Available for international students studying in NZ or via distance learning
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 Business School is ranked in the top 2% of business schools globally.
Massey University’s business and management studies ranks in the top 200 (by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) rankings). We are also ranked in the top 150 universities worldwide for business administration programmes by the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.
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.
“I love all areas of communications and apply the theories and skills that I learnt at Massey to every channel and every client…”
"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.
I’m now in my third communications position. I’ve been highly commended by the Public Relations Industry of New Zealand for the Young PR Practitioner of the Year award, I manage national and international client accounts and I’m starting to become recognised locally as a leader in the communications industry.
I work as the Marketing and Communications Manager at the full service creative agency Blacksheepdesign, alongside my comms team, designers and web developers.
Our clients include Toyota NZ, the Palmerston North City Council, Mack Trucks and even Massey University.
Full service means that we manage it all - from media liaison, event management, website content, and crisis communications to digital marketing and social media.
This didn’t come easily, and there is another big part of what makes Massey University special. Halfway through my degree I became a first-time single mum. 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."
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.
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