LUBBOCK, TX:   Schools with advertising and public relations education programs are concentrated in the Midwest and Southeastern sections of the country.  This information comes from the 1999 edition of the national directory, Where shall I go to study advertising & public relations?  This is the 35th annual edition of the publication.

Sixty-six of the 211 schools with advertising and/or public relations programs are located in the Midwest.   The schools in the Midwest also have the largest number of  schools with advertising programs, 37; schools with public relations programs, 41;  and  joint advertising/public relations programs, 18.

Midwest schools with advertising and public relations programs offer 96 programs that graduated 3,782 the past year and had enrollments of 11,173 students.  The Midwest schools also lead in the number of undergraduate students, 10,419; the number of graduate students, 754, and the most faculty, 401.  Schools in the Southeast follows with 70 programs, 2888 graduates and 10,343 students.  The Southeast has the largest number of doctoral degrees, 13, and doctoral students, 71.

As reported earlier, nationwide advertising and public relations programs registered a record number of students, 39,615, this past fall  and 12,068 graduates in 1997-98.  The information was reported from 211 schools offerering 308 programs.

Separating schools with public relations programs from advertising and joint advertising / public relations programs primarily are focused in the Southeast.  The schools in this area have the largest number of undergraduate students, 4,232; master students, 452; and doctoral students, 23.  It also has the largest number of full-time faculty, 113.  Schools in the East produced the most master degrees, 85, and doctoral degrees, 4.  The Midwest offered the most programs, 41, along with the most graduates, 1,419.

Schools with advertising programs are concentrated in the Midwest.  Thiry-seven programs are offered with 1,817 graduates; 1,610 bachelor degrees and 207 graduate degrees.  They also have the largest number of students, 5,595; the most undergraduate students, 5,152; and 421 master students.   They also have the largest number of full-time faculty, 132.  The Southeast conferred the most doctoral degrees, 11; and had the largest number of doctoral students, 43.

Joint advertising/public relations programs continue to grow throughout the country as schools with limited faculty and tighter budgets merge the two disciplines into one.  The largest gain has been in the East.  The Midwest schools have the largest number of programs, 18, and master students, 116.   The Eastern schools produced the most graduates, 731, bachelor degrees, 602, and master degrees, 129.  The East also has the largest number of students, 1,860, and undergraduates, 1,744.  The Southeast and Midwest tie in the number of doctoral students with five.

Schools in the Southwest and West sections of the country are not dominate in any reported category.  The Southwest region consists of four states, while the East has 11 plus the District of Columbia; the Southeast has 10 states plus Puerto Rico; the Midwest with 12 states and the West region with 13 states.  The state of Texas has the most schools with programs, 15, followed by California and Florida with 11.

Most of the programs are concentrated in journalism/mass communications schools and departments.  Ninety-three percent of the programs are located in journalism/mass communication divisions, five percent in business schools and two percent in other units - two in English units, two in social science departments and one in a telecommunications department.

The annual research program was funded in part by the American Academy of Advertising, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Direct Marketing Association, Promotional Products Association International, Public Relations Society of America, Louisiana State University and Texas Tech University.

Billy I. Ross, Louisiana State University, and Keith F. Johnson, Texas Tech University, publish the directory through Advertising Education Publications, POB 68232, Lubbock TX 79424.