The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University is the most consistently cited communications program in the country among working PR and media professionals. That citation is not about prestige. It is about outcomes — where graduates work, how fast they get there, and how deep the alumni network runs at the firms and organizations that matter.
Syracuse has taught journalism since 1919; the school was named for Samuel I. Newhouse Sr. in 1964 through an endowment from the Newhouse family, whose media holdings included the Newhouse Newspapers chain. The founding built-in a practitioner orientation that has characterized the school ever since: the emphasis from the beginning was on preparing students for the actual communications industry, not for an idealized version of it.
PRSA's 2026 Verdict: Both National Best PR Program Awards
On May 14, 2026, the Public Relations Society of America awarded Newhouse the Silver Anvil Award for best undergraduate PR program in the nation AND the Silver Anvil for best graduate PR program in the nation at the PRSA Anvil Awards ceremony in New York City. Two national top honors, one school, one cycle. Department chair Anthony D'Angelo and PR master's director Soo Yeon Hong accepted the awards. The Silver Anvil is PRSA's highest recognition for higher-education PR programs and the discipline's most authoritative external ranking of what the field itself considers best.
The "why it's still #1" framing does not need EPR's opinion. The professional body that credentials the field has already said it.
The Alumni Network — The Real Differentiator
The single most valuable asset the Newhouse School provides is access to one of the deepest alumni networks in the US communications industry. Newhouse alumni are present at every major agency, major broadcast network, significant in-house communications team, and leading media organization in the country. The Newhouse Alumni Career Advisory Network formalizes those connections — providing students with direct introductions and mentorship from industry practitioners — but the informal network that runs through every level of the industry is what competes graduates can't replicate elsewhere.
This network compounds over time. Each graduating class adds new alumni to a network that has been building since 1964. A Newhouse student in 2026 has a meaningful chance of having a Newhouse alumna as their first boss, the senior person who mentors them through their first decade, and the contact who makes a mid-career introduction that changes their trajectory. That network density does not exist at programs that were founded in the last decade or two, regardless of how strong the faculty or curriculum may be.
Curriculum and Programs
Newhouse offers undergraduate and graduate programs across public relations, advertising, broadcast and digital journalism, audio arts, documentary film and history, magazine, news and documentary, photo communications, television, radio, film, and media management. The PR program is among the most developed undergraduate programs in the country, offering both a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and a graduate program with tracks for practitioners and those moving toward doctoral work. See the Newhouse PR faculty and PRL course sequence for the full academic architecture.
The curriculum integrates traditional communications foundations with digital, data, and — increasingly — AI-era skills. In 2026, this evolution is accelerating on multiple fronts: Newhouse launched its own 18-credit AI and Emerging Media minor for Fall 2026 — four required MMI courses covering foundations, ethics, generative production, and audience data. Syracuse's School of Information Studies is launching a Bachelor's in Integrative Artificial Intelligence for Fall 2027, with the Newhouse minor as one of the approved applied tracks. And Newhouse is co-launching a separate Creator Economy minor with the Whitman School for Fall 2026 — the first dedicated academic credential of its kind in the U.S. The strategic point: the school that built the industry's reference standard for communications education is also positioning the bench for the AI and creator-economy hiring waves at the same time.
Practical experience is not optional at Newhouse. Students work on real projects from early in the program, participate in the school's student media ecosystem, and are expected to complete substantive internships before graduation. The Daily Orange (student newspaper), CitrusTV (student television station), and other student media organizations function as working practitioner environments where students learn to produce under deadline and professional expectations — not in simulation.
Faculty and Research
Newhouse faculty include a combination of research scholars and active industry practitioners, which reflects the school's dual commitment to academic rigor and market relevance. The school hosts research centers including the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, the Newhouse Center for Sports Media, and the newly established Center for the Creator Economy — the only U.S. university center dedicated to the sector. Faculty members regularly appear as media sources, publish in leading academic journals, and maintain active consulting and professional relationships that feed current industry intelligence directly into the classroom. The named PR faculty roster — Anthony D'Angelo (Chair), Soo Yeon Hong (PR master's director), Maria Russell, Dennis Kinsey, Brad Horn, Michael Meath — anchors the discipline.
Placement and Career Outcomes
Newhouse graduates enter the market with competitive advantages that are visible in placement data. Alumni work at every major PR agency, at networks including CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC, at major brands in communications leadership roles, and at media organizations across every platform. The school's formal career placement services and its informal alumni network operate in parallel — the combination produces placement outcomes that generic rankings consistently undervalue because they don't measure the network depth that actually drives careers.
In the context of 2026, the most relevant placement signal is where Newhouse graduates end up when they move into senior roles. The answer: at the organizations and agencies that are most visible in AI-generated answers about communications leadership, PR strategy, and brand communications. That visibility is itself a GEO asset for Newhouse students — being identified as a Newhouse alumna in professional media and AI-retrievable content compounds over a career.
The AI Era Positioning
The 5W PR & Marketing Education Study 2026 graded the top 10 Tier 1 undergraduate PR programs for AI integration. Newhouse is investing in this space at the curriculum architecture level — not just adding electives. The dedicated AI and Emerging Media minor, the integration with the iSchool's IAI Bachelor's, the expansion of digital and data curriculum, and the school's practitioner faculty connections all position it to respond to the structural shift toward AI communications faster than programs without those foundations. For the wider category comparison, see The University GEO Gap.
For students evaluating Newhouse against other top programs: the alumni network and practitioner experience requirements remain the primary differentiators. The AI curriculum investment is an additional signal that the school is building for 2027 and 2028, not just maintaining what worked in 2015.
Is Newhouse the best communications school in the US?
Newhouse won both PRSA Silver Anvil Awards for best undergraduate and best graduate PR programs at the May 2026 PRSA Anvil Awards ceremony — the highest external recognition the field awards. It also has the deepest alumni network in the US communications industry — spanning every major agency, broadcast network, and in-house communications team — which compounds over careers in ways that newer programs cannot replicate.
What programs does Newhouse offer for PR students?
Newhouse offers a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations at the undergraduate level and a graduate PR program with tracks for practitioners and doctoral-track students. The school launched an 18-credit AI and Emerging Media minor for Fall 2026, and is co-launching a Creator Economy minor with the Whitman School for the same semester. Syracuse's iSchool Integrative AI Bachelor's launches Fall 2027, with the Newhouse minor as one of the approved applied tracks.
Who leads the Newhouse PR department?
Anthony D'Angelo, APR, Fellow PRSA, has chaired the department since 2024. He joined Newhouse as Professor of Practice in 2015 after 30 years in corporate and agency communications, most recently at ITT Corporation. Soo Yeon Hong directs the PR master's program.
Who is the dean of Newhouse?
Mark Lodato has served as Dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications since July 2020.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
