Strategic Communication: Advertising and Public Relations, BS

Requirements for Students Matriculating in or before Academic Year 2025-2026. Learn more about University Academic Regulation 3.1.

Minimum Overall Grade Point Average: 2.00
Total Hours: 120 

General Education Requirements
English Composition
See Academic Regulation 3.5
ENGL 1113Composition I3
or ENGL 1313 Critical Analysis and Writing I
ENGL 1213Composition II3
or ENGL 1413 Critical Analysis and Writing II
or ENGL 3323 Technical Writing
American History & Government
HIST 1103Survey of American History3
or HIST 1483 American History to 1865 (H)
or HIST 1493 American History Since 1865 (DH)
POLS 1113American Government3
Quantitative Thought & Logical Reasoning (Q)
STAT 2013Elementary Statistics (Q)3
or STAT 2023 Elementary Statistics for Business and Economics (Q)
or STAT 2053 Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences (Q)
Understanding Humanities-Human Heritage & Cultures (H)
Courses designated (H)6
Reasoning in the Natural Sciences (N)
Must include one Laboratory-Based Inquiry (L) course
Courses designated (N)6
Exploring Society & Human Behavior (S)
SPCH 2713Introduction to Speech Communication (S)3
Courses designated (S)3
Diversity (D)
MC 1143Media in a Diverse Society (DS)3
Global Cultural Competency (G)
Courses designated (G)3
Additional General Education
Additional general education credit hours (at least 1 hour) are required to meet the total 40-hour minimum. If courses carry more than one general education designation and can be used to meet multiple minimum general education designation hours above, more than 1 hour of additional general education will be required here to meet the 40-hour minimum.
Courses designated (Q), (H), (N), (S), (D), (G), or (F).1
Hours Subtotal40
College/Departmental Requirements
UNIV 1111First Year Seminar (or other approved first year seminar course)1
Arts & Humanities
See note 2.a.3
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
See note 2.b.9
Foreign Language
0-6 hours. See note 3.
Upper-Division General Education
Select 6 hours outside major department. See note 2.c.
Hours Subtotal13
Major Requirements
Minimum 2.50 GPA. Minimum grade of "C" in all MC-MMJ-SC-SPM prefix courses.
Lower-division Professional Sequence
2.75 GPA, 24 earned credit hours and declared SC major required to take the following classes:
MC 2003Mass Media Style and Structure3
MC 2023Digital Media Essentials3
or SC 2083 Digital Communication for Strategic Communication
SC 2183Introduction to Strategic Communications3
Upper-division Professional Sequence
Proficiency Review required to take courses below:
SC 3353Persuasive Writing for Strategic Communicators3
SC 3753Graphic Design for Strategic Communication3
SC 3953Research Methods for Strategic Communicators3
SC 4493Strategic Writing for Content Creation3
SC 4843Strategic Communication Campaigns3
or SC 4980 Advertising Competitions
MC 4143Ethics and Issues in Mass Communications3
MC 4163Mass Communication Law3
Advertising & Public Relations
SC 3383Strategic Communications Management and Strategies3
SC 3603Creative Strategies3
SC 4013Media and Markets3
Select 6 hours from the following:6
Topics in Global Communication
Social Media Playbook
Event Planning and Communication
Nonprofit Communications
Strategic Communications Internship
Social Media Analytics
Strategic Sport Communication
Contemporary Sports Issues
Study Abroad: Strategic Messaging
Creative Video for Digital Strategy
Integrated Marketing Communication
Influencers, Promotions and Placements
Communication Competitions
Media Study Abroad (G)
Select 6 additional hours of MC, MMJ, SC or SPM6
Select 3 hours of upper-division Traditional Liberal Arts (A&S, AERO, AMIS, AMST, ANTH, ART, ASL, ASTR, BIOL, CDIS, CHEM, CHIN, CS, DANC, DIVR, ENGL, FLL, FREN, GEOG, GEOL, GREK, GRMN, GWST, HIST, JAPN, LATN, MATH, MICR, MUSI, PHIL, PHYS, POLS, PSYC, REL, RUSS, SOC, SPAN, SPCH, STAT, TH) or Business or General Education3
Hours Subtotal54
Electives
Select 13 hours - One hour may need to be upper-division.13
May need to include 6 hours of a foreign language. See note 3.
May need to include 6 hours upper-division general education or College of Arts and Sciences courses outside major department. See note 2.c.
MATH 1483 or MATH 1513 required for students who do not place directly into STAT.
Hours Subtotal13
Total Hours120

Passing the proficiency review is required for upper-division major requirements. This includes a 2.75 graduation retention GPA, and at least 12 OSU hours earned, and a 2.75 OSU GPA, and a passing score on the Language Proficiency Exam.

No more than 12 hours in MC-MMJ-SC-SPM can be transferred from other institutions.

Students are required to develop and maintain a portfolio exhibiting specific and appropriate work including required class assignments.

Other Requirements

  • See the College of Arts and Sciences Requirements.
  • Minimum 2.50 GPA in all MC-MMJ-SC-SPM prefix courses.
  • Upper-Division Credit: Total hours must include at least 40 hours in courses numbered 3000 or above.

