in the classroom; how students learn; what today’s students are expecting from current and future employers as they enter the marketplace; and how practitioners can support Public Relations education. And, the Summits provide valuable insights to guide the organization’s periodic research projects that eventually guide Public Relations programs in the United States and abroad and influence accreditation standards.
CPRE Fast Forward: Unicorns and Phone Calls: A Convo About the Evolution of Technology Trends
CPRE Fast Forward: Ethics Education: Recommendations for PR Curriculum
CPRE Fast Forward: Updates on Public Relations Education
The 2021-22 Spotlight Reports expanded the 2017 Fast Forward research and recommendations through conversations with the expert chapter teams. Featured are bast practices for public relations writing, online teaching, ethics education, and public relations technology trends; and insights into the needs of public relations adjunct teachers.
- Public Relations Faculty are a Resource to be Nurtured
A survey of adjuncts and recommendations on how to better structure and involve adjuncts
- Public Relations Education Online: Challenges and Opportunities
- Writing Work Group Report: Understanding Writing Preparation and Skills for Entry-Level Public Relations Practitioners
- CPRE Fast Forward: Ethics Education: Recommendations for the PR Curriculum
- Unicorns and Phone Calls: A Convo about the Evolution of Technology Trends
Reports and Resources from 2000-2019
Writing Work Group Report: Undergraduate Writing Preparation and Skills for Entry-Level Public Relations Professionals
The 2017 CPRE Report on public relations education Is the product of three years of research in the U.S. and abroad, Reflects the work of 60 educators and practitioners who served in 16 teams as subject matter experts to provide comprehensive recommendations and best practices for public relations education introducing a 6-course standard for undergraduate education programs. The report includes: In The Beginning: The CPRE Industry-Educator Summit; Development of The CPRE Report and 2016 Omnibus Survey; Learning Objectives; Undergraduate Curriculum; Ethics; Theory; Research; Technology; Academic Structure and Governance; Educator Credentials; Online Public Relations Education; Program Certification and Accreditation; Internships; Professional and Pre-Professional Organizations; Diversity; and Global Perspectives on Public Relations Education.
The 2017 CPRE Report on public relations education, Fast Forward: Foundations and Future State. Educators and Practitioners:
- Is the product of three years of research in the U.S. and abroad, including focus groups, a major omnibus survey and a “summit” meeting of industry and education leaders with a follow-up survey of practitioners who hire entry-level staff, all designed to create a report that provides clear, consistent and compelling direction for public relations students, those who teach them and those who hire them.
- Reflects the work of 60 educators and practitioners who served in 16 teams as subject matter experts, reviewed and conducted secondary and primary research, and developed insights into how public relations education for undergraduate students can be enhanced and integrated with what employers need.
- Was made possible by industry support including Ketchum (Rob Flaherty), Wells Fargo (Oscar Suris), Weber Shandwick (Andy Polansky), The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations (Karla Gower), The Arthur W. Page Society and the PRSA Foundation. Additionally the Public Relations Society of America has provided decades of in-kind support for CPRE including staff support and administrative services. The Institute for Public Relations and also provided in-kind support for the 2017 report development and launch, and Ketchum hosted the 2015 CPRE Industry-Educator Summit at their New York offices.
- Covers a myriad of topics, including:
- In The Beginning: The CPRE Industry-Educator Summit
- Introduction: Development of The CPRE Report and 2016 Omnibus Survey
- Learning Objectives
- Undergraduate Curriculum
- Ethics
- Theory
- Research
- Technology
- Academic Structure and Governance
- Educator Credentials
- Online Public Relations Education
- Program Certification and Accreditation
- Internships
- Professional and Pre-Professional Organizations
- Diversity
- Global Perspectives on Public Relations Education
- In Conclusion: Looking Forward, Fast
Media Coverage
Nov. 21, 2012:
Commission on Public Relations Education Sets Standards for Public Relations Master’s Degree Education
Additional Resources
Differential Visions of An Ideal Graduate Public Relations Curriculum between Educators and Practitioners: Professional Identity as A Driver (PDF)
(Paper abstract by Hongmei Shen, Ph.D., San Diego State University and Elizabeth Toth, Ph.D., University of Maryland)
PowerPoint presentation of report
(May be used/adapted/modified by anyone making a presentation about the report)
Russian Translations
Стандарты для степени магистра по связям с общественностью в США. Комплексное образование: Аннотация
About the Report
This report is a comprehensive review of graduate programs that will serve the profession, the academic institutions that confer graduate degrees in public relations, the students who are enrolled in master’s degree programs in public relations and the organizations that employ these graduates as practitioners or professors. Included are steps to help public relations master’s degree programs leverage educator and practitioner collaboration to increase the relevance of a graduate degree.
