Best Public Relations Specialist programs in Indiana, ranked by enrollment
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media.
33 schools in Indiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 863 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,900 in Indiana across about 3,750 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Indiana that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Indiana that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Indiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Indiana page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speech Communication and Rhetoricmain feeder CIP 09.0101In Indiana → | 398 | 46.1% | 18 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Communication, Generalmain feeder CIP 09.0100In Indiana → | 289 | 33.5% | 11 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Sports Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0906In Indiana → | 63 | 7.3% | 5 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0900In Indiana → | 50 | 5.8% | 5 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 5 | Business/Corporate Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 52.0501In Indiana → | 30 | 3.5% | 1 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
| 6 | Public Relations/Image Managementmain feeder CIP 09.0902In Indiana → | 18 | 2.1% | 5 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | Business/Corporate Communications, Othermain feeder CIP 52.0599In Indiana → | 11 | 1.3% | 1 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
| 8 | Health Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0905In Indiana → | 4 | 0.5% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
Top 25 schools in Indiana
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 19 of the 33 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 4 feeder programs | 287 | Communication, General | $41,409 | 83% | — | 50% |
| 2 | Indiana University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN Public · 5 feeder programs | 69 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $39,775 | 54% | — | 76% |
| 3 | Ball State University Muncie, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 61 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | $38,020 | 62% | — | 85% |
| 4 | DePauw University Greencastle, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 58 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $43,141 | 75% | $20,874 | 57% |
| 5 | Butler University Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Sports Communication | $39,701 | 80% | $35,696 | 85% |
| 6 | Purdue University Northwest Hammond, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $25,541 | 43% | — | 72% |
| 7 | Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $39,712 | 36% | — | 84% |
| 8 | University of Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 26 | Communication, General | $33,054 | 56% | $18,930 | 66% |
| 9 | Indiana University - East Richmond, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $37,463 | 40% | — | 67% |
| 10 | Franklin College Franklin, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Sports Communication | $36,964 | 60% | $22,055 | 70% |
| 11 | Saint Mary's College Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Communication, General | $32,322 | 69% | $25,896 | 76% |
| 12 | Hanover College Hanover, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Communication, General | $31,621 | 67% | $20,442 | 84% |
| 13 | Taylor University Upland, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Communication, General | — | 74% | $20,836 | 74% |
| 14 | University of Evansville Evansville, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Communication, General | — | 64% | $19,593 | 78% |
| 15 | University of Southern Indiana Evansville, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $29,059 | 48% | — | 96% |
| 16 | Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 77% | $19,021 | 63% |
| 17 | Indiana University - South Bend South Bend, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,094 | 40% | — | 84% |
| 18 | Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Communication, General | $35,164 | 70% | $20,155 | 89% |
| 19 | Grace College and Theological Seminary Winona Lake, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Communication, General | — | 69% | $16,216 | 82% |
| 20 | Indiana University - Kokomo Kokomo, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $31,085 | 46% | — | 86% |
| 21 | Indiana University - Northwest Gary, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 37% | — | 73% |
| 22 | Trine University Angola, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 64% | $22,269 | 85% |
| 23 | Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $34,213 | 43% | — | 81% |
| 24 | Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Marion, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Communication, General | — | 35% | $18,316 | — |
| 25 | Indiana University - Southeast New Albany, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $26,777 | 39% | — | 84% |
All 33 schools in Indiana
Every school in Indiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette | Public | 287 | 4 |
| Indiana University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Public | 69 | 5 |
| Ball State University | Muncie | Public | 61 | 2 |
| DePauw University | Greencastle | Private not-for-profit | 58 | 1 |
| Butler University | Indianapolis | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 1 |
| Purdue University Northwest | Hammond | Public | 37 | 1 |
| Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne | Public | 27 | 1 |
| University of Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Private not-for-profit | 26 | 2 |
| Indiana University - East | Richmond | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Franklin College | Franklin | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 2 |
| Saint Mary's College | Notre Dame | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Hanover College | Hanover | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 1 |
| Taylor University | Upland | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 2 |
| University of Evansville | Evansville | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 2 |
| University of Southern Indiana | Evansville | Public | 15 | 1 |
What public relations specialists earn in Indiana
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,750. Indiana pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Indiana
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Public Relations Specialists page.
How to become a Public Relations Specialist
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Indiana
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 11 majors mapped to Public Relations Specialists11 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0100Communication, General
- 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- 09.0900Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
- 09.0902Public Relations/Image Management
- 09.0904Political Communication
- 09.0905Health Communication
- 09.0906Sports Communication
- 09.0907International and Intercultural Communication
- 19.0202Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Communication
- 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
- 52.0599Business/Corporate Communications, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing public relations specialists programs in Indiana.
What degree do you need to become a Public Relations Specialist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Speech Communication and Rhetoric, which awarded 398 degrees in Indiana in 2024-25, 46.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Public Relations Specialist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Public Relations, Business/Corporate Communications. Together they graduate about 863 people a year in Indiana.
How much do public relations specialists earn in Indiana?+
The median is $64,900 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 13.2% below the U.S. median of $74,750. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for public relations specialists growing?+
BLS projects a +4.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 27,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Indiana?+
33 institutions in Indiana reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do public relations specialists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Communications Specialist, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, Public Relations Specialist (PR Specialist) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-3031.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card