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements

  1. Hours in One Department: For B.A. and B.S. degrees, no more than 54 hours in one department may be required to meet degree requirements. Courses used to satisfy the General Education English Composition, U.S. History, American Government, and Mathematics or Statistics requirements will not count toward the 54-hour maximum required from one department.
  2. A&S College/Departmental Requirements
    1. Arts and Humanities are defined as any course carrying an (H) designation or courses from AMST, ART, DANC, ENGL (except ENGL 3323 Technical Writing) HIST, MUSI, PHIL (except PHIL 1313 Logic and Critical Thinking (Q), PHIL 3003 Symbolic Logic (Q) and PHIL 4003 Mathematical Logic and Computability), REL, TH, and foreign languages.
    2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences are defined as any course from the following prefixes: ASTR, BIOC, BIOL, CHEM, CS (except CS 4883 Social Issues in Computing), GEOL, MATH, MICR, PBIO, PHYS, and STAT; or courses from other departments that carry an (A) or (N) general education designation.
    3. Six upper-division hours are required from General Education or any CAS courses outside the student’s major department. This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student’s degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    4. Non-Western Studies Requirement for B.A. and B.F.A.; One course in Non-Western Studies (N.W.). This requirement may be satisfied by courses also used to satisfy any part of a student's degree program (i.e., in General Education, College Departmental Requirements, Major Requirements or Electives).
    5. The College of Arts & Sciences requires a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major requirements and a minimum 2.0 GPA in all major-prefix courses applied to the degree.
  3. Foreign Language Proficiency
    1. The foreign language requirement for the B.A. may be satisfied by 9 hours college credit in the same language, which must include 3 hours at the 2000-level, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement. Currently Arabic and Mvskoke are not offered at the 2000-level at OSU.
    2. The foreign language requirement for the B.S., B.M. and B.F.A. may be satisfied by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language (passing grades at second-year level of study). It may also be satisfied by 6 hours college credit in the same language, which must include language courses 1713 and 1813, or equivalent proficiency (e.g., passing an advanced standing examination; TOEFL exam; presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates the high school was primarily conducted in a language other than English; etc.). Computer Science courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement.
    3. In addition to a. and b., students pursuing teacher certification must meet novice-high foreign language proficiency by presenting a high school transcript which demonstrates two years of study of a single foreign language with no grade below B. Or, students may complete 3 hours college credit in a single language with no grade below C (or pass an advanced standing examination, College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam, or Oral Proficiency Interview developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, equivalent to 3 hours of college credit.) Or, students may meet the requirement by transfer of documentation of meeting the foreign language competency from one of the teacher education programs in the State of Oklahoma approved by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
  4. Exclusions. Courses with ATHL or LEIS prefixes and leisure activity courses may not be used for degree credit.

Additional State/OSU Requirements

  • At least: 60 hours at a four-year institution; 30 hours completed at OSU; 15 of the final 30 and 50% of the upper-division hours in the major field completed at OSU.
  • Limit of: one-half of major course requirements as transfer work; one-fourth of hours earned by correspondence; 8 transfer correspondence hours.
  • Students will be held responsible for degree requirements in effect at the time of matriculation and any changes that are made, so long as these changes do not result in semester credit hours being added or do not delay graduation.
  • Degrees that follow this plan must be completed by the end of Summer 2031.

Finish in Four Plan of Study

The plan below is an example of how students can successfully complete degree requirements in four years. This suggested class schedule plan may be used as a guide and can be adjusted based on individual needs. Students are required to meet with an academic advisor prior to enrollment each semester to plan their class schedule, and students are ultimately responsible for completing all degree requirements.

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman
FallHours
ENGL 1113 Composition I 3
STAT 2013 is required for this degree. Students who do not place directly into statistics should discuss alternate math-prefixed courses with their advisor in order to qualify to take STAT 2013 next.
General Education courses 11
 Hours14
Spring
ENGL 1213 Composition II 3
STAT 2013
Elementary Statistics (Q)
or Elementary Statistics for the Social Sciences (Q)
or Elementary Statistics for Business and Economics (Q)
3
General Education courses 10
 Hours16
Sophomore
Fall
SC 2183 Introduction to Strategic Communications 3
MC 2003
Mass Media Style and Structure
or Digital Media Essentials
3
General Education courses 9
 Hours15
Spring
MC 2023
Digital Media Essentials
or Mass Media Style and Structure
3
College and Elective courses 12
Note: SC 2183, MC 2003, and MC 2023 can be taken as late as junior fall.
 Hours15
Junior
Fall
SC 3353 Persuasive Writing for Strategic Communicators 3
SC 3753 Graphic Design for Strategic Communication 3
SC 3603
Creative Strategies (Fall only)
or Strategic Communications Management and Strategies
3
Major, College, and Elective courses 6
Note: SC 3603 and SC 3383 can be taken JR or SR year in fall.
 Hours15
Spring
SC 4013 Media and Markets (Spring only) 3
MC 4143 Ethics and Issues in Mass Communications 3
Upper-division SC or Media class from degree requirement list 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 6
 Hours15
Senior
Fall
SC 3953 Research Methods for Strategic Communicators (Must pass STAT first) 3
SC 3383
Strategic Communications Management and Strategies (Fall only)
or Creative Strategies
3
SC 4493 Strategic Writing for Content Creation 3
MC 4163 Mass Communication Law 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 3
 Hours15
Spring
SC 4843
Strategic Communication Campaigns
or Advertising Competitions
3
Upper-division SC or Media class from degree requirement list 3
Major, College, and Elective courses 9
 Hours15
 Total Hours120