Best programs to become a public relations specialist in Virginia
19 Virginia schools offer programs that train public relations specialists, graduating 1,419 people a year. Public relations specialists in Virginia earn a median of $80,380 across about 9,990 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for public relations specialists. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Virginia are Speech Communication and Rhetoric, as well as Communication (IPEDS completions).
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media.
4 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (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 Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speech Communication and Rhetoricmain feeder CIP 09.0101In Virginia → | 1,137 | 80.1% | 13 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Communication, Generalmain feeder CIP 09.0100In Virginia → | 264 | 18.6% | 6 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Public Relations/Image Managementmain feeder CIP 09.0902In Virginia → | 9 | 0.6% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 4 | Health Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0905In Virginia → | 9 | 0.6% | 1 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
Top 19 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 19 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 319 | Communication, General | $35,392 | 65% | $28,911 | 99% |
| 2 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 305 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $42,769 | 80% | — | 72% |
| 3 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 293 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $44,309 | 86% | — | 55% |
| 4 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 152 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 68% | — | 87% |
| 5 | Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 90 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $36,953 | 72% | — | 86% |
| 6 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 66 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $29,313 | 57% | $18,677 | 38% |
| 7 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 37 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $36,062 | 61% | — | 90% |
| 8 | University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 33 | Communication, General | — | 66% | — | 80% |
| 9 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder program | 23 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,038 | 49% | — | 90% |
| 10 | Randolph - Macon College Ashland, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 19 | Communication, General | $40,328 | 70% | $26,498 | 87% |
| 11 | Roanoke College Salem, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 17 | Communication, General | $36,220 | 67% | $24,604 | 83% |
| 12 | University of Lynchburg Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 13 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 57% | $19,488 | 43% |
| 13 | Averett University Danville, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 11 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 48% | $23,171 | 57% |
| 14 | Marymount University Arlington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 10 | Communication, General | — | 54% | $25,803 | 93% |
| 15 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 9 | Public Relations/Image Management | — | 94% | $11,983 | 14% |
| 16 | Shenandoah University Winchester, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 8 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 67% | $27,455 | 77% |
| 17 | Bluefield University Bluefield, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 5 | Communication, General | — | 18% | $22,057 | 59% |
| 18 | Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 5 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 42% | $20,171 | 73% |
| 19 | Hollins University Roanoke, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder program | 4 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 65% | $21,981 | 68% |
All 19 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty University | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 319 | 2 |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg | Public | 305 | 1 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Public | 293 | 1 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 152 | 2 |
| Christopher Newport University | Newport News | Public | 90 | 1 |
| Regent University | Virginia Beach | Private not-for-profit | 66 | 1 |
| Longwood University | Farmville | Public | 37 | 1 |
| University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg | Public | 33 | 1 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Randolph - Macon College | Ashland | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Roanoke College | Salem | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| University of Lynchburg | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Averett University | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| Marymount University | Arlington | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What public relations specialists earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,750. Virginia pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Virginia employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Virginia
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 and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Public Relations Specialists page.
How to become a public relations specialist
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
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 Virginia.
What degree do you need to become a public relations specialist?+
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for public relations specialists. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Virginia are Speech Communication and Rhetoric, as well as Communication (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a public relations specialist?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Virginia are Speech Communication and Rhetoric, as well as Communication (IPEDS completions). In all, 4 feeder programs graduate about 1,419 people a year in Virginia (IPEDS completions).
How much do public relations specialists earn in Virginia?+
The median is $80,380 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.5% above 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 Virginia?+
19 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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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