Master of Science in Public Relations and Corporate Communication

Gain a Competitive Advantage in Public Relations and Corporate Communication

The MS in Public Relations and Corporate Communication (PRCC) provides the professional studies, skills, and hands-on experience needed to elevate brands, build positive reputations, forge meaningful connections with audiences, and manage crises across a broad array of industries.

Our graduate public relations program merges marketing and PR, refining writing, strategy, and critical thinking across digital platforms. Earn a prestigious NYU degree while studying in NYC, a global PR hub.

Gain a Competitive Advantage in Public Relations and Corporate Communication

Tuition*

$2,785 Per credit
$27,562 Per term (10-12 credits)

# of Credits

42 credits

Study Options

Onsite
Fall | Spring
Full-time | Part-time

Minimum Duration

21 months

*See NYU Bursar site for more info. 

10%

job growth 2024-2034

$112K

median salary

90%

working and/or in school

12,081

Global Division of Programs in Business (DPB) alumni

A man in a suit presents to two women in a professional setting, highlighting teamwork, leadership, and focused discussion.

[1] Lightcast 2025
[2] Lightcast 2025
[3] NYU Life Beyond the Square: School of Professional Studies Graduate Class of 2024
[4] as of 1/2024

Why This Degree?

Learn from Public Relations and Communications Experts

Our faculty members and guest lecturers are mass communication experts and thought leaders. They're your professors, instructors, and mentors, providing insights with hands-on learning experience to future-proof your skills.

Gain a Global Skill Set

Whether your goal is to work in a PR firm, plan and execute digital communication strategies, or focus on crisis communications, you can apply the PR, communications, and marketing skills you acquire in our program to job opportunities around the world.

Network Through Student Organizations

NYU's PR League, the degree program’s public relations club and the official NYU PRSSA chapter, offers access to public relations execs, agency tours, and leading industry associations. Build your network and connect with peers for career advancement.

Winner of the 2021 PR Week Awards for Outstanding Education

This prestigious award honors excellence in PR and communications programs. Judged by senior industry leaders, the award recognizes outstanding curriculum innovation, faculty quality, public relations industry impact, and professional placement after graduation.

PR Week A-List Acknowledgement

On the PR Week A-List The PRNEWS 2024 Education A-List features NYU as a top US university, training future PR and marketing professionals.

What You’ll Study

Core Curriculum

Hone your writing, social media, critical thinking, and research skills in our core courses. Work on a case study in PR and/or corporate communication. Learn ethical communication practices, law, and regulations from real-world examples.

Concentrations

Gain more in-demand skills. Choose from concentrations in Public Relations Management and Corporate and Organizational Communication, and take more specialized classes to expand your expertise.

Capstone

The capstone crowns your graduate program journey. Explore a PR and/or corporate communication challenge. Conduct extensive primary and secondary research. Make a unique contribution to the field based on your research findings.

Internships

Our public relations master's program offers internships at top PR firms to give students real-world experience in marketing communication, crisis communication, and emerging media.

Where You’ll Go

Earn a master's degree from New York University and unlock boundless career opportunities.

Where Our Alumni Work
  • Allegravita
  • AmeriChina Group
  • AZIONE
  • Blackrock
  • Burson, Cohn & Wolfe
  • China Institute
  • Edelman
  • Finn Partners
  • FleishmanHillard
  • Ketchum
  • Lululemon
  • Major League Baseball
  • MediaMorphosis
  • Michael Kors
  • Makeblock Co.
  • MSNBC
  • MSLGROUP
  • Penguin Random House
  • SAP
  • Tekomsel
  • United Nations
  • Weber Shandwick
  • W20 Group
  • YY Inc.
  • ZTE Corporation
  • Zheliang Daily Media
What Our Alumni Do
  • Account Management
  • Brand Management
  • Corporate Communications
  • Digital Content Editor
  • Event Management
  • Investor Relations
  • Marketing Communications
  • Public Affairs
  • Public Relations
  • Social Media


The above data is sourced from Lightcast

Spring 2026

Deadlines

Round

Deadline

Decision Release

Priority

August 1, 2025

October 15, 2025

Regular

October 1, 2025

November 15, 2025

Final

November 15, 2025

December 20, 2025

Priority

Deadline

Decision Release

August 1, 2025

October 15, 2025

Regular

Deadline

Decision Release

October 1, 2025

November 15, 2025

Final

Deadline

Decision Release

November 15, 2025

December 20, 2025

Fall 2026

Deadlines

Round

Deadline

Decision Release

Priority 1

November 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Priority 2

January 15, 2026

April 1, 2026

Regular

May 1, 2026

June 15, 2026

Final

July 1, 2026

July 15, 2026

Priority 1

Deadline

Decision Release

November 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Priority 2

Deadline

Decision Release

January 15, 2026

April 1, 2026

Regular

Deadline

Decision Release

May 1, 2026

June 15, 2026

Final

Deadline

Decision Release

July 1, 2026

July 15, 2026

Real World Experiences

Your journey might begin in the classroom, but we ensure that you can learn through experience—rolling up your sleeves and taking your studies to the real world.
A classroom scene with two students seated with laptops, attentively listening.
PRCC Practicum

In our Public Relations and Corporate Communication Practicum course students work as a team on a project for a real client under the direction of an instructor with extensive industry experience.

