Undergraduate public relations education in the United Kingdom: Quo Vadis?

Abstract

In the current context of the undergraduate PR academic education in the United Kingdom degrees being shut down or merged with other communication disciplines, the present essay represents a timely reflection on the results and internal incoherence of PR education provision in the United Kingdom. Starting from the key idea that public relations is a mature occupation and academic social discipline, we developed a thorough analysis of PR fields, where we analysed the intra- and inter-dynamics between these various types of fields, aiming at identifying the main issues that impact the teaching of PR and its academic expressions. Drawn from the field analysis, we then focused on two key trends which currently shape the undergraduate PR education in the UK to recommend changes to the process of curriculum development that reconstructs the social value of Public Relations.