Digitalization in Public Relations Education: A Comparison of Public Relations Programs At Universities in Turkey and USA

The widespread use of digital applications in communication has increased the need for qualified human resources who know and use the applications. The growing tendency towards digitization has made it necessary to adapt the content of education in universities. The emergence of digitalization has brought new needs to the public relations field. For this reason, the students who are educated in public relations should also respond to these needs. This is only possible with lessons that will provide awareness of digitalization in universities. In this study, it is aimed to examine the existence of education for digitalization in the course contents of the universities that given public relations education in Turkey and USA. In this way, similarities and differences between the two countries were determined and compared in public relations education. In the study, two lists selected to determine the universities and data on course contents were collected on the web pages of universities. Descriptive research design method was used in the study. The educational content of the universities to be examined evaluated under the headings determined by the content analysis method. According to the results, there is a difference between the numbers of digitally oriented courses in both countries. The courses are left to the choice of students as elective courses. Courses with digital content are mostly given to students in the third year. In both countries, social media courses are offered to students more prioritized. In both countries, the proportion of courses with digital content is higher in state universities. In order to be able to take digital courses at universities in USA, students must be completed prerequisite courses. But there is no such prerequisite in Turkey