For years, public relations students have criticized the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication for centering the PR track around journalism courses, raising concerns about whether the curriculum truly prepares them for careers in the field.
PR majors are required to take several journalism-focused courses, including Reporting and Writing I, II and III, as well as Visual Storytelling.
Shayla Jones, a third-year public relations student, said the professors do make an effort to prepare students for professional expectations and push them to think beyond FAMU.
“I feel like the teachers here do a very good job at preparing you for what to expect in the real world,” Jones said.
She explains that instructors stress meeting deadlines, professional writing standards, and audience awareness skills that transfer into any communications roles.
Still, Jones notes that the structure of the program can create challenges for PR majors. While the required journalism courses strengthen writing skills, she argues that they do not reflect the writing styles or job responsibilities used in public relations.
For other students, the curriculum feels disconnected from what PR professionals actually do. Jha’niece Johnson, a third-year public relations major who serves as the PR chair for several campus organizations, shared that most of her skills came from independent learning rather than coursework.
“I feel like we get the skills, but we don’t have the actual opportunities within the curriculum,” Johnson said. “Everything I’ve done PR has been self-taught.”
Johnson added that being required to take mostly journalism courses can leave PR students feeling overlooked.
“It’s really unmotivating because that’s not what I want to do,” she said. “We only take classes that are really for journalism students, and we are not journalism students.”
She also mentioned that students would benefit from hearing from PR professionals who have graduated from the program.
“Actually, talking to students who graduated and are doing PR would be really helpful,” Johnson said. “This is what students actually need.”
Other students describe SJGC’s PR program as both helpful and limiting. Fourth-year public relations student Jasmine Petion acknowledged that the school attempts to offer real-world applications, but still misses key technical skills required in the field.
“I honestly think they do their best at trying to prepare us for the real world,” Petion said. “But there is a lack of the technical skills public relations professionals should have.”
She suggested the curriculum would be stronger with courses modeled after real PR roles.
“Maybe like a corporate PR class where we’re able to deal with crisis communications issues,” she said.
Students also pointed to a desire for more program offerings such as more design training, applied PR work and industry-specific internships. Jones emphasized that these additions would help PR majors stay competitive in an increasingly demanding field.
“Jobs are expecting you to know everything,” she said. “Maybe another graphic design class could put us at an edge.”