During the Research Master's 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.

You will follow two mandatory courses: Advancing and Building Communication Science Theory, which lays the foundation for advanced understanding of theory building in communication science, and Good Research Practices Preparation, in which you learn how to increase transparency throughout the research process.

In addition, you will choose courses from the four 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 theoretical courses from the different domains.  

You will follow mandatory courses on the dominant research methodologies in the field of Communication Science. 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 these mandatory courses, you need to complete at least 12 ECTS of elective courses about the statistical analysis of empirical data. You can choose a remaining 6 ECTS out of all methods electives (from Communication Science or other departments at the UvA’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences).

Evaluating Professional Research is a mandatory course that will introduce and sensitize you to the critical aspects of the conduct of research within the context of professional organisations. The two other mandatory elements are the Participation Professional Research, and Professional Research Internship which are usually combined within one internship. 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.

The dissertation module consists of two parts, of which the Research Master’s thesis is the largest part. This thesis is an empirical research project, done individually, but supervised by a senior researcher at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research. The other part of the dissertation module is the Thesis Communication module, where you will present your thesis research findings to academic or lay audiences (e.g., an oral presentation, a contribution to an academic journal manuscript, a blog etc.).

You are expected to study full-time. The majority of this programme concerns 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.

No, this is not possible as we have to organise the educational logistics. However, if you have severe personal/special circumstances, you can come to see the study advisers and discuss your situation.

Partially, there will be a database of companies, but you have to contact them yourself, apply and network.