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 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.
Today’s easy access to different media and the wide variety of modalities ask for new communication approaches. In the Master's track New Media Design you will learn to develop, analyze and evaluate content and interaction in different digital genres and applications like serious games or vlogs.
A solid introduction to theories on human media interaction, design processes, and creativity provides you the basis to study the latest developments in the world of communication and interactive technology.
The research skills you gain enable you to become an effective designer and at the same time evaluate the academic and functional merits of your work.
As a new media specialist you know how to create innovative content and interaction designs that meet user’s needs. With the academic perspective and skills you develop in this program you will be able to stand out and bring media design to a next level.
The increasing individualization of media content consumption poses new challenges for organizations and asks for professionals that can guide them through the whole content strategy, design and evaluation process. After graduating, you could also continue your career as an academic researcher in the broad field of communication.
This is a small selection of positions you may apply for after you have completed your programme:
•Creative content designer
•Social media entrepreneur
•Online content manager
•User experience or interaction designer
•Professional vlogger/blogger
Are you interested in applications of Artificial Intelligence in communication techniques? Are you triggered by the question of how human reasoning can be represented in computer systems? Would you like to work for a company like Google or Philips? Then our interdisciplinary Master’s track Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence is your right choice!
The CSAI program draws on breakthrough discoveries and insights in the two closely related scientific disciplines Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence. Cognitive Science is the study of human reasoning, emotions, language, perception, attention, and memory. Artificial Intelligence is the study and design of computers and software that are capable of intelligent behavior.
Are you interested in applications of Artificial Intelligence in communication techniques? Are you triggered by the question of how human reasoning can be represented in computer systems? Would you like to work for a company like Google or Philips? Then our interdisciplinary Master’s track Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence is your right choice!
The CSAI program draws on breakthrough discoveries and insights in the two closely related scientific disciplines Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence. Cognitive Science is the study of human reasoning, emotions, language, perception, attention, and memory. Artificial Intelligence is the study and design of computers and software that are capable of intelligent behavior.
Graduates will be able to contribute to advancements in working fields like artificial intelligence and robotics, data science, data mining, knowledge technology and decision support systems.
This is a small selection of positions you may apply for after you have completed your programme:
•Intelligent Software Developer
•Web Analyst
•Social Media Analyst
•Data Journalist
•Social Robot Developer
•Web Data Entrepreneur
•E-Health and Healthcare Quality Analyst
This Research Master's programme in Media, Art and Performance Studies is an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented research-based programme which offers an advanced training in academic research skills appropriate for today's highly dynamic and interdisciplinary field of media, visual arts and performance.
Contemporary media, art and performance increasingly play with and transcend disciplinary boundaries. Intermedial and performative practices both produce and critically investigate cultural transitions in today’s mediatized and performative culture. Such synergies invite to explore how emerging forms of media, art and performance – while historically and culturally embedded - interact with and relate to social and cultural transformations.
As a student of this programme, you will be introduced to and specialise in new research areas and methodologies, necessary for investigating emerging media, performance and contemporary art forms within today's rapidly changing culture. In relation to this you will also reflect on the role of the Humanities in both academic and public debates.
Central concerns in this programme are, amongst others:
We approach this broad field from a range of comparative and intermedial perspectives, focusing primarily on the dynamics of change and exchange between media, contemporary arts and performance within a culture and society in transition.
In this programme you will reflect on questions such as how media have developed from the time of early cinema up to current new media art; how the definition of 'live' has changed alongside these mediatised cultural forms. How has the performative turn changed the ways we think about audiences? How do media technologies facilitate new methods of self-staging and social performance? What is the influence of media and technology on way we curate and educate in museums and archives and other cultural institutions.
In this age of selfies, datafication, (self-) staging and re-staging, and playful learning, you will examine how various media, art forms, and performance have been used for critical analysis, civic engagement, entertainment and educational purposes. You will do this by asking how digital technologies, dramaturgical and artistic strategies alter ways of dealing with knowledge production and distribution, and how these transitions have contributed to and also ask for new methods of research.
