When sophomore Michael Llerena tells people he's an aspiring journalist, they question his career choice.
"People have an overwhelming fear that the field of journalism is dying, and it's not," said Llerena, a 20-year-old journalism major. "While newspapers may be dying, the field of journalism is not dying; it's merely changing."
Enrollment in the journalism major has actually been growing at UF. Since last fall, enrollment for journalism is up by about 2 percent. Numbers for all majors in the College of Journalism and Communications are up from last year.
For the past 18 to 24 months, there has been an overall increase in enrollment, said Michael Weigold, the college's associate dean of undergraduate affairs and enrollment management. He said the growth is a testament to the college's leadership, professors and curriculum.
Public relations enrollment is up by about 18 percent, advertising enrollment is up by about 5 percent and telecommunication is up by about 11 percent. However, these numbers change daily, Weigold said.
Although he said he did not want to speculate why public relations has grown as a major, Weigold said UF is one of the few schools to offer it as a degree.
According to the College Board website, 265 colleges offer PR as a major.
Nicole Cuccaro, a 19-year-old public relations sophomore, has noticed more people switching into her major. She said many of her friends who were undeclared or who decided to change majors switched to public relations.
"It's a really good degree to come out with because it's so versatile," she said. "It prepares you for any kind of work you want to go into."
Numbers at Medill School of Journalism, the journalism college at Northwestern University, have remained constant. Medill enrolls the maximum number of students each year, said Keri Disch, the college's director of student life.
The University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers students one major with specialized core courses. However, students are enrolled in the school after earning 60 credit hours, according to the school's website.
UF's College of Journalism and Communications.
