Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE)
Special Issue Call for Papers
Manuscript Due Date: 08/07/2025
Anticipated Publication: January 2026 JPRE 12(1)
"Elevating PR: Insights and Trends in Graduate Education"
Guest Editors:
Emily S. Kinsky, West Texas A&M University
Charles Lubbers, University of South Dakota
Adrienne A. Wallace, Grand Valley State University
Since 1975, the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) has studied undergraduate and graduate public relations education standards and practices, with the bulk of its effort being to lessen the gap between the profession and the academy at the undergraduate level. In 1999, the CPRE “Port of Entry” report addressed the university as the official “port of entry” for those who seek to make public relations a career, citing both undergraduate and graduate education as the tooling and retooling centers of the public relations profession. Then, the last official CPRE report on graduate education was released in 2012, “Standards for a Master’s Degree in Public Relations: Educating for Complexity.” With the growth of master’s-level public relations education in recent years and the splintering of methods, modes of delivery, theory, and practice, this special issue attempts to bridge the gap that exists in pedagogy related to PR graduate education with an issue solely dedicated to graduate education in public relations.
The purpose of this special issue call is to invite research articles, teaching briefs, scholarly and critical essays, and case studies, and we are especially interested in articles that explore BOTH the challenges and opportunities for public relations pedagogy focusing on graduate-level education in the public relations classroom. Submissions that offer practical knowledge and guidance for ONLY graduate public relations education are encouraged. We invite original submissions, and areas of focus could include but are not limited to:
● How practitioner expectations align with graduate education
● Best practices for internships in applied master’s programs
● Applied theory at the graduate level
● International approaches to graduate education
● Developing research and data analytical abilities for practice
● How graduate programs connect with the demands of the profession
● Innovative approaches to graduate education (e.g., unique course offerings, new ideas for projects and assignments)
● CEPR graduate-level certifications (e.g., tips, benefits)
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions should follow the Author Guidelines on the JPRE website. Authors should include the special call name (SIGradPR) in parentheses after their manuscript title to indicate the submission is for this particular special call. Authors should submit their manuscript through Scholastica, the online submission system for JPRE. All submissions will be anonymously reviewed, following the guidelines of JPRE. Authors must use APA style for citations, references, tables, figures, and captions, plus follow the JPRE Styleguide. All identifying information must be deleted before full paper submissions.
Timeline with Key Dates:
● Deadline for full manuscript submission to JPRE’s Scholastica submission portal: https://jpre.scholasticahq.com/ - 08/07/2025
● Notification of review results, including invitations for revision and resubmission (R&R): August 2025
● Deadline for R&R submission: 09/30/2025
● Scheduled Publication: January 2026 12(1)
If you have any questions, please contact the guest editors for additional information.
Dr. Pamela Bourland-Davis, Georgia Southern University, pamelagb@georgiasouthern.edu
Dr. Emily S. Kinsky, West Texas A&M University, ekinsky@wtamu.edu
Dr. Chuck Lubbers, University of South Dakota, chuck.lubbers@usd.edu
Dr. Adrienne A. Wallace, Grand Valley State University, wallacad@gvsu.edu