LUBBOCK, TX:   The number of college graduates and students in advertising and public
relations reached an all-time high the last year of the millennium.  The number of graduates rose to
12,439 up 3.1% from the previous year, and student enrollment was 40,719, up 2.8%.

Those were some of the data reported in the 2000 edition of Where Shall I Go To Study
Advertising & Public Relations?  The 36th annual edition of the directory included information
from 201 colleges, down from 206, in the previous year.

Two categories reported that were down from the previous year were the total number of
graduate students, 2,311 (-1.1%) and fulltime faculty 928 (-1.4%).  The schools listed in the
directory reported 298 programs in advertising, public relations and joint advertising and public
relations.

Advertising remains the largest of the three programs with 5,454 graduates, up 12.3%, and
students 17,720, up 9.2%.  It also had the largest number of faculty, 398.

Public relations remains a close second with 5,004 graduates, up 3.4%, and 16,679
students, up 4.5%.  There was a sharp decline in the number of public relations graduate students
from the previous year, 852, down 21.8%.

The number of schools with joint advertising and public relations programs, which has
grown rapidly over the past decade was down in the number of students 6,320, 14.8%, and down
in the number of faculty 156, 26.4%.  However, the number of graduates increased to a record
high of 1,981, up 44.5% .  This is the first year since 1994 that there was a decease in the number
of students in joint advertising and public relations programs.

The University of Texas and Michigan State University continue to dominate schools with
advertising programs.  Texas conferred the most bachelor degrees, 230; the most doctoral degrees,
6; and has the largest faculty with 18 members.  Michigan State continues to have the largest
number of students, 957, and the largest number of doctoral students, 21.

The University of Florida's public relations program is dominate among schools with public
relations programs in bachelor degrees, 190, and undergraduate students, 688.

Boston University's joint advertising and public relations program is the country's largest
program in many categories: bachelor degrees, 301; undergraduate students, 755; and faculty, 22.

The research and publication are supported by the American Academy of Advertising,
American Association of Advertising Agencies, Advertising Division of Association for Education
in Journalism and Mass Communication, Direct Marketing Association, International Association of
Business Communicators, Louisiana State University, Lubbock Advertising Federation,
Newspaper Association of America Foundation, Public Relations Society of America and Texas
Tech University.

The directory is published annually by Advertising Education Publications
<http://www.mcom.ttu.edu/wsig/> by editors, Billy I. Ross, Ph.D., Louisiana State University and
Keith F. Johnson, Ph.D., Texas Tech University.