The education system has continuously developed and grown with time. From those days where only a few courses were counted as the major ones with the rest being labeled as a space filler, the educational system has certainly moved in line with the time. As of today, you can see different courses on offer with great career options and future. One of those new modern-day courses on offer is public relations and today we are going to discuss in-depth about the public relations courses in India which includes it’s syllabus, eligibility criteria and more.
PR Course also known as the art of creating and developing a positive relationship with people via strategic management, this has become the need of time. With the world going through such a fast-paced development phase, the opportunities for a person with strategic knowledge of handling and overseeing people are much needed.
We here will also discuss different branches of public relations courses and see viable career opportunities for people. Read along.
What is Public Relations?
Not many people know the exact definition or role of public relations. For some, it’s just a mere word for managing people while for some it’s one of the most strategic roles around. Public Relations, also known as PR is an activity of developing and controlling the information relays between organizational hierarchy and outside media. It is something that helps the organization to maintain the relations with stakeholders and outsiders in order.
Public relations helps to develop the spirit of informing, promoting, assessing, and influencing people around. Going for a public relations course will help develop logical thinking and decision making in a person. This can help them tackle different issues and navigate through circumstances with ease.
Scope of Public Relations stream
The public relations course has a vast potential for career growth and offers plenty of opportunities for students to complete their course in this stream. The major career paths can be in the media line, or in maintaining investor relations for a corporate. You can also opt for the marketing relations field or customer relations.
Digging further deep, you’ll find that you can also go for diverse areas like NGOs, government agencies, financial sectors, health clinics, colleges, and more as part of your career area after finishing the course in public relations. These days the world is becoming tech-savvy and internet friendly. And for this, the companies require someone with strategic knowledge of operating with the public to boost the company’s profile. This is why public relations courses are destined to have a great career ahead.
Public Relations Courses
There are plenty of courses that are on offer in Public Relations. We have compiled a few of the major courses among them for our list. We have included both the graduation based and post-graduation courses to offer a good alternative for people who are looking to go into this sector. Let’s check out the courses.
Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication (BJMC)
Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication is a graduation course on offer for students who have completed their high schools. This is a three-year course divided into six semesters with each comprising of six months. Let’s find out more in brief down below:
Course details
As we talked about, this one is a graduation course and is on offer as a three-year thing. It is available via plenty of universities and students can join in from the university as suited to their needs. Students go through different modules like writing, communication, media laws, state politics, print journalism, radio journalism, folk media, advertising, public relations, and much more in this course. You can also find these courses offered by open universities as part of their correspondence course.
Eligibility
The eligibility for this course revolves around three things. The first being, they should have completed their high school from a recognized state board. They should have acquired at least 50% to 60% marks in their high school. And the third, they should be of minimum 17 years of age.
Scope
A student who has completed this course can then go for work experience in the field of media, newsprint, television media, and in the organization as a public relation spokesperson. They are also offered a job in copywriting, editing, and other roles.
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication (BA)
Bachelor of Arts is one of the most diverse courses as they come in different streams and majors. For public relations enthusiasts, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication is one of the best graduation courses to opt for. It’s a comprehensive course that allows the educational and personal growth of the student. Let’s discuss more of this down below:
Course details
This course is similar to the BJMC aforementioned. This is also a graduation based course and comes with three years. Students have to go through five compulsory subjects along with five elective ones. The modules majorly taught here are economics, political science, communication studies, sociology, history, and more. This course is offered by all major universities and students can opt for either a regular one or a correspondence one based on their preference.
Eligibility
A student needs to fulfill certain criteria to be eligible for this BA in Journalism and Mass Communication. He/she should have completed their 12th or high school from a recognized board. The student also needs to have a minimum of 50% marks in high school. Students from SC/ST quota will get a 5% relaxation for marks in some universities.
Scope
This is one of the highly thought of course and has plenty of opportunities on offer for students. A student can get into the writing industry and become a content writer or copywriter. They can also go into the media field and take up a media relations role. Another intriguing option is to go for government agencies or NGO’s.
Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM)
Next up is another graduation course on offer in public relations. This course designated as Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) is a graduation course that runs for three years. This course is quite sought after by students who are looking for a growth-based career after completing high school. Let’s find out more about the course down below:
Course details
Bachelor of Mass Media course is a graduation based course and is offered by all major universities in India. The course has a duration of three years and is divided into six semesters of six months each. The semesters allow the student to learn and acquire skills step by step. The major modules that students learn in BMM are communication skills, creative writing, mass media, print media, journalism, contemporary society, branding, agency management, and more. You can also find this course as a regular and correspondence based depending on the university.
Eligibility
A student needs to have completed their 10+2 or high school from any recognized board to be eligible for this course. They also need to have scored at least 50% to 60% marks for the admission criteria.
Scope
Once a student has completed this course they can go for major roles in television, radio, public relations, journalism, and publishing. They can become directors, editors, columnists, news anchors, proofreaders, journalists, and much more.
Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication (MJMC)
We talked about the BJMC course above which was a graduation course on offer for students. This one next up is the postgraduate course for students who are willing to opt for public relations. This course comes with plenty of scopes and career growth of which we’ll talk down below:
Course details
Since it’s a postgraduate course, it comes with 2 years of duration which is further divided into four semesters of six months each. This course is offered by plenty of universities across India and a student can register themselves in the university that suits them. One can also opt for correspondence if that suits them and if the same is offered by the university. A student will get to learn different modules like communication theory, contemporary media, graphic media, print journalism, business media, media ethics, content writing, presentation skills, and much more in this.
Eligibility
A student needs to fulfill a few criteria to be eligible for this course. The major one being the requirement of a graduate degree from a recognized university. The student also needs to have scored around 50% to 60% in their graduation. It is also likely that the university will ask for candidates with better English skills.
Scope
This course is a great one to opt for as it certainly opens a door to multiple opportunities. A person with an MJMC degree can get into being a correspondent,public relations officer, radio jockey, editor, publisher, content writer, and much more.
Master in Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication
This is another of the post-graduation courses on offer in public relations. This course has been one of the top preferred courses for post-graduation among students in India. This course is a Master in Arts with majors in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Here’s the course, scope, and salary for this course
Course details
As we mentioned above, this one is a post-graduation course and is for two years. This course is offered by universities across India. Any student willing to go for this course can either opt for a regular one or go for a correspondence based course. The course offers students knowledge in modules like political science, philosophy, social work, archeology, literature, rural studies, economics, and more.
Eligibility
A candidate needs to have completed the graduate course from any recognized university or institute. The candidate also needs to have scored a minimum of 55% in their graduation. They also need to have passed all their papers before applying to this course.
Scope
Any candidate who completes their course in MA in Journalism and Mass Communication can have plenty of job opportunities and career scope going ahead. They can get into teaching, journalism, writing, counseling, administrative task, and more.
PG Diploma in Public Relations
The last course in public relations is PG Diploma based and is one of the top picks for students who want to go for a short term course after their graduation. Unlike the Masters or the post-graduation, these courses are only 1 year.
Here’s the course, scope, and eligibility for this course
Course details
Many students can’t go for full-fledged masters or post-graduation courses. This is why diploma courses are made as they allow the student to learn the essential skills without having to pay a lot of fees. This PG Diploma in Public Relations is a one year course with two semesters each of six months. This course allows a student to learn different modules like management studies, mass media industry, business communication, corporate branding, event management, media management, and more.
Eligibility
A student can become eligible for this PG diploma course by completing their graduation course from any recognized university or institute. They should have scored at least 55% marks in their graduation.
Scope
A student with a PG Diploma in Public Relations can go into different sectors like media, the writing industry, the publishing industry, corporate levels. They can continue their growth and become communications managers, public relations managers, and others.
These aforementioned courses are some of the best ones that a student can opt for in Public Relations. These courses help provide the students with a career platform and growth opportunity and they are well respected.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
