2 Degrees. 5 Years. 100+ Opportunities.

My name is Allie Bunting, and I began looking into Double Dawgs soon after I made the decision to switch from a journalism major to a public relations major my freshman year at UGA. Pursuing a Masters degree was never something that had even crossed my mind originally, but having found I could graduate a semester early from the undergraduate program and that Double Dawgs would only take another year to complete, I figured, why not go for it? 

Now, I am a full-time grad student with a Bachelor’s in Public Relations and graduating with my Masters in Integrated Communications in December 2021. I am so happy I made the decision as a freshman to pursue the Integrated ADPR Double Dawgs Pathway. This program was created for advertising and public relations students who want to take their education a step further by pursuing a fast-tracked master’s program that gives them additional insight, knowledge, and practice in both advertising and public relations and how they complement each other. 

Although I was planning to pursue the program since freshman year, I began the journey of applying, preparing for the GRE, and coordinating classes with Double Dawgs Pathway Advisor Brittney Minor (brittney@uga.edu) the first semester of my junior year. I highly recommend being proactive in researching this program as it is still fairly new. However, if you attend information sessions and coordinate with Brittney Minor, it will streamline the process you must take to become a Double Dawg. Anne Hurne (anne.hurne@uga.edu) is another great contact to inquire with. 

Steps to Becoming a Double Dawg: 

1. Apply to be a Double Dawg.
2. Upon acceptance, you can begin taking graduate courses while still in the undergraduate program.
3. You must apply for graduate school separately in order to continue taking graduate courses once you are done with the undergraduate coursework. Fortunately for everyone applying from now on, the GRE is no longer required for MA programs.

I began taking graduate courses the second semester of my junior year of undergraduate classes, and it was actually a smoother transition than I had anticipated. Scared of the daunting three-hour long classes, I quickly came to realize that professors are quite gracious with the time span, either never taking up the full three hours, or giving students breaks in between to regroup before moving on to another topic and/or activity. Now that I have completed my undergraduate coursework and am a full-time graduate student, I am learning so much more about topics either rarely or never touched on in undergrad. The classes are more niche and are helping me narrow down what career path I want to pursue once I am out of college. 

Overall, to anyone thinking about a career in advertising, public relations, or even marketing, I highly recommend checking out the Integrated ADPR Double Dawgs Pathway! Grady offers other Double Dawg pathways as well, including emerging media, journalism, health & medical journalism, and more. Learn more here!