PR-Studiengang der University of Waikato akkreditiert

PR programme gains top international accreditation

The world's most influential organisation of PR professionals has given its stamp of approval to the public relations programme offered at the University of Waikato Management School.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the foremost body of PR practitioners and educators, with 22,000 members and 10,000 affiliated students. The PRSA Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR) has been awarded to only 22 universities in the world.

Waikato is one of just three universities outside the United States to have won certification.

"The PRSA's endorsement puts Waikato on the global map," says Associate Professor Debashish Munshi, chair of the Department of Management Communication where the PR major is taught. "This certification says our graduates are ready to take a job anywhere in the world."

To meet the requirements of the CEPR, the department submitted a dossier of information to establish that its programme had academic credibility and adequately prepared communication practitioners for the market. Waikato Management School then hosted a three-day site visit by two PRSA reviewers who interviewed a range of staff, students, alumni, employers and internship providers, and practitioners associated with the university.

"We had to meet nine separate standards, including providing information on what we do to maintain relationships with past students and PR professionals, and how we organise internships for our current students," says Dr Margalit Toledano, who teaches PR at Waikato and is herself the first New Zealand Fellow of the PRSA.

The CEPR reviewers noted that firms offering internships to Waikato students particularly valued the fact that the PR programme sits within the Management School, so students are exposed to business concepts from day one.

They also commented on the Management Communication Students' Association (MCSA), the first of its kind in New Zealand, which they noted was well-grounded in relation to PR practice and practitioners. The MCSA is affiliated with PRINZ, the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand, and offers students mentoring and networking opportunities.

Dr Munshi says PRSA certification shows Waikato stands head and shoulders above the rest. "No other institution in the southern hemisphere has PRSA certification," he says. "It's an international guarantee for prospective students of the quality and practice-relevance they'll find at Waikato Management School."

Quelle: University of Waikato, Waikato International, 18. Februar 2010