This course involves combining communication studies, applied linguistics, international management and intercultural communication.
Economic globalisation and rapid developments in ICT mean that many organisations now operate on an international scale, or at the very least interact with consumers, clients and/or partner organisations in other countries. Even ‘local’ companies and organisations may have a multicultural workforce, or offer their services or products abroad. As a result, communication has become increasingly international and intercultural.
Organisations seek to create communication strategies that support their overall strategy and objectives. In doing so, they need to interact with stakeholders who may have a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. These stakeholders may include employees, customers, suppliers, financial backers or even local governments. In the Master’s specialisation in International Business Communication, you’ll learn about the all factors, including cultural and linguistic ones, that play a role in communication and need to be taken into account in order to create effective communication strategies.
In your future career as a business executive or communication specialist, you’ll need to be able to assess the quality, reliability and validity of the research that informs your practical decisions ‘on the job’. In other words, you’ll need to be able to judge whether existing research – as well as your own – complies with the ground rules of academic rigor. The programme therefore places emphasis not only on training your research skills but also on developing your awareness of what ‘good research’ entails.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ibc
- This is one of very few programmes in Europe (and the only programme in the Netherlands) that also focuses on the cultural and linguistic dimensions of international business communication.
- The specialisation deals with theory and insights that are relevant to achieving effective communication in various organisational contexts; from interpersonal communication in a meeting with (multicultural) colleagues, to marketing communication aimed at reaching international target audiences.
- Students do a (group) internship in which they work towards solving a particular communication issue or answering a specific communication question for a company or organisation. This provides hands-on experience in a relevant organisational setting.
- This specialisation attracts students from different countries and because admission to the programme is selective (max. 50 students per year), you’ll be part of a small group of highly motivated Dutch and international students. This means that to a certain extent, your learning environment is international as well.
- Guest speakers are regularly invited to share their knowledge about current developments in business, management and organisational communication.
- Although the main focus is on international communication in larger, multinational companies, graduates of this programme will be able to apply what they’ve learned in a variety of organisations – for profit, non-profit or governmental institutes.
Languages form the heart of communication and that is why this Master’s specialisation is taught within Radboud University’s Faculty of Arts. The programme places a strong focus on the role that languages play in effective corporate communication. Of course, the languages used are not the only factor to consider in a multicultural environment - which is why you will be encouraged to also consider communication issues and strategy from an international management perspective.
In short, you’ll explore the impact of globalisation on business communication, the role of linguistic and cultural diversity in corporate communication, and the human and operational consequences of organisations’ language policy or strategies. In doing so, you’ll also come to understand how such issues can shape and affect an organisation’s performance.
With a Master’s specialisation in International Business Communication, you could pursue a career in government, semi-government, business or academia. For example, our graduates work as internal or external communication managers or press spokespeople in companies, government departments, health institutions or non-profit organisations. Many work in marketing communications at multinational companies, as communication trainers for consultancies, as social media managers or as PR consultants.
- International perspectives
Since the programme focuses on communication in international contexts, and on communication with international target groups, a sizable number of graduates have found jobs outside the Netherlands or with international organisations operating from the Netherlands.
- Wide range of communication functions
Job openings for our graduates can cover a wide range of communication functions, organisational types and (business) sectors. This is because organisations have increasingly come to realise that effective communication is essential to all organisational functions (e.g. marketing, PR, HRM, R&D, finance), and have made a real effort over the past decades to professionalise communications, making (international) business communication an increasingly important discipline.
Corporate communication involves orchestrating internal and external communication instruments to support an organisation’s core activities and to manage its relationship with different types of stakeholders. Due to the internationalisation of markets and businesses, corporate communication has gone global in recent years. Organisations that operate internationally need to take different cultures and language backgrounds into account when designing their communication. Culture and language(s) may affect international communication at three levels:
- The management level: e.g. when CEOs communicate with internal or external audiences
- The organisational level: e.g. when a company communicates about its Corporate Social Responsibility policy
- The marketing level: e.g. when products or services are promoted to an international audience in (corporate) advertising.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/ibc
The International Business and Management MA and the International Business and Management MSc are two courses which are designed to advance your knowledge and develop the analytical and evidence-based skills that are needed in your future professional life. In terms of knowledge, the focus is on a range of business and management disciplines. In terms of skills, you will be helped in building up critical thinking, presentation, negotiation and communication skills, sound decision making and evidence based problem solving skills, all of which are desirable for effective business personnel and leaders in a fast changing global business context.
A highlight for many students is the study trip and company visits. The course team will continue to develop this kind of experiential learning that fosters an application-orientated approach.
The courses place much emphasis on the integration of theory and practice within an international environment and this is reflected in the teaching and learning strategies. A variety of teaching methods aim to enable you to master the key concepts in the business and management field and to achieve a deeper understanding of these. You will be encouraged to be proactive in your approach to learning, by undertaking research and working in teams. You will also be expected to spend an appropriate amount of time in private study.
