Public Relations and Digital Communications with Advanced Research

Why choose this course?

This course is a conversion course, making it available to students who have not studied PR at an undergraduate level. It covers the theoretical underpinning of PR practices but will also take your knowledge to an advanced level.  

Our close connection with industry allows our students to meet and learn from industry speakers. We deliberately select a diverse range of inspiring, experienced guest speakers to join us and meet our student community to ensure you are exposed to a broad range of career prospects. This provides the perfect opportunity for our students to build their networking skills and connections. 

In the past, we were delighted to have welcomed: 

• Mandy Pearse, an award-winning public relations consultant 
• Kate Stephenson, an award-winning blogger and promoter of environmental issues 
• Charlotte Jones, who is a global content manager for beauty brands. 

You will also be invited to attend regular networking events in London, as well as internal workshops and talks covering topics such as inclusion, women in business, PR global issues and more. 

You will be taught by influential, committed experts who are widely experienced in the international communications industry. Our staff have extensive experience, from being media practitioners to PR and digital communication specialists in the fields of governmental communication, health communications, media research, general public relations and digital media management. 

Extracurricular opportunities

Your CV will be taken to the next level through our extracurricular opportunities such as:  

• participating in Public Relations Communication Association (PRCA) groups to network and increase industry expertise 
• getting involved in MA Research seminars or our internal insight platforms such as our Media Matters series
• take up mentorship opportunities
• uncover the partnership with Google Digital Garage. 

All additional exposure will strengthen your PR and digital understanding, whilst also inspiring your coursework.   

What will I study?

Year one

The core focus of this course is to help you confidently apply theoretical knowledge to practical settings. You will explore industry challenges, where you will be required to provide a detailed solution answering the hows, whats and whys. The understanding you will gain of fundamental industry practices such as audience analysis, creating your own communications plans, PR campaigns and crisis plans, will all come into play to help formulate your response. 

On top of that, you will be able to exercise your creative flair on media production projects. You will produce a variety of digital publications suited for different online platforms, getting involved in the messaging, design and software.  

You will study the details of public relations, corporate social responsibility, and the importance of ethical PR, legal frameworks and the risks involved. Advertising and marketing also go hand in hand with PR and digital communications, making it important you recognise the close intersections and how this industry enhances PR communications by promoting messages further and to more targeted audiences.  

You will learn more about the current digital environment and online culture so you will be able to make careful but strategic decisions. The course will cover the latest digital trends, personalisation, audience participation, SEO practices, metrics and the issues that this diverse online setting welcomes. 

Throughout, you will learn a mixture of traditional PR skills as well as immersing yourself in the shifting PR landscape made up of more advanced digital technologies that are able to reach changing consumer demographics; all of which will greatly enhance your CV. 

Year two

On completion of your first year, you will study for an additional year working on an extensive practice-based media project, which will take you to the next level of thinking. You will work with a client on promoting and publicising their brand in an innovative way that benefits their products or services.  

This media project can comprise of many different areas; past student projects have involved evaluating and finding new audiences for the brand through publicity, increasing the client's social media quality and output, and strong emphasis on branded video creation. Should you prefer, you can combine your dissertation study with this media project.  

This Advanced Research route will further develop your research skills by delving into specialist theoretical areas of your choosing, with the additional opportunity of studying the Government Communications and Public Affairs module. This year strongly focuses on allowing you to concentrate and develop in the areas that interest you, so you can sculpt the portfolio you leave with. 

About the course

On this exciting two-year course, you will learn core principles and gain an advanced understanding of public relations and digital communications. The first year of this course is the same as the one-year MA Public Relations and Digital Communications course. It is the second year that differentiates these courses. 

You will find out more about the second year in the 'What will I study?' section below. 

This MA Public Relations and Digital Communications course will enable you to: 

• Develop an understanding of the challenges in the PR and communications industry and apply your knowledge from the course to identify effective solutions to real-life case studies.
• Feel confident and prepared to work in the industry. This course incorporates theoretical and practical learning styles to equip you for a career in the field. This includes traditional lectures as well as workshops, masterclasses and online study.  
• Continuously develop and advance your PR and communication skills. You will familiarise yourself with media planning, writing for the press, reputational management and how to strategically analyse data to measure the impact of digital campaigns and more. 
• Challenge your thoughts and learnings to an advanced level, ensuring you are always open-minded and accepting of different perspectives that will positively influence the way you handle different PR situations.  
• Explore the public relations industry and trends of today, taught to you by our experienced staff, authentic coursework assignments, and expert speakers. 

Completion of a four year bachelors degree with GPA 2.4 or above.

Careers

Want to work within a public relations agency, government communications department, company press office, or within brand, reputation, social media or community management? This course will get you there. Our close industry connections and partnerships have helped us to design this MA in Public Relations and Digital Communications to ensure there is a strong emphasis on ensuring you leave well-equipped for whatever career path you choose to pursue.  

Typical positions and areas include:  

• Community relations 
• Media and public relations 
• Corporate communications  
• Marketing communications 
• Strategic communications 
• Campaign management 
• Brand and social media management 
• Account executive 
• Advertising copywriter 
• Public and external affairs.

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Complex Admissions
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 9AB
UK