This programme will train you as a researcher within the field of Media, Contemporary Art and Performance Studies, to either prepare you for a PhD position, or for research-oriented positions in professional contexts of cultural institutions such as archives, museums, art institutions, theatres, for education, (non-)governmental organisations, or in creative industries.
After completing the programme:
The Research Master’s is aimed at excellent students from both the Netherlands and overseas, who have a background in the history and theory of contemporary art, or media and performance studies with a focus on theatre, dance, film, television, and/or digital media.
Alumni of the Media, Art and Performance Studies Research Master’s have been successful in obtaining PhD positions in various prestigious international programmes. Graduates also find their way to other job markets. For example in the domain of curation, dramaturgy, or media consultancy. Read more about possible career prospects.
Are you fascinated by digital media, especially social media? Would you like to investigate the new media landscape and understand its effects on society? Do you have your sights set on a career in the media world, with an emphasis on digital media and contemporary media practices? If so, Media Culture may be the right choice for you. The programme combines theoretical reflection, research on user practices and basic media skills training. Using an interdisciplinary approach, media studies is integrated with political philosophy, philosophical aesthetics, history and sociology of technology. This ensures that you develop the theoretical, analytical and practical skills that are essential to understanding and adapting to the ever-changing media world, whether you are working in a cultural organisation, a broadcasting company, a commercial business or a governmental organization
Why this programme?
New digital technologies have transformed the ways we share and distribute information, interact with each other and spend our leisure time. Digital media have had a major impact on our engagement with politics and with culture. At the same time, older media such as printed books, radio, television and film are still present and are evolving in complex interrelationships with digital media.
The master's programme in Media Culture combines theoretical reflection on these developments, research on user practices and training in basic media skills. You will be trained to become both a media researcher and an active player in today’s media world. You will also develop media expertise by investigating questions such as:
One of the key development challenges of our time is the increasing number of people placed at risk of crises and disasters; people's vulnerability increases due to shocks and trends as a result of natural and man-made hazards.
The number, complexity and impact of disasters are increasing which heightens the need for better disaster management. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) has become one of the cornerstones of international development: there is urgency to reduce disaster losses and a need to minimize the impact of disasters on sustainable development.
Disasters are, in essence, the result of poorly managed risk and human failure to introduce appropriate risk reduction measures. Effective crises and disaster responses therefore demand a shift away from reactive Emergency Relief to pro-active Disaster Risk Reduction. DRM therefore combines the concept of response and recovery (in the post-disaster phase) with the concept of prevention, mitigation and preparedness (the pre-disaster phase).
Graduates of DRM will be better able to respond to natural and man-made disasters in increasingly complex and dynamic environments. In the context of increasing climate variability and climate change (slow-onset disasters), this specialization pays attention to linking Disaster Risk Reduction with Climate Change Adaptation. The DRM specialisation also touches on conflict, making the course also relevant for those working in tense and conflict affected regions.
Central to the DRM specialisation is the focus on reducing the negative impacts of disasters and conflict on peoples’ lives and livelihoods and to build people’s resilience to disasters, crises and conflict.
At graduation, you will have developed the ability to:
Within an increasingly complex and dynamic context, graduates are trained and equipped to enhance community resilience of communities and reduce the impact of crises and disasters on sustainable development.
Graduates have acquired new insights and know how to use innovative approaches, which have proved their potential to build community resilience to better manage risks as required by the nature of today’s crises and disasters. By looking through a disaster and conflict lens, graduates can make an important contribution to sustainable development.
Our Master programmes are eligible for the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP), formerly the Netherlands Fellowship Programme. The Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) is targeted at professionals from selected developing countries who, after their studies in the Netherlands, will be able to further develop and strengthen the organisations at which they work.
The Master's programme Management of Development received 78 out of 100 points for its agriculture and food programme in the information guide 'Keuzegids Masters 2018' and was consequently awarded top programme status (the information guide is based on the outcome of the National Student Survey of 2017)!
