Best Public Relations Specialist programs in Kentucky, 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.
23 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 762 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,150 in Kentucky across about 2,580 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 | Speech Communication and Rhetoricmain feeder CIP 09.0101In Kentucky → | 567 | 74.4% | 13 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Public Relations/Image Managementmain feeder CIP 09.0902In Kentucky → | 63 | 8.3% | 5 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 3 | Communication, Generalmain feeder CIP 09.0100In Kentucky → | 62 | 8.1% | 6 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0900In Kentucky → | 28 | 3.7% | 3 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 5 | Sports Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0906In Kentucky → | 18 | 2.4% | 3 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 6 | Health Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0905In Kentucky → | 16 | 2.1% | 4 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | CIP 09.0907In Kentucky → | 7 | 0.9% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 8 | Business/Corporate Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 52.0501In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
Top 23 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 23 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 · 3 feeder programs | 270 | 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 · 4 feeder programs | 52 | 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 · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $27,754 | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 8 | Midway University Midway, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 23 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 41% | $23,658 | 95% |
| 9 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Communication, General | $35,442 | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 10 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 11 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 14 | Public Relations/Image Management | $38,054 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 12 | The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Communication, General | — | 40% | — | 56% |
| 13 | Lindsey Wilson University Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $25,549 | 44% | $14,471 | — |
| 14 | Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Communication, General | — | 39% | $18,384 | 75% |
| 15 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 42% | $13,886 | — |
| 16 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Communication, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 17 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $26,803 | 52% | — | 77% |
| 18 | Simmons College of Kentucky Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | International and Intercultural Communication | — | 14% | $21,102 | 100% |
| 19 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Communication, General | — | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
| 20 | Kentucky State University Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 32% | — | 96% |
| 21 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 22 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Public Relations/Image Management | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 23 | Spalding University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 52% | $23,661 | 99% |
All 23 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 | 270 | 3 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 101 | 1 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 79 | 3 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 52 | 4 |
| 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 | 26 | 1 |
| Midway University | Midway | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 2 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 1 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 14 | 2 |
| The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Lindsey Wilson University | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Alice Lloyd College | Pippa Passes | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| University of Pikeville | Pikeville | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 2 |
What public relations specialists earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,750. 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 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 Kentucky
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 Kentucky.
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 567 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 74.4% 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 762 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do public relations specialists earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $60,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.5% 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 Kentucky?+
23 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 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
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