Master’s in Strat Comm – Public Relations Managing Perceptions and Expectations

33
Credit Hours
100% online, 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Use Effective Communication Skills to Help Facilitate Change and Engage Audiences with Liberty’s Master’s in Public Relations
Whether your audience is the public or employees in an organization, effective communication is the key to getting across policies, selling products, and promoting ideas. Liberty University’s Master of Arts (MA) in Strategic Communication – Public Relations seeks to help equip you with the tools to make your message known.
Through social media, video, mobile, or traditional communication venues, our public relations master’s degree aims to help you learn how to craft messages that move hearts and minds. Furthermore, your classes will focus on real-world applications and skills that may assist you in assessing, writing, planning, creating, and implementing marketing and communications plans.
Your officially conferred degree name will be Master of Arts (MA) in Strategic Communication – Public Relations.






Backed by a brick-and-mortar campus ranked among Niche.com's Top 5 College Campuses in America
What Sets Us Apart?
- Private Nonprofit University
- 600+ Online Degrees
- No Standardized Testing for Admission
- Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
- Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree
Why Choose Liberty’s MA in Strategic Communication – Public Relations Degree?
Liberty University’s master’s in public relations and communications is designed to help you pursue your career aspirations, emphasizing specialized skills in foundational aspects of the communications sector. This program delivers practical training that focuses on real-world application and effective messaging to meet organizational objectives.
The program can provide you with the opportunity to gain the following:
- Industry-relevant training
- Insights into digital marketing
- Methods for writing and planning strategic communications campaigns and initiatives
- Portfolio development
- Skills for conducting a situation analysis and providing recommendations to clients
Businesses, nonprofits, and agencies in every industry need talented professionals who can reach audiences in a way that resonates and persuades. Our master’s in strategic communications and public relations can help you enhance your résumé while providing you with the flexibility of 100% online courses.
What is Strategic Communication?
At its core, strategic communications focuses on reaching a target audience in order to meet an organizational or business objective. Social media, video marketing, advertising, and public relations are all avenues of communication that make up the world of strategic communications. This growing, evolving field combines many different outreach methods to help a company achieve its goals.
What Will You Study in a Master’s in Public Relations?
Liberty University’s public relations master’s degree explores the many facets of strategic communication with a focus on public relations. Our program blends classic and modern communication strategies, offering practical projects to help you understand key concepts in communication.
You’ll explore marketing theories as well as develop actionable campaigns and assess their outcomes. Our curriculum includes storytelling, digital communication optimization, and methods for creating engaging content for social media and video. You can also explore how to conduct campaigns across various media and communication platforms. The aim of this public relations master’s degree is to equip you with the skills to effectively reach and influence diverse audiences.
The public relations specialization will focus on strategies and skills in public relations writing. This degree will also examine the process of setting goals and establishing measurable outcomes using communication tools. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to create campaigns and initiatives.
The public relations curriculum also covers how to deal with organizational change. Change is difficult and needs effective communication at all levels. This program will explore how to facilitate those changes to take organizations to the next level.
Marketing, communication, and advertising are crucial in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, shaping how society and organizations interact and thrive. Liberty University is here to support your growth, offering the expertise to help you on your path in the communications industry.
Potential Career Opportunities
- Advertising and public relations specialist
- Business marketing analyst
- Communications analyst
- Communications manager/director
- Corporate communications/employee relations director
- Media relations specialist
- Multimedia public relations manager
- Public relations consultant
- Social media manager
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under the School of Communication and the Arts.
- View the Graduate Communication and the Arts Course Guides (login required).
Degree Completion Plan

Not sure what to choose?
Speak to one of our admissions specialists to help you choose the program that best fits your needs.
Tuition & Aid
Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
Graduate Full Time | $565/Credit |
---|---|
Graduate Part Time | $615/Credit |
Military Graduate | $275/Credit |
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for the Online MA in Strategic Communication – Public Relations Degree
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.5 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515

Ready to Apply?
Submit your application online or over the phone.
Military
Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.
Who May Qualify?
- Active Duty
- Reserve/National Guard
- Veterans/Retirees
- Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
- Current Department of Defense Employees
Available Benefits:
- Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
- Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)*
- 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
*Not applicable to certificates.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Inner Navigation
- Overview
- What Sets Us Apart?
- Why Choose Liberty?
- What Will You Study?
- Tuition & Aid
- Admission Information
- Military
Have questions?