PR 180 to 189 A-Z - Special Topics

Semester Hours: 1-4

Current Special Topics:

PR 180T - Communicating the Climate Change Crisis

The climate crisis is no longer coming, it is here.  Record temperatures, massive ice sheet melting near the poles, and unprecedented forest fires around the world are all evidence of a rapidly changing climate that professional communicators must understand and help their stakeholders, employers and clients successfully navigate.

Almost every community, business and organization will be impacted by climate change, if they are not already.  Professional communicators will need to have a basic understanding of the pervasive and expensive consequences of climate change – arguably the biggest challenge facing our world – so they can explain to their stakeholders what is being done to manage and survive this existential threat.  They will also need to address the concerns of their constituents, who are becoming more and more sensitive to climate change and other “green” issues.

This course will provide students with a broad-based understanding of the major communications challenges that climate change will present, including the impact of melting icecaps, increased drought, stronger rains and hurricanes, reduced crops, tropical diseases in new geographic areas, and many others. Based in part on training received at Al Gore’s Climate Reality conference, the course will help students understand the climate crisis and prepare them to deliver key messages to a wide variety of publics and audiences.

Prerequisite: PR 100  

Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes:
Any course may be taken a number of times as long as there is a different letter designation each time it is taken. Specific titles and course descriptions for special topics courses are available in the online class schedule.  Not all Special Topics courses in Public Relations are for liberal arts credit.

• View Course Offering(s):
• Summer I 2025
• Summer II 2025
• Summer III 2025
• Fall 2025