Learn more about Consulting Practicums
Smiling woman sits on a white platform beside large "Cannes Lions" letters.
Paris & Cannes Global Field Intensives

Embark on a 2-week immersion in Paris & Cannes, exploring global marketing, new media, and communications. Experience the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Attend showcases, awards shows, lectures, and forums, networking with leaders in the field.

Learn More About Global Field Intensives
A group of five people stands smiling in front of a large gold Amazon sign adorned with pink flowers.
Real World Experience

Our Real World course is an interdisciplinary opportunity with graduate students from other Division of Programs in Business programs simulating the role of marketing professionals. Recent clients include Samsung and Porsche.

Learn more About Real World Experiences

Frequently Asked Questions

Public relations and corporate communication involve managing an organization's image and perception through strategic communication, crisis management, advertising, and stakeholder engagement.

The value of going back to school to pursue a public relations master's degree depends on your career goals, market demand, and the program's quality. Higher education and graduate programs in public relations can enhance skills, expand networks, and lead to higher-level positions.

 

A program in public relations can give you a competitive edge when interviewing with potential companies and employers. If you're interested in increasing your knowledge, being involved in a campus community, expanding your network, and leveling up to leadership roles, going back to school could be a good fit for you.

Public relations and corporate communication both seek to distill and simplify often complex or contradictory situations into meaningful and impactful messages that help people understand and interpret the actions of a company. Both PR and corporate communication professionals develop strategies to speak to a variety of audiences including internal stakeholders such as employees and external stakeholders such as journalists and legislators.

Public relations is charged with managing the reputation of a brand, company, or organization holistically across multiple stakeholders. The public often looks to a company’s statements on social media and in traditional media as a guide to better understand their position on important social, political, and economic issues. PR professionals serve organizations with reputation management and brand management strategies, developing statements and messaging that align with the brand.

Graduates of our degree work with a broad range of employers—including start-ups and technology-driven companies, established consumer brands, communications and PR agencies, nonprofits, and government or trade associations. Our graduates hold positions like senior vice president at an agency and global head of communications within a brand. Graduates with entrepreneurial spirits can even work for themselves by creating an agency or freelancing as a consultant.

A public relations program prepares students to enter careers in the field as account executives, public relations managers, public relations specialists, public relations coordinators, media relations managers, social media managers, corporate communication managers, internal communications managers, and more.

New York City is the home to some of the largest advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies in the world, with brands across multiple industries like healthcare, financial services, professional services, packaged goods, direct-to-consumer (DTC), hospitality, fashion, and beauty.


Earning a degree in the city puts you in the center of the global hub for companies, the latest trends, and technology developments. New York City also attracts leading professionals who live and work in the area. That concentration of talent and creativity ensures the city, its universities, trade associations, and affinity organizations are constantly active and engaged with the latest professional and academic thinking in the PR and  strategic communications fields.

Through the Division of Programs in Business and the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development at NYU SPS, MS in Public Relations and Corporate Communication students can complete internships that often evolve into permanent positions. Over the last two years, 93.5% of our students reported being employed within six months of graduation. Alumni of the program secure job opportunities across a wide range companies, including:

  • Allegravita

  • AmeriChina Group

  • AZIONE

  • Blackrock

  • Burson, Cohn & Wolfe

  • China Institute

  • Edelman

  • Finn Partners

  • FleishmanHillard

  • Ketchum

  • Lululemon

  • Major League Baseball

  • MediaMorphosis

  • Michael Kors

  • Makeblock Co.

  • MSNBC

  • MSLGROUP

  • Penguin Random House

  • SAP

  • Tekomsel

  • United Nations

  • Weber Shandwick

  • W20 Group

  • YY Inc.

  • ZTE Corporation

  • Zheliang Daily Media

Public relations managers are responsible for shaping an organization’s external public relations strategy, executing the day-to-day work with various stakeholders, and managing the organization’s reputation. In addition to working for brands, they can collaborate with individual celebrities or public-facing personalities. PR managers create press releases, develop social media strategy, and build relationships with thought leaders to develop actionable messaging recommendations on topics like business, culture, technology trends, and more.

The average salary for a public relations manager is $122,148 in the United States and $142,669 in New York, NY, according to salary.com. Several factors play into salary like location, education and seniority. Working in a large city or pursuing higher education like an MS or bachelor's degree in public relations can help professionals earn a higher salary.

Public relations management is important in supporting the growth and overall health of an organization in terms of how it's perceived and understood by the various publics and stakeholders who are critical to its success. Forging strong community relations, conducting market research, using information, and strategizing content creation plays a critical role in positioning the organization and its leadership in a complex social, political, and economic environment.

Strategic communications is a function of and approach to public relations and corporate communication. It acknowledges the important role of coordinating different communications across a range of touch-points and media in a way that’s aligned with the broader goals of companies, institutions, and organizations.

 

The work starts with a clear understanding of the client’s business, marketing and communications strategy, and the priorities of executive leadership. Strategic communications is rooted in an understanding of public discourse and the application of research. It seeks to find efficient ways to deliver messaging and engage key stakeholders.

Corporate communication is a form of strategic communications that requires the acquisition of highly nuanced communications skills. Through the Corporate and Organizational Communication concentration, you will learn to communicate clearly and effectively across the organizational functions, while gaining a deeper understanding of strategic business communications, corporate accountability, and how to develop and execute a communications plan that supports the goals and objectives of a company or an organization.