The B.A. in Advertising, Public Relations and Strategic Communication
The major integrates advertising, public relations and health communication. Students examine challenges in marketing, employee relations and community relations, then use communication and social science theory to build creative solutions for corporations, healthcare systems, schools, sports organizations, government agencies and nonprofits.
Graduates learn to write persuasive messages for identified audiences and create visuals that reach them. The degree totals 128 credits, with 56 in the major.
Core Courses
- Foundations in Strategic Communication (STC 1225)
- Agency Practicum or Practicum in Publicity Methods (STC 2260 or STC 2265)
- Persuasion and Crisis Analysis (STC 3365)
- Applied Research in Strategic Communication (STC 3385)
- Strategic Communication Campaigns (STC 4415)
- Social Media and Analytics (SME 4345)
- Communication Law and Ethics (COM 3390)
- Copy Editing (JOU 3323)
Message Development Courses
Students choose 12 credits of message development, shaping the degree toward the field they want to enter:
- Message Development for Public Relations (STC 3315)
- Message Development in Advertising (STC 3375)
- Message Development in Health and Nonprofit (STC 3335)
- Message Development in Government and Public Affairs (STC 3305)
- International Strategic Communication (STC 3480)
- Sports Public Relations (SPT 3325)
Electives
Six more credits come from courses such as Advertising and Consumer Culture, Introduction to Event Management, Feature Writing, Multi-Camera Production, Techniques in Media Production or an internship.
All majors also take COM 1110 Human Communication and COM 1120 Introduction to Media Creation. The major totals 56 credits within the 128 needed to graduate.
See the full course requirements and the undergraduate bulletin course descriptions.
How Strategic Communication Courses Prepared Graduates
Graduates point to specific classes and assignments that carried into their first jobs.
Hannah Brubaker
Corporate Communications Manager, Volvo Cars
“Dr. Matthew Ritter’s public relations class prepared me for my career.”
Alex Bouvier
Area Manager, Amazon
“At HPU, I completed many writing assignments and improved my writing skills with the help of my professors.”
Meagan Flynn
Social Media Analyst, ZenChange
“HPU helped me select classes that taught me valuable lessons for my future.”
The BEACON Lab
The BEACON Lab is the School of Communication’s dedicated neuromarketing analysis center. Students use it to test how audiences respond to their designs and to run their own research.
Equipment for Student Projects
Students can check out more than 40 cell phone video kits, including gimbals, along with podcasting kits for class and agency projects.
HYPE, the Student-Run Agency
HYPE is a communication agency run by HPU students. As part of their classwork, students handle plan development, media relations, video production, graphic design and social media management for real clients.
Simulations and Campaigns
Students earn Mimic Social certification in a social media simulation, and in Strategic Communication Campaigns a student team builds a complete communication plan for a real organization. The Bateman Team takes that work to national competition.
The Princeton Review gives High Point University a 95 out of 99 rating for professor accessibility, based on its student surveys.
Strategic Communication in the News
Dr. Brandon Lenoir
HPU Students Gain Insight Through Global Experience Travels
“We met with Italian advertising, public relations, health communication and political communication professionals during our in-country portion of a Global Experience course the students took in the spring semester,” Lenoir said. “One of the highlights was meeting with the public relations and media relations team at the Vatican.
Explore Strategic Communication at High Point University
See how HPU strategic communication ranks and where its graduates go next.
Accreditation & Awards Careers & Student Organizations
Questions about the program? Email Professor John Mims, chair of Strategic Communication, at [email protected].