Purpose
The purpose of this survey was to understand what kind of students are attracted to USF’s
School of Mass Communications, specifically the public relations sequence.




Objectives:
To explore why students choose mass communication and the public relations sequence.
To discover what students expect to learn in their classes.
To understand student’s perceptions about what it is like to work in public relations.
To explore the benefits of a USF School of Mass Communications education.
Methodology
In order for our team to get the information we were seeking, we created a survey with other
classmates. The participants were recruited from several classes in the public relations
sequence. These classes were Mass Communications and Society, Principles of Public
Relations, Writing for Public Relations, Public Relations Research, and Advanced Public
Relations. Including all these classes in our survey allowed us to reach students across every
level of the public relations sequence. The survey was 28 questions long and the survey
opened on April 13th. It closed on the April 17th. Participants were entered in a drawing for a
$25 gift card as an incentive to get them to complete the survey.
Results

To explore why students choose mass communication and the PR
sequence.
A large percentage of participants were active in learning more about their
major.
Business and mass comm. were the most popular majors student’s were
considering when the entered USF.
There are many reasons to consider mass communications or to declare mass
communications as your major.
“I like the creative end of public relations and advertising. It allows you to have fun with
your job and express yourself creatively.”
“ I have enjoyed the world of Mass Communications ever since I was in television
production in high school. I have enjoyed doing production, writing scripts for morning
shows and doing many video projects for my old high school.”
“I enjoy being creative and feel that Mass Communications incorporates the sort of things I
want to be doing for the rest of my life.”
When it came to majoring in mass communications, students brought up many
concerns.
“The difficulty of getting permits. The procedure for getting classes needs to seriously be
revised. It makes being in mass communications extremely stressful.”
“Yes, the lack of available positions. The competition is extremely fierce with several people
with the same background, education, and professional skills applying for the same
positions.”
“I'm narrowed in the industry I want to work in and it appears that those in charge only hire
women.”
There were many students that found different ways to learn more about majoring in
Public Relations.
Many respondents (89.2%) used research and read about the field in order to learn
more, while 76.9% of them talked to PR professionals.

To discover what students expect to learn in their classes.
Advanced Public
Relation
Writing for Public
Relations
Public Relations
Design and
Production
Public Relations
Research
Public Relations
Issues
Principle of Public
Relations
Writing for Mass
Media
Introduction to
Advertising
Media Ethics
Beginning Reporting
NOT AT ALL
BENEFICIAL (%)
NOT VERY
BENEFICIAL
(%)
SOMEWHAT
BENEFICIAL
(%)
VERY
BENEFICIAL
(%)
NOT
SURE
(%)
MEAN
(%)
0.0
1.8
0.0
82.1
16.1
3.96
0.0
00
7.0
80.7
12.3
3.92
1.8
00
10.7
73.2
14.3
3.81
0.0
1.8
14.5
74.5
9.1
3.80
3.5
7.0
17.5
64.9
7.0
3.55
3.4
3.4
29.3
60.3
3.4
3.52
1.8
12.3
22.8
61.4
1.8
3.46
00
10.3
43.1
34.5
12.1
3.27
1.9
1.8
11.1
15.8
33.3
40.1
35.2
42.1
18.5
0.0
3.25
3.23
Communications Law
1.8
8.8
49.1
24.6
In order to prepare students for a career in public relations, there are many aspects of
their major that they should be learning in class.
“I think we should learn all of the aspects of a public relations job. We should learn the
different areas you can work in; how to write effectively; and how to use the design
programs.”
“As much as you can. Knowledge is power and it cannot hurt to know as much as you can
about your profession, as well as the surround mass medias and fields. The more diverse
knowledge you have, the more powerful you become.”
“What truly is the art of public relations and what career options you can have with that
degree. How to maximize their degree so they get the most use out of it.”
Other than taking classes public relations there are other ways PR students can help
prepare themselves for their careers.
“Acquire at least two internships, join PRSSA, and obtain an mentor.”
“An internship is a must. There is so much to learn hat each student should get out in the
field prior to graduating to get some hands on experience. Also, get involved in student
organizations that are geared towards public relations and build a network with your fellow
students so when you have a question, you might be able to find it through your social
group.”
“Marketing classes, public speaking classes, internships, and shadowing professionals in the
field, and blogging.”
Being a PR professional, there are some important skills they need to have.
15.8
3.15
Writing (92.1%) and working with others (93.7%) seemed to be the most important
skills a PR professional should have.
Writing
Working with
Others
Social Media
Public Speaking
Critical Thinking
Design
Research
General Business
Knowledge
Computer
Software
Math/Statistics
Very
Unimportant
(%)
1.6
Somewhat
Unimportant
(%)
0.0
Somewhat
Important
(%)
6.3
Very
Important
(%)
92.1
1.6
1.6
3.2
93.7
3.89
0.0
1.6
1.6
0.0
1.6
3.2
1.6
3.2
0.0
0.0
9.5
15.9
12.7
42.9
46.0
87.3
81.0
82.5
57.1
52.4
3.84
3.76
3.76
3.57
3.49
0.0
4.8
44.4
50.8
3.46
1.6
9.5
34.9
54.0
3.41
4.8
47.6
44.4
3.2
2.46
Mean
3.89
The majority of the respondents that took this survey were members of the Public
Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).
Surprisingly, most students in this field have not yet had a PR internship or
practicum, but they are planning on having one (54%).
• To understand student’s perceptions about what it is like to work in
PR
The majority of students are very interested in working in the field of public
relations; however, they are less interested in the possibility of getting a master’s
degree in that topic. They would rather get a degree in another field.
Working in
the field of
public
Not at all
Interested
(%)
1.6
Not very
Interested
(%)
1.6
Somewhat
Interested
(%)
27.9
Very
Interested
(%)
68.9
Mean
3.64
relations?
Getting a
17.7
33.9
25.8
22.6
2.53
master’s
degree in a
field other
than public
relations?
Getting a
18.3
28.3
41.7
11.7
2.47
master’s
degree in
public
relations?
‐
Many students believe that having a bachelor’s degree helps prepare them for the
workforce, but they think it will be difficult to actually find a job in the PR field.
Getting a master’s degree in the field isn’t necessary for getting a job in PR or
advancing in positions.
Having a
bachelor’s
degree in
public
relations will
help me get a
job in public
relations
I will need to
get a master’s
degree to
move up the
corporate
ladder once I
am working
in public
relations
It will be easy
for me to get
a job in the
public
relations field
I will need to
get a master’s
Strongly
disagree
(%)
Somewhat
agree
(%)
Somewhat
agree
(%)
Strongly
agree
(%)
Mean
5.4
Neither
agree nor
disagree
(%)
5.4
0.0
39.3
50.0
4.34
5.5
30.9
23.6
29.1
10.9
3.20
8.9
37.5
26.8
25.0
1.8
2.73
23.2
32.1
28.6
8.9
7.1
2.55
degree to get
a job in the
public
relations field
‐
‐
Student’s believe the average starting salary for a PR graduate ranges from
$20,000-$40,000
‐
‐
Students are willing to work for less than the average salary in order to gain
experience in the field.
‐
‐
There are a variety of specialized PR fields that students want to work in. The
most popular specialized areas are in entertainment, firms, and event
planning.
‐

