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The course provides the theoretical and practical tools necessary to work in public relations and to take a reflective approach to the profession and the role of communications officer. The emphasis is on oral and written presentation.

The course comprises three modules:

Module 1 Professional role, jurisprudence and ethics, 7.5 ECTS cr
The module aims to place the communication officer in a societal context with a focus on the concept of professional role. The different professional roles in the area of communication and how these are related are treated. The general and basic legal issues of communication are discussed, including freedom of speech and the press, public access to information and copyrights. Students also learn to approach various problems that may arise in their daily professional role critically and reflectively and to acquire knowledge of the basic ethical principles relevant to different roles. Contact with active professionals is an important part of the module.

Module 2 Linguistics and rhetoric, 7.5 ECTS cr
Basic linguistic concepts and elements are introduced, such as the difference between speech and writing, word formation, vocabulary, and text transposition. Students study texts in terms of style and argumentation models. Basic concepts, theories and methods in rhetoric are discussed. Written rhetoric is used to illustrate different genres, text types and language registers. Students perform oral presentations for various purposes to an audience. Delivering constructive criticism of fellow-students' productions is an important part of the learning process. Instruction is in the form of lectures, seminars and group work.

Module 3 Applied writing, 15 ECTS cr
Good writing skills are a fundamental requirement of communication officers. Students are introduced to a process-oriented practice which means that texts are continuously discussed at different levels before reaching the stage of end product. Students are expected to reflect on how purpose and audience affect the choice of genre, language and form. The module consists primarily of practical exercises linked to imagined situations, designed to increase student awareness of the potentials and limitations of the written language, and to develop their writing skills. The focus is on different forms of informative texts, such as journalism, press releases, texts for the web and popular science texts. The process-oriented approach means that constructive assessment of different texts is an important element. Instruction is in the form of lectures, seminars and group work.

Progressive specialisation: G1N (has only upper‐secondary level entry requirements)

Education level: Undergraduate level

Selection:

Selection is usually based on your grade point average from upper secondary school or the number of credit points from previous university studies, or both.

This course is included in the following programme

• Study Programme in Public Relations (studied during year 1)