Bateman 2026 Team at UTK

The Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations is forming a team to compete in the 2026 Bateman Competition, sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America.

We are looking for the very best students that want to participate in a national competition. The team can only have a maximum of six students, so the opportunity will be very selective.

Information about the competition can be found online at https://www.prsa.org/prssa/scholarships-awards/bateman-competition.

What is the Bateman Competition?

The Bateman Case Study Competition is PRSSA’s premier national case study competition for public relations students and gives you an opportunity to apply your classroom education and internship experiences to create and implement a full public relations campaign.

Each year, a national client is selected by PRSA for the competition. The client will not be announced until we begin the fall semester.

You can view information for the past few years of the competition online by clicking here.

YOU CAN BE PART OF THE TEAM

APPLY ONLINE NOW

Click the link below to submit your interest in participation in the Bateman Competition team. Your application should include:

A completed online application following the link below.
A cover letter outlining your interest to participate and how you feel your skills can best support the team and competition. This should be no longer than one-page.
Your resume
Two samples that highlight your skills

The deadline to submit is by end of day on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. This is open to any major who would like to participate.

You must be logged into your UTK account to be able to submit this form.

Applicants will be interviewed by a panel of faculty and selected to participate based on skill and competition requirements.

APPLY ONLINE NOW

UTK login required to view and submit application.

Why is this important to me?

The Bateman Competition is a nationally recognized, professional competition hosted by the Public Relations Society of America. First established as the National Case Study in 1973 and later renamed to honor the late J. Carroll Bateman, APR, it challenges teams of students to research, plan, implement and evaluate a public relations campaign for an actual client. More than 75 teams enter the competition each year, giving students real-world experience that can translate to résumé additions, portfolio pieces and even jobs. After an extensive judging process, three finalists are chosen to present their campaigns to the sponsor, who receives the right to ideas presented.

There is also some UT pride in the competition. J. Carroll Bateman, APR, was a public relations professor at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a founding member of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

The Bateman Competition is a highly recognized asset to include in your resume and young professional experience. Your participation will be seen and recognized by industry professionals and agencies, corporations, and public relations professionals. You will be noticed.

How do I participate?

The team can only consist of a maximum of six students and the competition will span two semesters. You should only apply to participate if you are committed to the time and effort that will be needed to successfully complete the competition.

The competition course will be for both the fall 2025 semester and spring 2026 semester. You must be able to participate for both semesters to be eligible for the class. Once selected, you will be registered for this course. During the fall 2025 semester you will be registered for an independent study course (PBRL 490 – 3-credits). The independent study course will meet once each week during the fall semester on Monday evening from 5:20 p.m. to 8:05 p.m. Then, during the spring 2026 semester you will be registered for public relations campaigns (PBRL 470 – 3-credit). The spring 2026 semester course will meet at a time to be determined in the future. The PBRL 490 course can count as one of your college electives.

To be eligible for this special competition campaign course, you must meet the following requirements:

Able, willing, and dedicated to participating for both fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters
You must be in both good academic standing and have a GPA of 3.0 or greater
Be eligible to take public relations campaigns during the spring 2026 semester
You must an undergraduate student for both semesters.

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