Students are supported via the Virtual Learning Environment accessing their study materials and supporting resources on the Blackboard site. Each student has a personal tutor, who will provide you with academic support and guidance throughout your university journey so that you can achieve full academic and personal potential. Employability and career development is an important part of both courses. Our graduates have developed their careers in a wide range of multinational corporations, management consultancies, financial services, government institutions and also family businesses around the world. A number of our graduates have moved onto PhD study, developing a research-focused career in academia.
The International Business and Management MA and International Business and Management MSc are differentiated by one core module and options. The MA and MSc Project modules are distinguished by the focus of topic, the type of research method(s) and the type of data analysis applied in the project.
Download a suggested timetable for International Business and Management MA.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules – MA and MSc
Core module – MA
Core module - MSc
Option modules - MA
Option modules - MSc
This course is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
All students on our full-time Business Masters courses can apply to undertake the PG/MBA Internship Programme, which forms part of the Reflective Practitioner Module.
The internship allows you to test drive a career and explore one of your career interests before you complete your Postgraduate studies!
Completing an 8-12 week accredited internship helps students gain invaluable work experience. This fantastic work experience can be taken in addition to option modules. Students are responsible for finding their own internship with the support of the Business Experience Team.
To express an interest in the module, students must submit a completed application form and a copy of their updated CV. This will give students membership a dedicated website that offers exclusive access to internship vacancies, one to-one CV guidance appointments, mock interviews, employability workshops and much more.
Students can apply to London-based organisations and have the flexibility to take their internship in the summer period or alongside their studies.
Every year we receive very positive feedback from both postgraduate students and employers and expect that the internship programme will continue to remain popular amongst our students.
Find out about postgraduate internships
The course is designed for recent graduates seeking a career in traditional and new media organisations. It provides a combination of business and media skills designed to equip you to take up an entry-level position in today’s media organisations.
You will learn how media organisations are engaging with the challenges resulting from the emergence of digital media technologies and platforms. The course introduces you to the processes by which media organisations develop their corporate strategies, business plans, marketing and production operations as they respond to radical change in the commercial environment.
The course is designed to enable you to find and take up work placements and internships at media organisations in London during the course of your studies. Our students have successfully completed internships at TV production companies like the BBC, technology companies like Google, as well as many other multimedia, advertising and news organisations in London. Some have successfully started their own businesses in the UK.
Whether you are planning a career in a media organisation or seeking to create your own new business start up, the MA International Media Business aims to provide the analytical insight, operational knowledge and planning skills you will need to prosper. The course is taught alongside a suite of Masters courses in Westminster’s highly successful Centre for Creative Industries Management.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Core modules
Optional modules (Semester 1)
Optional modules (Semester 2)
International Media Business students have gone on to work for many social media business including Facebook, Youtube, Google as well as traditional media firms like Sky, Disney and Bloomberg. They have also worked as creatives and digital content producers for small and large business including Land Rover, AEG and BSI Global. Others have continued their education at PhD level.
The Masters in Intercultural Communication with International Business combines linguistic studies, cultural studies, international business components and training in research methods.
You will take six compulsory modules, two optional modules and write a dissertation where you have the opportunity to specialise according to your personal interests. The programme includes numerous opportunities to apply and develop your skills through practical tasks.
The programme is ideal for business professionals who wish to enhance their profile with a postgraduate qualification; and for graduates of humanities, English language or business disciplines who would like to deepen their insight into business across linguistic and cultural boundaries.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over two academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
This degree will prepare you for a career in the areas of communication and intercultural consultancy, particularly, though not exclusively, where the use of English is required.
More specifically, the programme will appeal if you are seeking to work in multinational and international business, in particular in the fields of intercultural training, human resource management, and communication and marketing.
It will provide valuable preparation for careers in government overseas agencies and international diplomatic organisations, the voluntary sector, local government community initiatives and business consultancies, as well as in the communication industries.
Many of our graduates go on to find employment in a wide range of international organisations and businesses; others choose to take research degrees in their subject.
As a student of the School of Literature and Languages, you will benefit from the expertise of a vibrant, multidisciplinary group of academics. You will also have access to a number of conferences, seminars and workshops hosted throughout the year.
These events cover a range of topics to broaden your thinking in the fields of literature, language and linguistics, cultural studies and creative writing.
The business component of the programme will also allow you to benefit from the close affiliation with the Surrey Business School, a leading provider of internationally recognised postgraduate vocational management degrees.
The School has strong links with industry and has established a number of high-profile partnerships with multinational organisations. You will be supported by a team of international staff with a wealth of global experience and specialist expertise.
Programmes available to all students include:
The overall purpose of the programme is to:
Knowledge and understanding
Students will be able to demonstrate:
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Students will be able to:
Professional practical skills
Students will have the skills to:
Key / transferable skills
Students will be able to demonstrate:
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
Learn more about opportunities that might be available for this particular programme by using our student exchanges search tool.
Surrey Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).
The International Pre-Masters Certificate in Business and English is designed to prepare non-native English speaking students for postgraduate study in business related disciplines.
