Best Public Relations Manager programs in New York, 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.
90 schools in New York run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,410 people a year. The job pays a median of $180,880 in New York across about 7,710 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in New York that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in New York that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in New York (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 New York page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 09.0101In New York → | 1,555 | 35.3% | 51 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0102In New York → | 833 | 18.9% | 26 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 09.0100In New York → | 807 | 18.3% | 26 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0909In New York → | 605 | 13.7% | 4 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 5 | CIP 52.0501In New York → | 212 | 4.8% | 1 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
| 6 | CIP 09.0902In New York → | 195 | 4.4% | 7 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | CIP 09.0900In New York → | 182 | 4.1% | 9 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 8 | CIP 09.0907In New York → | 19 | 0.4% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 9 | CIP 09.0904In New York → | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
Top 25 schools in New York
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 53 of the 90 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 574 | Communication Management and Strategic Communications | $21,006 | 81% | — | 60% |
| 2 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 305 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | $47,880 | 72% | — | 48% |
| 3 | University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 288 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $39,226 | 75% | — | 74% |
| 4 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 263 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $36,767 | 84% | $28,851 | 46% |
| 5 | Marist University Poughkeepsie, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 209 | Communication, General | $41,818 | 80% | $33,867 | 57% |
| 6 | University at Albany Albany, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 180 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $30,792 | 61% | — | 69% |
| 7 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 153 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $29,054 | 57% | — | 54% |
| 8 | Pace University New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 143 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $35,992 | 60% | $29,994 | 76% |
| 9 | Fordham University Bronx, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 116 | Communication, General | $46,405 | 82% | $38,931 | 59% |
| 10 | State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY Public · 3 feeder programs | 103 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 60% | — | 81% |
| 11 | SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 83 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $27,973 | 69% | — | 70% |
| 12 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 78 | Communication, General | $62,182 | 95% | $17,613 | 9% |
| 13 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 74 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 96% | $15,315 | 4% |
| 14 | CUNY City College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Communication, General | $42,734 | 57% | — | 60% |
| 15 | State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY Public · 2 feeder programs | 72 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $29,860 | 72% | — | 62% |
| 16 | St. John's University - New York Queens, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 70 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $27,234 | 66% | $27,359 | 83% |
| 17 | Manhattan University Riverdale, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 67 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $44,016 | 64% | $26,807 | 79% |
| 18 | The New School New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $22,365 | 69% | $54,185 | 63% |
| 19 | State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Communication, General | $34,683 | 68% | — | 60% |
| 20 | CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 56 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $57,782 | — | — | 68% |
| 21 | Iona University New Rochelle, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 56 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $29,911 | 56% | $27,660 | 87% |
| 22 | College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Communication, General | $29,702 | 34% | — | 92% |
| 23 | CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Mass Communication/Media Studies | $26,437 | 25% | — | — |
| 24 | Hofstra University Hempstead, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 52 | Public Relations/Image Management | $42,030 | 69% | $34,539 | 68% |
| 25 | SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $41,070 | 71% | — | 66% |
All 90 schools in New York
Every school in New York 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion Institute of Technology | New York | Public | 574 | 1 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | New York | Public | 305 | 2 |
| University at Buffalo | Buffalo | Public | 288 | 2 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | Private not-for-profit | 263 | 4 |
| Marist University | Poughkeepsie | Private not-for-profit | 209 | 3 |
| University at Albany | Albany | Public | 180 | 1 |
| CUNY Hunter College | New York | Public | 153 | 1 |
| Pace University | New York | Private not-for-profit | 143 | 2 |
| Fordham University | Bronx | Private not-for-profit | 116 | 2 |
| State University of New York at Oswego | Oswego | Public | 103 | 3 |
| SUNY Oneonta | Oneonta | Public | 83 | 2 |
| Cornell University | Ithaca | Private not-for-profit | 78 | 1 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York | Private not-for-profit | 74 | 1 |
| CUNY City College | New York | Public | 73 | 1 |
| State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz | Public | 72 | 2 |
What public relations managers earn in New York
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $146,910. New York pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: New York employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in New York
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 New York
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 New York.
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 1,555 degrees in New York in 2024-25, 35.3% 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 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Communication and Media Studies, Public Relations, Business/Corporate Communications. Together they graduate about 4,410 people a year in New York.
How much do public relations managers earn in New York?+
The median is $180,880 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.1% above 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 New York?+
90 institutions in New York reported graduates from at least one of the 9 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
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