Benefits of Joining PRSSA:
- Get internships or jobs!
- Great guest speakers
- Mentor Program
- Access to the National PRSSA Job Center Database (PRSSA.org)
- Discounted PRSA membership after graduation – $60 vs. $225 for non-members
- Networking events with local public relations professionals and peers
- Office tours
- Resume and career building workshops
- Preparation for the Communication Career Fair
- Social events
- Free pizza at EVERY meeting!
History of PRSSA:
The Public Relations Society of America, the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals, founded the Public Relations Student Society of America in 1968. The student organization is dedicated to fostering an environment that helps create favorable and mutually advantageous relationships between students and public relations professionals.
In the mid-1960s, Dr. Alan Scott laid the foundation of PRSSA by establishing one of the only six on-campus public relations organizations nationwide at The University of Texas at Austin. By April 4, 1968, the PRSA Board of Directors founded the first official PRSSA Chapters at nine universities across the country. UT was one of the first Chapters founded and was named after Dr. Scott.
Dr. Scott taught public relations and advertising at UT for 34 years until his retirement in 1983. In the early 1970s, PRSA named Dr. Scott Educator of the Year and also gave the title of Best in the Country to the PRSSA Alan Scott Chapter. Dr. Scott was a founding member of the Texas Public Relations Association and was a member of the PRSA College of Fellows.
Today, UT PRSSA is one of the largest Chapters in the nation with over 150 members. The focus of our Chapter is to provide an out-of-the-classroom experience that gives students, regardless of their major, an enhanced knowledge of the public relations field.
