Master's in Communication Science: Research Master's (Professional)

The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, Dutch: Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities and later renamed for the city of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands, and one of the most prestigious academic institutions of the country, and in the world. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). It is also part of the largest research universities in Europe with 31,186 students, 4,794 staff, 1,340 PhD students and an annual budget of €600 million. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment. The main campus is located in central Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs. The university is organised into seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, Dentistry.

The curriculum of the Research Master's track in Professional Communication Research is largely tailor-made by the student in consultation with the study adviser. It consists of 120 ECTS in total and is structured as follows: 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.