Students feel that they are somewhat prepared for entering the PR job market.
To explore the benefits of a USF School of Mass Communications
education.
‐
Most students weren’t very knowledgeable about USF’s Mass
Communications program.
‐
The main ways students heard about the USF School of Mass
Communications through the actual USF Web site and through friends.
‐
Many students aren’t sure how USF’s PR program ranks against programs at
other Florida universities, but other students feel that USF’s program is above
average.
‐
‐
The majority of the students (52.5%) are somewhat satisfied with their
experience in the School of Mass Communication.
Demographics
The majority of participants were female.
The majority of participants were mass communications
majors.
The majority of the participants were seniors. The seniors represented 60% of
participants while juniors made up the second largest group (36.7%)
The majority of participants were 21 or 22
Summary
The purpose of this survey is to understand what kind of students are attracted the public
relations sequence at USF’s School of Mass Communications. Mass communications was
the most popular response to what majors students were considering when they entered
USF. Other popular answers were business, education and psychology.
Most participants felt that the classes that they were taking were beneficial to them. They
felt that the skills of working with others and social media were the most important skills to
possess as a public relations professional. Most of the participants did various things to be
more informed about there major. Participants researched and read about public relations.
They also joined the student organization PRSSA and talked to professionals.
More than half of the participants did not have an internship or practicum but did anticipate
having one in the future. Participant’s most popular answer when asked what they think their
starting salary was between $20,001-30,000. Entertainment was the most popular answer
when participants were asked what fields they were interested in working. Other popular
answers were public relations firm and event planning.
Large portions of participants were not very knowledgeable about the USF School of Mass
Communications before they enrolled at USF. Half of the participants heard about the
School of Mass Communications from USF’s Web site. Most of the participants did not
know enough about other schools public relations sequences to compare them USF’s. More
than half of the participants were somewhat satisfied with the School of Mass
Communications and felt that they were somewhat prepared to enter the public relations job
market.
There are some ways to improve the campaign. Some choices in the survey were not
completely clear to participants and did have some awkward wording. There should also be a
way for participants to give comments or suggestions about the survey and its effectiveness.
To attract students to the public relations field there should be more information about the
benefits of the field. As for USF’s public relations sequence, the school site should be
updated and more attractive and there should be more outreach by professors,
administrators and student organizations to students who are undecided on the major