Best Public Relations Specialist programs in Wisconsin, 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.
26 schools in Wisconsin run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,203 people a year. The job pays a median of $67,240 in Wisconsin across about 4,410 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
8 programs in Wisconsin that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Wisconsin (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 Wisconsin page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speech Communication and Rhetoricmain feeder CIP 09.0101In Wisconsin → | 540 | 44.9% | 14 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 2 | Communication, Generalmain feeder CIP 09.0100In Wisconsin → | 307 | 25.5% | 10 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 3 | Sports Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0906In Wisconsin → | 139 | 11.6% | 3 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0900In Wisconsin → | 100 | 8.3% | 6 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 5 | Business/Corporate Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 52.0501In Wisconsin → | 77 | 6.4% | 3 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
| 6 | Public Relations/Image Managementmain feeder CIP 09.0902In Wisconsin → | 33 | 2.7% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 7 | Health Communicationmain feeder CIP 09.0905In Wisconsin → | 6 | 0.5% | 2 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 8 | CIP 19.0202In Wisconsin → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $40,949 | $23,344 |
Top 25 schools in Wisconsin
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 26 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 383 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $37,286 | 90% | — | 45% |
| 2 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 133 | Communication, General | $39,367 | 59% | — | 86% |
| 3 | Marquette University Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 98 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | $39,816 | 83% | $25,376 | 81% |
| 4 | University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 86 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,040 | 49% | — | 91% |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 82 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | $46,039 | 46% | — | 87% |
| 6 | University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 80 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $40,293 | 71% | — | 76% |
| 7 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 69 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | — | 64% | — | 82% |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI Public · 2 feeder programs | 55 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 57% | — | 82% |
| 9 | University of Wisconsin - Parkside Kenosha, WI Public · 3 feeder programs | 47 | Communication, General | $37,107 | 40% | — | 75% |
| 10 | University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Green Bay, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Communication, General | $37,807 | 48% | — | 89% |
| 11 | Carthage College Kenosha, WI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $33,580 | 64% | $22,844 | 87% |
| 12 | University of Wisconsin - Superior Superior, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $41,371 | 42% | — | 93% |
| 13 | Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | $38,287 | 71% | $23,319 | 86% |
| 14 | Edgewood University Madison, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Communication, General | $42,950 | 60% | $23,822 | 76% |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Communication, General | $35,724 | 51% | — | 92% |
| 16 | Carroll University Waukesha, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Communication, General | — | 71% | $22,601 | 67% |
| 17 | Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 50% | — | — |
| 18 | Ripon College Ripon, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 63% | $19,267 | 80% |
| 19 | Wisconsin Lutheran College Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 64% | $19,138 | 78% |
| 20 | Concordia University - Wisconsin Mequon, WI Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 5 | Public Relations/Image Management | — | 68% | $24,409 | 78% |
| 21 | Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 51% | — | — |
| 22 | Lakeland University Plymouth, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Communication, General | — | 42% | $20,767 | 86% |
| 23 | Mount Mary University Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 43% | $18,836 | 62% |
| 24 | Alverno College Milwaukee, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Speech Communication and Rhetoric | — | 49% | $17,221 | 86% |
| 25 | Marian University Fond Du Lac, WI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | — | 44% | $22,627 | 75% |
All 26 schools in Wisconsin
Every school in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin - Madison | Madison | Public | 383 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater | Public | 133 | 3 |
| Marquette University | Milwaukee | Private not-for-profit | 98 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Public | 86 | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh | Public | 82 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - La Crosse | La Crosse | Public | 80 | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire | Public | 69 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - River Falls | River Falls | Public | 55 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Parkside | Kenosha | Public | 47 | 3 |
| University of Wisconsin - Green Bay | Green Bay | Public | 35 | 1 |
| Carthage College | Kenosha | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
| University of Wisconsin - Superior | Superior | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Saint Norbert College | De Pere | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Edgewood University | Madison | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | Stevens Point | Public | 13 | 1 |
What public relations specialists earn in Wisconsin
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,750. Wisconsin pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin.
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 540 degrees in Wisconsin in 2024-25, 44.9% 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, Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services. Together they graduate about 1,203 people a year in Wisconsin.
How much do public relations specialists earn in Wisconsin?+
The median is $67,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.0% 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 Wisconsin?+
26 institutions in Wisconsin 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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