APR Accreditation
About
As one benefit of membership, RCC members may seek Accreditation in Public Relations. The voluntary APR designation identifies communicators who have demonstrated broad knowledge, experience, and professional judgment in planning and managing public relations activities. To earn accreditation, candidates must demonstrate mastery of a specified body of public relations knowledge.
Candidates for Accreditation need to:
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Compile a portfolio showing the range of their public relations work.
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Complete a questionnaire about their public relations experience.
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Participate in a two-hour panel presentation before a panel of Accredited practitioners. This panel judges candidates on 12 areas of knowledge, skills
and abilities in the public relations body of knowledge. -
Pass a computer-based examination covering 44 other areas of knowledge, skills
and abilities in the public relations body of knowledge.
The independent Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) manages the Accreditation process.
The board is the credentialing agency for members of eight professional communication/public relations organizations and public affairs practitioners in the U.S. Department of Defense.
RCC is one of eight organizations represented on the board.
New APR Online Practice Exam Available
You can now take an online APR practice exam. Developed by the Universal Accreditation Board, this practice test covers the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to prepare you for the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) examination. The 20 test items include the rationale for each answer. The practice exam is $35 for PRSA members and $145 for nonmembers. (Note: Members of UAB Participating Organizations should contact their organization for a coupon code to receive the member rate.)
You can access the material 14 days from the date of purchase. Learn more about the APR at www.praccreditation.org.
(As a reminder, your members can use the promo code APRPRACTICE to get the PRSA member rate.)
The APR Examination: 6 Proven Ways to Pass
The APR Examination: 6 Proven Ways to Pass
You’ve decided to pursue your Accreditation in Public Relations credential (congratulations!) and are ready to study for the Examination. What next? Where do you begin and how can you be as prepared as possible to pass?
Dr. Marlene Neill, APR, Fellow PRSA and Universal Accreditation Board member recently published a study of 48 candidates who passed the Exam. She and her team did a deep dive into what the candidates did to pass. You don’t have to adopt all these strategies, but if you try a few, you’re sure to increase your odds of passing.
- Participate in a structured study group. If you haven’t done it yet, now is the time to download the APR study guide and purchase at least one of the UAB recommended textbooks. Several have new editions published in the past few years. Contact your Chapter accreditation chair. You can usually find their contact information on your Chapter’s website. Ask them about putting together a study group. If there aren’t enough candidates for a study group in your Chapter, check out the online course and seek out a mentor who may be able to connect you with a study group.
- Work with an online cohort. PRSA offers an online study course that will prepare you for the Accreditation in Public Relations Examination. You can also seek out candidates in other communities who may want to form an online cohort.
- Recruit a study buddy. Do you know anyone else who is going through the accreditation process or who may be interested? Ask if they want to study together. Set a regular date and time to meet. Hold yourself and each other accountable to following a schedule and create your own study materials like flashcards.
- Follow a structured timeline and checklist. Create a timeline for studying and a checklist of what you are going to do. For example, you might cover one of each of the Knowledge Skills and Abilities outlined in the study guide each week for six consecutive weeks.
- Find a mentor. Ask your Chapter accreditation chair to pair you with a mentor who can give you tips, share what they did to prepare, follow up with you and check in. If your Chapter can’t connect you with a mentor, reach out to an APR you know or sign up for PRSA’s Mentor Connect program.
- Get your supervisor’s support. Finally, if you haven’t yet, make sure your supervisor knows you’re pursuing accreditation and ask for their support. Work together to make it a professional development goal for the year and keep them updated on your progress.
Congratulations on making it this far in the process. Adopt just a few of these proven test prep strategies, carve out the time, stick to it and you’re sure to earn those three letters, APR, after your name. Good luck!
In our ongoing efforts to keep the exams for the APR and Certificate in Principles of PR up to date, the Universal Accreditation Board invites all communicators (especially APRs) to write and submit new test items (question plus correct and incorrect answer options that align with a specific KSA). New items go through a technical review by a group of APRs and then are added as non-graded beta items to be assessed for validity and other quality metrics. Interested? We stand ready to help you get started — with templates, examples, and more. For more information, email: accred@prsa.org
(Bonus: APRs earn 0.5 CEUs toward renewal, for each item contributed!)
Universal Accreditation Board
Visit the Universal Accreditation Board website for application forms, study resources, and
Questions?
Contact our RCC representation on the UAB, Ginny Hizer, APR.
Become a fan of APR on Facebook
See the APR brochure
“It Takes a Pro ”