Your study of public relations delivers knowledge and skills that are in increasing demand - public relations is one of the fastest-growing specialist areas in business.
Find out more about the Bachelor of Communication parent structure
The Massey Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations) will build the skills you need for a successful career in public relations. You will develop your interpersonal and inter-group communication abilities, strategic thinking and planning capabilities, writing, and research and information processing skills.
You’ll learn how to help organisations to communicate in persuasive and ethical ways with their staff, customers, regulators, communities, investors, and society. Public relations practitioners organise events, write and edit media releases plus online and print newsletters and publications, develop strategic public relations plans, and build relationships through digital media.
Massey’s communication programmes are only the seventh outside of the US to be recognised by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC).
This prestigious accreditation recognises Massey's "good connections with industry, its commitment to constant improvement, its strong leadership, and large research output".
Massey University’s communication and media studies ranks in the top 200 world-wide and its business and management studies ranks in the top 250 (by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) rankings). We are ranked No.1 in New Zealand and in the top 150 in the world for our business administration and communication programmes by ShanghaiRanking. Accreditation means your degree is internationally recognised, making it easier to arrange a student exchange and find employment overseas.
85% of graduates are employed within six months of graduation. These graduates are employed across nine different industry categories with more than 60 different job titles.
Massey University was New Zealand’s first institution to offer university-level courses in Public Relations, so you’ll be able to take advantage of our extensive knowledge and experience in teaching this discipline.
“The support of lecturers and staff in the School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing not only pushed me to complete my studies but gave me the networks, skills and confidence to progress very quickly in my career…”
It’s not something that people often admit, but I didn’t really understand what communications was when I chose my degree. I did know that I wanted to study at Massey University, and the Bachelor of Communication career outcomes seemed up my alley - so I took the leap and it changed my life.
To date, I’ve been highly commended by the Public Relations Industry of New Zealand for the Young PR Practitioner of the Year award, worked in in-house communications and marketing teams, managed national and international clients and have become recognised locally as a leader in the communications industry. I've spent the last few years as the Marketing and Communications Manager at the full service creative agency Blacksheepdesign, alongside a communications team, designers and web developers. My clients included Toyota NZ, the Palmerston North City Council, Hino Trucks, Wildbase Recovery and even Massey University.
Recently I've begun my own communications consultancy - Little Kōwhai. I think the biggest asset from my degree is a broad knowledge base, which I've developed through industry experience. I'm a complete all-rounder, covering everything from media liaison, event management, website content, and crisis communications to digital marketing and social media.
Your Massey PR education equips you with a sound grasp of the classic PR disciplines, and the BC structure enables you to complement this with areas such as creative communication – a potentially winning combination in the contemporary job market, where employers increasingly value creativity and adaptability. The internship course offers you the opportunity to gain real life PR experience as part of your studies, and our students are highly rated by internship hosts ranging from local councils to creative consultancies.
Enterprises across the spectrum of private sector, government, and not-for-profits now grasp the importance of public relations.
Surveys show BC graduates consistently enjoy high rates of employability, across a wide range of industry categories. Job titles include communication coordinator, consultant, content and social media specialist, project manager and advisor.
Public relations practitioners love how every working day is different, busy and challenging, drawing on creativity and strategic planning to make a real difference in their organisations and communities.
Interned for: Blacksheepdesign
“In my last year, I took the Communication Internship course and spent a full academic year at Blacksheepdesign. This internship allowed me to escape the classroom and work for an agency while I studied. I networked with future employers, produced work for national and intentional clients and gained invaluable real-world experience. Having interned as part of my degree helped me stand out from other graduates in a competitive job market after university.”
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