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The differences between university relations directors and communications directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a university relations director and a communications director. Additionally, a communications director has an average salary of $107,700, which is higher than the $95,885 average annual salary of a university relations director.
The top three skills for a university relations director include marketing campaigns, project management and investor relations. The most important skills for a communications director are web content, press releases, and customer service.
| University Relations Director | Communications Director | |
| Yearly salary | $95,885 | $107,700 |
| Hourly rate | $46.10 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 23,143 | 27,939 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
University Relations Directors manage the company's partnership with schools. They are employed by companies with businesses that cater to universities, colleges, or other related academic institutions. They handle the group that works as account managers or act as account managers themselves. They are in charge of setting their department's targets. They also create strategies to meet their goals. University Relations Directors should have a wide network. They should know how to create professional relationships with clients, maintain clients, and ensure customer loyalty. University Relations Directors should be familiar with the current trends in the academe and their business field.
A communications director is responsible for monitoring and supervising the overall media relations from internal to external communications. A communications director's duties include managing campaigns, providing organizational updates to the employees, supporting social media marketing, developing effective communication strategies to build the organization's reputation, and efficiently leading team members in handling events that represent the business. Communications directors must have strong leadership and communication skills to provide support for the company's daily operations and strategies.
University relations directors and communications directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| University Relations Director | Communications Director | |
| Average salary | $95,885 | $107,700 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $163,000 | Between $61,000 And $188,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Nike | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a university relations director and a communications director in terms of educational background:
| University Relations Director | Communications Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between university relations directors' and communications directors' demographics:
| University Relations Director | Communications Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3% | Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |