Studies & Degrees in Corporate Communication
Corporate Communication Study Programs
Corporate communication is the work of managing how an organisation speaks and is seen: by its employees, its customers, investors, the media and the wider public. It brings together fields that used to be taught apart, such as public relations, internal communication, media relations, institutional relations and brand management. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the core of the job in one sentence: public relations specialists create and maintain a positive public image for the individuals, groups or organisations they represent.
Students learn to write for different audiences, plan campaigns, deal with journalists, manage social media and measure public opinion. Most programmes also cover internal communication, crisis and reputation management, ethics and the basics of marketing and advertising. Many courses work with real clients: at Penn State, for example, public relations students take on real clients in capstone courses and learn how to build a campaign, from market research to news releases and media kits.
Qualifications and levels
Corporate communication is seldom the name of a first degree. Students usually reach it through a broader communication, public relations or business degree and specialise later.
- Bachelor's degrees. In Spain an official bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits, at 60 credits per year. Corporate communication appears as a set of subjects or a track inside degrees in communication, advertising and public relations, or journalism. In the United States a bachelor's degree is usually completed in four years of full-time study, and the subject is taught inside majors such as Advertising/Public Relations at Penn State or Strategic Communication at Butler University, which treats public relations and advertising as one field.
- Master's degrees. This is where most programmes with "corporate communication" in the title are found. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. One example is the Máster Universitario en Comunicación Política y Corporativa of the Universidad de Navarra: an official degree of 60 ECTS credits that lasts 10 months, is taught on campus in Madrid in Spanish and English and has 30 places. It includes compulsory work placements and two study stays, in Brussels and Washington. IE's Master in Strategic Marketing & Communication in Madrid lasts 10 months, full-time and in English.
- University-specific and school programmes. Spanish universities also offer their own lifelong-learning qualifications, such as the Máster de Formación Permanente (60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits), which the law requires them to keep clearly apart from official degrees. Private schools run master's programmes and short courses too: ISEMCO in Madrid, a collaborating centre of the Universidad Camilo José Cela and the Universidad del Atlántico Medio, lists a master's in event management and production, corporate communication and protocol, on campus and online. Ask each school what recognition its qualification has.
Where to study
SpainExchange lists 19 active schools for corporate communication. Nine are in Spain and five in the United States; Mexico has two, and Australia, Brazil and Singapore have one each.
In Spain the list includes the Universidad de Navarra, the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, the Universidad Miguel Hernández in Elche, and in the Madrid region IE Business School, the Universidad CEU San Pablo, the Universidad Camilo José Cela and ISEMCO. Abroad it includes Penn State, Purdue University, Bentley University, Butler University and Susquehanna University in the United States, the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia and FAAP in São Paulo.
The language of instruction follows the country in most cases: Spanish in Spain and Mexico, English in the United States, Australia and Singapore, Portuguese in Brazil. Some programmes in Spain are bilingual or taught in English, so check the language of each programme before applying.
Careers
Graduates work in the communication departments of companies, in public relations and communication consultancies, in public institutions, political organisations and non-profit organisations. Typical tasks are writing press releases and preparing information for the media, drafting speeches, arranging interviews for executives and following public opinion on social media. Managers may also handle internal communication, such as company newsletters.
For the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of public relations specialists to grow 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, slower than the average for all occupations, with about 23,000 openings projected each year. It projects overall employment of public relations and fundraising managers to grow 6 percent over the same period. Specialists typically need a bachelor's degree in public relations or another communications field. Managers typically need at least a bachelor's degree, some positions may require a master's degree, and many years of related work experience are also necessary. These figures describe the US labour market only.
Frequently asked questions
Is corporate communication the same as public relations?
They overlap. Public relations focuses on the image of an organisation with the public and the media. Corporate communication is the wider term and also covers internal communication with employees, institutional relations and brand management.
Do I need a master's degree to work in corporate communication?
Not always. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, public relations specialists typically need a bachelor's degree, while some management positions may require a master's degree. Programmes with corporate communication in the title are mostly found at master's level.
How long does a master's in corporate communication take in Spain?
Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits, and 60 credits correspond to one academic year. The official master's of the Universidad de Navarra in political and corporate communication, for example, has 60 ECTS credits and lasts 10 months.