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Principles of Public Relations

University of Colorado Boulder via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

4 weeks, 2 hours a week
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, German, Thai, Indonesian, Spanish, Kazakh, Hindi, Russian, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Japanese, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Vietnamese, Azerbaijani

Found in

Part of

Introduction to Public Relations and the Media

Overview

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In this course, you will learn about branding and the role of public relations as opposed to adjacent fields like advertising and marketing. You'll gain insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the media and how to leverage storytelling with different outlets. Foundational mass communication and public relations theories will be discussed.

Syllabus

Defining Public Relations
- Welcome to Principles of Public Relations. This first module establishes a foundational understanding of what public relations is and how the field has developed over time. You will examine professional and scholarly definitions of public relations, explore the role of ethics and professional organizations, and consider why definitions matter for both practice and research. This module also introduces ongoing debates about the boundaries of public relations and its relationship to adjacent communication fields.
The Four-Step Process in Public Relations
- This module introduces the four-step public relations process as a strategic framework for planning and evaluating communication efforts. You will learn how research, planning, implementation, and evaluation work together through real-world case examples. This module emphasizes foundational planning tools to support effective and measurable public relations practice.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- This module examines the role of public relations in organizational responsibility, advocacy, and community engagement. You will differentiate between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Social Advocacy (CSA) and analyze how organizations communicate values and build stakeholder trust. This module also addresses community engagement and the importance of issue sensitivity and social license.
Working in Public Relations
- This final module introduces professional pathways within the public relations industry, including agency and in-house roles, and the skills needed to pursue them. This module emphasizes career preparation through networking and strategic job-search practices.