What is PRSSA?
As another academic year begins at DePaul, it’s important to have an
eye on the communities that will take you into the life and career you desire. DePaul’s Chapter of the International Public Relations Student Society of America, AKA DePaul PRSSA is one of those resources. Our student organization is aligned with students studying Public Relations and Advertising as well as those who have an interest in communications and media (we are open to all majors!).
DePaul PRSSA serves as a link to PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), a landscape for professionals in the field, giving our members countless opportunities to network in Chicago and beyond through volunteering, joint events, mentorship, and more.
Getting involved with PRSSA allows you to build your resume and portfolio as you learn about your career beyond the classroom. We work to create ample opportunities of hands-on experience for our members to try new skills.
Our main focus is working together and taking full advantage of being in one of the biggest PR hubs in the world. We offer site visits to a wide array of agencies and brands for students to attend every quarter of the academic year. You’ll get to acquaint yourself with PR in Chicago and you might even find yourself attending site visits with your future colleagues, who knows!
Some of our past site visits include United Airlines, Cubs, The White Sox, McDonalds, The Field Museum, Golin Ketchum, Edelman, Zeno, MSL, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
We also offer our members opportunities to get some hands-on PR experience by working with a non-profit or small business client each year. Our recent client collaborations include:
Rebrewed Cafe X PRSSA Campaign (2024)- A fair-trade and sustainably sourced coffee shop located in DePaul’s Loop Campus created by DePaul graduate student, Gretchen Schuler.
Respiratory Health Association (2025)- A Non-Profit charitable organization focused on lung health and prevention of these health issues through comprehensive approaches for raising awareness.
Our signature event, the PRSSA Midwest District Conference, which has taken on past names such as “Beyond the Skyline” and “PR Palooza”, is an exciting jam-packed two day event that brings students from all across the U.S. (and DePaul!) to explore PR in our windy city. The conference includes events such as agency site visits, headshot sessions, resume reviews by PR professionals, one-on-one networking opportunities, and panels featuring Chicago communications professionals covering different areas of PR, including recruitment.
DePaul students have an opportunity to help plan and run the conference, serving on committees such as Hospitality, Promotions, Sponsorship, and Community Relations. It’s a great way to get started or further your involvement with PRSSA.
And there’s more! Our other events throughout the year include:
Ghosts of PRSSA
Once a year in October the 11th floor of the DePaul Center transforms for one of our prominent annual events, ‘Ghosts of PRSSA’. We bring back former members as "ghosts of the past" to mentor and network with students during a fun, social night that celebrates fall and our alumni.
PRADUATION
Our annual spring event, ‘PRaduation,’ honors graduating members of DePaul PRSSA and welcomes the new E-Board members for the upcoming academic year.
Our chapter also sends members of our executive board to PRSSA/PRSA’s annual International Conference (ICON), which draws thousands of public relations and communications professionals for networking and professional development. This year it takes place in Orlando, Florida, from Oct. 17-20, and we are excitedly preparing.
ICON is also where PRSSA chapters are recognized for outstanding achievements during the previous year, and DePaul PRSSA has brought home honors many times since it was founded in 1998. In just the last seven years, our chapter has twice won the highest award, Outstanding Chapter (2023 and 2025), as well as three Outstanding District Conference awards (2019, 2022 and 2024) and Outstanding Service to the University (2024). In addition, we have achieved Star Chapter status consistently for more than 10 years, meeting standards of excellence set by International PRSSA.
Watch our Instagram or join our Slack channel to keep up with our 2026-27 activities. We’d love to have you at our events and look forward to chatting!
