PRSA MBA Initiative

The PRSA MBA/Business Initiative is a multi-year effort to advocate the importance of training in strategic communications and reputation management in MBA programs. This initiative will provide MBA candidates with a better appreciation of public relations’ strategic value and help them to understand and apply the associated knowledge required for organizational and leadership success in the future. 

Multiple surveys, including those conducted by PRSA, have shown that reputation management and communication strategy are important skills for businesses success. But a gap exists in the communications and reputation management skills training of MBA graduates; skills they will need as future business leaders.

Survey: Communications a ‘Vital Skill’ for Today’s Business Leaders

Making strategic communication a key element in MBA programs not only will make a significant contribution to the practice of public relations, it also will contribute to sound business practices. A greater understanding and appreciation of public relations among senior executives will help public relations practitioners gain easier and more frequent involvement in C-suite business decisions.

Bringing PR Skills to Future Business Leaders

To help address a lack of training in communications and reputation management skills among MBA graduates, PRSA has created a turn-key program based on course curricula developed over three decades by Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communications at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. The course incorporates flexible full-semester, “mini-mester” and seminar formats, thus increasing the likelihood of adoption by the nation’s MBA programs.

PRSA is in the process of identifying four charter schools, in addition to the Tuck School of Business, to take part in a pilot program, through which the schools will formally integrate the public relations course into their MBA programs for their fall 2012 semesters. PRSA set a timeline to launch the initiative with MBA programs nationwide in 2013.

More information on the PRSA MBA Initiative is available by contacting PRSA's public relations department at (212) 460-0347 or pr@prsa.org.