1. Substantive coursework (36 ECTS)

Of the substantive coursework, 6 ECTS is dedicated to the mandatory course Advancing and Building Communication Science Theory, and 6 EC is dedicated to the seminar Good Research Practices in which students learn how to increase transparency throughout the research process. The remaining 24 ECTS can be chosen from our four substantive domains: Corporate Communication, Persuasive Communication, Political Communication and Entertainment Communication. You can specialize in one of the domains, but you can also create your own individual profile by selecting any combination of substantive theoretical courses.  

2. Methodological coursework (39 ECTS)

In order to ensure that you have extensive knowledge of the dominant research methodologies in the field of Communication Science, 21 ECTS consists of mandatory core methodological coursework. These mandatory courses are: Experimentation in the Social Sciences, Content Analysis and Survey Design. A course element on Research and Data Ethics is also mandatory. Besides this, you need to complete at least 12 ECTS from a selection of elective courses concerning the statistical analysis of empirical data. You can choose the remaining ECTS out of all methods electives mentioned in the programme according to your own interests and profile. It is also possible to select methods courses offered by other departments at the UvA’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. 

3. Research participation module (30 ECTS)

Evaluating Professional Research is a mandatory course in the Professional Communication Research track. This course will introduce and sensitize you to the critical aspects of the conduct of research within the context of professional organisations. The other mandatory element is the Professional Research Internship (18 ECTS). During both these elements you will intern as a junior researcher in a professional organisation. These professional organisations can be located in the Netherlands or abroad, and can be either organisations that specialize in communication and media research for diverse clients, or the research departments of media and communication agencies or corporates.   

4. Dissertation Module (21 ECTS)

The dissertation module consists of two parts. The largest part is the mandatory Research Master’s Thesis. This involves an 18 ECTS empirical research project, individually supervised by a senior ASCoR researcher, resulting in a written thesis. Next, there is a mandatory Thesis Communication module, where the thesis research findings are presented to professional or lay audiences (e.g. an oral presentation for a professional or lay audience, contribution to professional magazine, a blog etc.).

The Master’s theses from some of our alumni have been published in international top-ranked journals such as the Journal of Advertising, Public Relations Review, and the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. You can find some example theses here.

Individual study plan

Before starting the programme, you fill out an individual study plan which needs to be approved by the study adviser. More information about this study plan can be obtained from the study advisers.

Professional track versus Academic track

The professional track is tailored to students who have the ambition to pursue a career in research outside academia (although it also gives access to PhD programs). The academic track is tailored to students who have the ambition to pursue a PhD. 

Courses

A more detailed description of all courses mentioned above can be found in the course catalogue.

Workload

Students are expected to study full-time. The majority of these hours concern self-study, complemented by on average 8 hours per week of class meetings.

Our teaching approach emphasizes commitment. Teaching methods mostly concern tutorials, with groups ranging from 20 to 25 students. Both teaching staff and students are expected to actively contribute to the tutorials, by giving presentations, working on small-scale research projects, and active discussion.