Accreditation Information

The Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is one of the premier schools in the country, with graduates working at a multitude of companies from: Nike, Twitter, Ralph Lauren, Disney, Scripps Network, YVMLY&R, Tombras Group, Anomaly, and more.

With state-of-the-art facilities including the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center (ABSMCC), the Scripps Lab, and the Message Effects Lab—the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations provides a unique experience for students within our majors. The school offers internship services to pair students within their field of interest from a variety of agencies and corporations across the country.

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) information

Reported Summer 2023

Undergraduate Enrollment (Mass Communication Majors)*

	Fall ’24	Fall ’23	Fall ’22	Fall ’21	Fall ’20	Fall ’19	Fall ’18	Fall ’17	Fall ’16	Fall ’15
Advertising	307	282	217	187	195	179	180	154	168	139
Public Relations	289	246	230	219	215	226	225	232	245	247

*Total major numbers are based on 14th-day enrollment data.

Fall 2020 Cohort – Graduation Rates

	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation
Advertising	0.0%	TBD	TBD	TBD
Public Relations	0.0%	TBD	TBD	TBD

Fall 2019 Cohort – Graduation Rates

	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation
Advertising	5.0%	90.0%	TBD	TBD
Public Relations	0.0%	82.8%	TBD	TBD

Fall 2018 Cohort – Graduation Rates

	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation
Advertising	0.0%	78.6%	85.7%	TBD
Public Relations	2.9%	68.6%	68.6%	TBD

Fall 2017 Cohort – Graduation Rates

	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation
Advertising	0.0%	66.7%	66.7%	66.7%
Public Relations	9.1%	77.3%	81.8%	86.4%

Fall 2016 Cohort – Graduation Rates

	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation	3rd Year Graduation
Advertising	4.2%	87.5%	91.7%	95.8%
Public Relations	0.0%	81.3%	87.5%	87.5%

Average 1^st Year Retention Rates – College-wide

Fall 2016 – Fall 2017	88.2%
Fall 2017 – Fall 2018	87.1%
Fall 2018 – Fall 2019	87.4%
Fall 2019 – Fall 2020	89.5%
Fall 2020 – Fall 2021	89.5%
Fall 2021 – Fall 2022	85.1%

1st-Year Retention Rates by Major

	Fall 2021 – Fall 2022	Fall 2020 – Fall 2021	Fall 2019 – Fall 2020	Fall 2018 – Fall 2019	Fall 2017 – Fall 2018	Fall 2016 – Fall 2017
Advertising	92.9%	92.3%	90.0%	92.9%	73.3%	91.7%
Public Relations	95.7%	95.8%	86.2%	94.3%	100%	96.9%