Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations)

What is this course about?

CSU's Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) covers planning and management and the implementation of communication strategies for a variety of communication environments and organisations.

About the course

The public relations practitioner of tomorrow needs to be totally in the social media space. Being able to manage client or organisational Facebook pages and Twitter accounts; shoot, edit and upload digital footage; and to have a strategic sense of what communication strategies and tactics will work in a highly competitive marketplace are key outcomes. Understanding the global public relations environment is a new field this degree offers.

Supplementary consultations

One of the unique things about CSU's Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) is we have small class sizes, which allow intensive learning and interaction with your lecturers and fellow students as well as the opportunity to gain practical experience working in small teams with real clients, not just watch the work being done. This makes our course very competitive. To give you the best opportunity to gain entry to the Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations), CSU offers you the opportunity to undertake a supplementary course consultation as part of your application process. This gives you the chance to meet with the course lecturers and demonstrate your interest, enthusiasm and talent for this career area as well as finding out more about the course, our excellent facilities and exceptional work placements.

Course components

The Public Relations course is the equivalent of 24 subjects and there is also an extensive industry internship program in the final year. You will study subjects in areas including organisations and management, community, government and international communication, social and convergent media strategies, professional ethics, public relations tactics, event management, and crisis management. There are also subjects that provide students with practical experience with community groups.

Hands-on experience

Exercises, case studies and projects in the core subjects cover planning and management of communication strategies, ensuring graduates have a portfolio of work that demonstrates a high level of expertise.

Practical experience

Recent additions to the course structure provide students with the opportunity to work in teams on real projects in the Bathurst-Orange-Oberon region to gain valuable experience prior to their internship.

Students complete internships of four weeks with major public relations firms and corporate public affairs offices to equip them with practical, useable skills developed while working with real clients on real projects.

Academic expectations

For each 8 point subject at CSU, students should normally expect to spend between 140-160 hours engaged in the specified learning and assessment activities (such as attending lectures or residential schools, assigned readings, tutorial assistance, individual or group research/study, forum activity, workplace learning, assignments or examinations). The student workload for some subjects may vary from these norms as a result of approved course design.

Students will be assessed on the basis of completed assignments, examinations, workplace learning, or other methods as outlined in specific subject outlines.

Where applicable, students are responsible for travel and accommodation costs involved in workplace learning experiences, or attending residential schools (distance education students).

Expectations relating to academic, workplace learning, time and cost requirements for specific subjects are provided in the subject abstracts and in course materials.