Best Public Relations Manager programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities designed to create or maintain a favorable public image or raise issue awareness for their organization or.
24 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 918 people a year. The job pays a median of $112,320 in Kentucky across about 510 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 09.0101In Kentucky → | 567 | 61.8% | 13 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0909In Kentucky → | 156 | 17.0% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 3 | CIP 09.0902In Kentucky → | 63 | 6.9% | 5 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0100In Kentucky → | 62 | 6.8% | 6 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 09.0102In Kentucky → | 34 | 3.7% | 5 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 6 | CIP 09.0900In Kentucky → | 28 | 3.1% | 3 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | CIP 09.0907In Kentucky → | 7 | 0.8% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 8 | CIP 52.0501In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
Top 24 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 24 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 377 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $39,311 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 2 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 101 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,219 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 3 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 79 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,637 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 4 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 72 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $33,955 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 32 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $40,429 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $34,858 | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 7 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $27,754 | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 8 | Midway University Midway, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 41% | $23,658 | 95% |
| 9 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Public Relations/Image Management | $38,054 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 10 | Lindsey Wilson University Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $25,549 | 44% | $14,471 | — |
| 11 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Communication, General | $35,442 | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 12 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 13 | The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Communication, General | — | 40% | — | 56% |
| 14 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $30,663 | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 15 | Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Communication, General | — | 39% | $18,384 | 75% |
| 16 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 42% | $13,886 | — |
| 17 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Communication, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 18 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $26,803 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 19 | Simmons College of Kentucky Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | International and Intercultural Communication | — | 14% | $21,102 | 100% |
| 20 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Communication, General | — | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
| 21 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 22 | Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 32% | — | 96% |
| 23 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 24 | Spalding University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 52% | $23,661 | 99% |
All 24 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 377 | 2 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 101 | 1 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 79 | 3 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 72 | 3 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 32 | 2 |
| Bellarmine University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 1 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 27 | 2 |
| Midway University | Midway | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 21 | 2 |
| Lindsey Wilson University | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 2 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 1 |
| The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Berea College | Berea | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Alice Lloyd College | Pippa Passes | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
What public relations managers earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $146,910. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
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 Managers page.
How to become a Public Relations Manager
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- 5 years or more
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.
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 10 majors mapped to Public Relations Managers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0100Communication, General
- 09.0101Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- 09.0102Mass Communication/Media Studies
- 09.0900Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
- 09.0902Public Relations/Image Management
- 09.0904Political Communication
- 09.0907International and Intercultural Communication
- 09.0909Communication Management and Strategic Communications
- 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
- 52.0599Business/Corporate Communications, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing public relations managers programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Public Relations Manager?+
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 567 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 61.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Public Relations Manager?+
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 918 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do public relations managers earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $112,320 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.5% below the U.S. median of $146,910. 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 managers growing?+
BLS projects a +5.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 6,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
24 institutions in Kentucky 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 managers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Communications Director, Public Affairs Director, Community Relations Director, Public Relations Director (PR Director) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-2032.
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