The aims of the course are to equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to confidently achieve at postgraduate level in a business discipline.
The course aims to develop your understanding of key business vocabulary, theories and concepts integral to postgraduate business courses, and your linguistic competence in specific Business English to enable successful study at postgraduate level. It also aims to develop your academic, cognitive, meta-cognitive and professional skills required for successful study at postgraduate level in a business-related area, and to provide you with the necessary personal, professional, interpersonal and key skills to enable development as independent, autonomous learners in preparation for postgraduate study.
The course is delivered in two modules
You have the opportunity to carry out research projects with local and regional organisations, which will be an enriching cultural experience and enhance your employment prospects.
Successfully completing the course enables you to choose from a range of postgraduate courses to suit your interests and career development needs. These are available at Sheffield Hallam and other academic institutions.
Sheffield Business School runs postgraduate courses in
If you successfully complete this course you will be eligible for a discount on your fees on a full-time Sheffield Business School postgraduate beginning in September.
The course focuses on three areas of skills and knowledge
Full-time – 12 weeks
September to December for masters courses starting in January.
Study and Research Skills for Business
The Study and Research Skills for Business module constitutes the larger proportion of the two modules during the twelve week course. In this module you will
Principles of Business
The Principles of Business module provides you with fundamentals of Business Strategy, Global Business and Finance. The module is designed to give students an understanding and appreciation of the contemporary issues faced by businesses, both within national and international markets.
It will interlink three broad subject areas: Strategic Management, Business Practice and Financial Management and will introduce students to the fundamental features and concepts of business management. For those students who do possess some business experience the module will provide academic underpinning to their business practise.
By engaging successfully with this module a student will be able to appreciate and appraise different theories and frameworks in the context of Business and Management, evaluate real life company situations by applying conceptual knowledge and understanding of business practice, and apply theories, concepts and frameworks to analyse and evaluate practical management solutions and formulate operational strategies.
This is a pre-masters course which allows you to progress to a postgraduate course leading to many careers in all business-related areas.
If you successfully complete this course you will be eligible for a discount on your fees for a full-time Sheffield Business School postgraduate beginning in September.
The course is designed in such a way that it contributes towards Sheffield Hallam University Postgraduate attributes. High level transferable skills, such as knowledge application, creative and critical thinking, research and enquiry are integral to the course. You will be encouraged to develop skills that will underpin your future academic and professional development. For example, during the assessed debate students propose a new sales strategy for a UK company, and present and defend their idea to their peers who take on the role of directors of different departments of the company, understanding the different drivers from each area of the company in the decision-making process.
The modules include case studies, team working and industry examples. Module content and related assessment will focus on past and present business scenarios and will form a vital chain in connecting theory with practice. These situations and practice led examples will enhance the student experience and will count towards greater student employability.
A major enhancement to the course will be the opportunity for you to carry out an assessed project based on real-world business problems faced by local organisations, which will be supported by the Venture Matrix team and by module tutors. The project aims to enhance your business awareness and take an enquiry-based approach to learning. The opportunity to visit and communicate regularly with a company will be particularly beneficial to you as an international student from the point of view of business engagement and real-life practical experience. You will be supported through this experience by the module teaching team to propose research-led solutions to a real business issue for a real company.
Examples of previous projects have included market research for a luxury snack company, researching new markets for a local engineering manufacturer, investigating the potential for a sportswear start-up and a competitor analysis for an online service provider.
The one year MSc program offers four tracks:
Besides the 1 year Master, also a two- year Master is offered:
The MSc in Communication and Information Sciences offers a unique program in which you learn about how people acquire and transfer information and how new means of communication can be used creatively and innovatively. The approach taken at Tilburg University is unique in the sense that the broad concept of communication is examined from many perspectives, including those of linguistics, cognitive and social psychology, computational modeling and document design.
This program is intended for highly talented and motivated students with a keen sense of intellectual curiosity and intellectual ambition. In this Master’s program, you will encounter state-of-the-art research in the broad interdisciplinary field of communication. The point of departure is natural communication: how is information transferred from one person to another? For what purpose? You will participate in a wide range of courses such as communication strategies, non-verbal communication and computer vision. This unique combination of approaches and research traditions will enable you to work as a communication expert, and answer questions such as:
•What is the best way to present information to an audience?
•How do people communicate within an organization?
•How can you influence people's behavior through language?
You take a particular interest in language and you are seeking to broaden and deepen your academic knowledge. You are interested in the many different aspects of communication such as the effect that words can have, how people produce language, and linguistic phenomena such as metaphors, and the stories behind them.
This one-year MSc program offers four different specializations: Business Communication & Digital Media, Communication Design, New Media Design and Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence.
After completing your MSc program in Communication and Information Sciences, a broad range of career paths in business, research and education will be open to you. You will be able to analyze and consult on internal and external communications. With a Master's degree, you can start your career as a scientific researcher in this field. And remember that these opportunities are worldwide because your studies are internationally-oriented.