The goals for this report:
- Provide academic standards for master’s-level public relations programs
- Recommend guidelines for accrediting and certifying bodies for master’s-level public relations education programs
- Elevate expectations
- Recommend standards for educators in regards to master’s-level public relations education
- Engage the public relations industry in support of graduate public relations education. By including recommendations for internships, work and practicum experiences, technologic prowess, and student support in research and professional development, the Commission is confident that the suggestions included in this report will benefit a wide array of stakeholders.
This report should not only help standardize public relations graduate education but create guidelines that serve the needs of public relations master’s students and educators as well as practitioners.
By creating a report based on the recommendations of both educators and practitioners, public relations master’s students will receive an education that will equip them with the skills necessary to pursue a doctoral degree or work as a public relations professional. This collaboration was utilized to create education guidelines that are more relevant to the needs of the industry.
From research conducted in 2011, this report provides recommendations for graduate-level public relations education that will benefit those going into academia and the practitioner world. Topics include recommended curriculum, admission standards, three program delivery models, and resources needed.
This 2010 analysis of how public relations education is delivered across the globe included study of 218 educational websites in 39 countries and in-depth interviews with public relations educators in 20 countries. The emerging narratives and details provided valuable insights as to how and why public relations education is generally based on several universals and yet is often combined with local variations.* The key findings of this study are: Public relations is generally defined as a strategic function for building and maintaining relationships. Undergraduate programs are basically designed to prepare future practitioners. Curriculum frequently reflects the five-course standard suggested in the Commission of Public Relations Educations 2006 report, “The Professional Bond.” However, important cultural distinctions are often embedded within programs. Barriers to development of “the ideal public relations program” include resources, government, country culture, program structure, and inadequate or ineffective relationships with practicing professionals. Graduate programs emphasize advanced theory and strategic thinking. Researchers also found “moderate” influence by U.S. and European educational standards in other parts of the world. As a comprehensive recommendation based on the interviews, the researchers suggest the development of a virtual compendium of best practices in public relations education with continuous contributions from educators around the world.
This report presents the findings of research conducted in 2010, extending the original research of the Commission of Public Relations’ 2006 study that produced a first ever “Sampling of Major Gifts to Public Relations Education.” The purpose of both studies was to gauge the status of philanthropy in support of U.S. public relations education by identifying and documenting examples of noteworthy gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations, firms, and associations.
This report, like earlier reports of the Commission on Public Relations Education, presents recommendations for public relations undergraduate and graduate education. But beyond this traditional purpose, “The Professional Bond” report demonstrates, facilitates and encourages the kind of linking of public relations education and practice that is the hallmark of any profession. Based on five waves of original research, The Professional Bond was a first CPRE report to address in detail the topics of ethics, diversity, communication technology, and distance learning among others.
Earlier Reports and Resources
With A Port of Entry, The Commission advocated for students and potential students, faculty and other academic leaders, certification and accreditation bodies and public relations practitioners to profit from the greatly improved “Port of Entry” education that the report described. Based on an original comprehensive survey and focus groups sponsored by CPRE and the National Communication Association, the report recommended courses and content of courses for undergraduate and graduate public relations studies. A Port of Entry includes for the first time what has become known as the 5-course standard for undergraduate education. Public relations undergraduate studies should include at minimum five courses.
This second Commission-issued report sought to improve the content of a public relations undergraduate education rather than courses. It was the first report to base its recommendations based on survey research of public relations practitioners and educators. The report proved greater depth to what the objectives of a public relations program of study should be and assumptions and commitments of a public relations curriculum. It advocated for more resources and administrative and professional support.
This second Commission-issued report sought to improve the content of a public relations undergraduate education rather than courses. It was the first report to base its recommendations based on survey research of public relations practitioners and educators. The report proved greater depth to what the objectives of a public relations program of study should be and assumptions and commitments of a public relations curriculum. It advocated for more resources and administrative and professional support.
The initial milestone CPRE report, after establishing the Commission in 1973, the 1975 A Design for PR Education, introduced the Commission’s mission; made curriculum recommendations for undergraduate and graduate public relations education, specifying courses; addressed educators; the vital relationship between practitioners and educators; and the need for basic research to advance public relations practice.