Study programme

The curriculum of the Persuasive Communication track of the Master’s programme in Communication Science comprises one year of full-time study. This includes two specialisation seminars, a thesis preparation group, a research methods course tailored to the thesis, two electives and the final Master's thesis.

Semester 1

Students will start with the compulsory specialisation seminars: Marketing Communication and Health Communication. You will also start your thesis process by following Thesis preparation groups. In block 3 you take the course Research Methods Tailored to the Thesis course, in which you will refresh, train and further develop your research skills before starting to write your Master’s thesis in the following semester.

Copyright: afgekocht voor web

'In Marketing Communication you will encounter 4 top experts from the advertising and media planning field, ready to share their tips and tricks with you.' Dr. Stephanie Welten Read more

Semester 2

In the second semester, you can personalise your Master’s by choosing two electives, allowing you to create a Master’s programme that suits your interest best. There is a range of excellent electives offered each semester, including, for example, Brand Communication, Persuasive Design in a Digital Era, Media Strategies, Persuasion and Resistance, Digital Analytics, Brands and Organisations in Social Media and Sustainability Marketing and Communication. You can find all electives here (the selection of electives varies each semester).

Master’s thesis

Finally, in the second semester, you will complete your Master’s thesis (18 ECTS). You will be guided and supervised in the creation, design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of an academic empirical study. Previous research topics include: The effects of sponsorship disclosures in influencer marketing; the influence of adding human characteristics to chatbots; how can social media influencers be used to promote sustainable fashion purchases; how to promote engagement with brands on Instagram; are mental health apps effective to improve young people’s well-being; health misinformation on Twitter and the influence on vaccine hesitancy; how to enhance doctor-patient communication.

• YEAR 1

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC

• Health Communication
  1—2
  12
• Marketing Communication
  1—2
  12
• Thesis Phase 1 - Preparation groups PersCom
  1—2
  —
• Research Methods tailored to the Thesis
  ???studyprogramme .period??? 3
  6
• Elective 1
  ???studyprogramme .period??? 4
  6
• Elective 2
  ???studyprogramme .period??? 4
  6
• Thesis Persuasive Communication
  5—6
  18

See more information in the Course Catalogue

Workload

This Master's is a full-time programme. You will have weekly tutorials and lectures. In addition, a large part of your programme focuses on self-study (e.g., preparing for tutorials, working on assignments). 

Lectures:	approx. 4 hours per week
Tutorials:	approx. 6 hours per week
Self-study:	approx. 30 hours per week