Education Commons^™

Training Future Pr Practitioners And Serving The Community Through A "Learn By Doing" Undergraduate University Curriculum, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

The Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) has created a public relations (PR) curriculum that adequately balances students' preparation in conceptual knowledge and practical skills by introducing “hands on” public relations work. At Cal Poly, students gain valuable expertise from the beginning of their academic experience by providing PR work for community clients. Moreover, dozens of nonprofit organizations in Cal Poly's community have been helped by getting PR support of the highest quality—support that they need but cannot afford to pay for. Details are provided of Cal Poly's PR curriculum and structure for seven of its courses.