This fields provides students with the skills of professionally analysing communication situations and professionally designing solutions to communication problems. It also teaches the skills required to plan and implement a professional public relations campaign (including goal-setting, budgeting and evaluation); the skills of audience and public opinion analysis; a range of communication theories; and an understanding of how globalisation and the emerging information economy is impacting upon public relations practices.

There is a growing demand for public relations officers in both the public and private sectors, and increasingly in the non-government sector as well. All large organisations now employ public relations officers.