Master's Communication Science - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Be at the forefront of the communication revolution

Find solutions to major communication issues

Deepfakes, cybercrime, the platform economy, the fake news industry and the advent of contact tracing apps. Being knowledgeable about these developments in the media landscape is crucial. During the Master’s programme in Communication Science you will identify new developments and examine the complex dynamics between media, people and society from a scientific perspective. 

During your Communication Science programme you will learn to conduct independent social science research and analyse communication processes at an academic level. You can choose one of three specializations, depending on your specific interests, to enhance your knowledge and skills.

You'll find a year-overview of the master's specializations here.

The programme of Communication Science will start on 1 September.

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1st year

The programme

The Master’s programme in Communication Science features theoretical enrichment together with putting theory into practice in the professional field. You will be trained to put theoretical knowledge to use in societal issues.

In the first semester of this Master's programme you will take subjects that are part of your specialisation. Moreover, you will take two methodology and statistics modules that focus on innovative data collection and analysis. In the first semester, you will also take a course that teaches you how to apply scientific research to real-world communication challenges: Impact with Marketing and Corporate Communication, Impact with Media Psychology, or Impact with Media on Democracy.

In the second part of this Communication Science Master you will take two optional subjects to broaden your knowledge or to explore issues in more depth. The optional subjects that you can take are Communication Technology in Organizations, Branding and Design, Social Marketing, Storytelling: the Persuasive Power of Narratives, Privacy, Self-disclosure and Big Data, or Social Robotics. You will also start your Master’s thesis in the second semester. One of your lecturers (who are all leaders in their field) will supervise you in your research on the latest developments in communications and media.

Summary

How do media affect individuals’ brains, bodies, and behaviors? Which people are most susceptible to these effects? And how can new media contribute to individuals' well-being?

Media psychology is a relevant field of study. People are increasingly communicating with and engaging with media: from television and social media to virtual reality glasses and robots. This is important because our choices of media shape our image of ourselves, others and the world around us. In this specialisation, you will learn how media use affects your thinking and your view of the world, and how to apply these insights to address challenges with innovative communication technologies.

Subjects

Masterthesis Communication Science
Essentials of Media Psychology
Research Methods in Communication Science
Media Psychology for Impact
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Problematic and Beneficial Effects of Media Use

Subjects highlighted
The Essentials of Media Psychology subject offers theoretical insights into how media affects brains, body and behaviour of individuals. These include selective media use, message processing, media violence, addiction, emotional responses, mediated reality and the future of communication technology. You will discover which psychological theories can guide the design and adaptation of both traditional media (TV, films) and newer media (social media, video games, VR, social robotics).

The rise of new media often leads to public debates. Some fear that media use will worsen our well-being, while others expect new media to improve our lives. In the course Problematic and Beneficial Effects of Media Use, you will analyse the benefits and challenges associated with communication technologies and our relationship with them: from cyberbullying, cyberslacking, cyberchondria, addiction, online dating, virtual reality, loneliness and sexual harassment. Whereas the discussion used to revolve mostly around video games, personal computers and the internet, today's public discussion now focuses on the development of AI, ChatGPT, Virtual Reality and social robotics. During the workshops, you will be introduced to VR and learn how to use it. You will conduct your own research and present your findings via a poster in a VR environment.

Please consult the Study Guide for more information

Summary

How can you influence human behavior through communication? And how do you build strong brands and corporate reputations using modern marketing and PR strategies?

In this specialization, you will focus on marketing and PR communication, developing expertise that goes beyond traditional marketing and corporate communication. You will not only learn how to design effective campaigns, but also how to use communication to promote socially responsible behavior among consumers and companies. The knowledge and skills you acquire will make you a communication specialist who understands, and knows how to influence consumers, employees, policymakers, and the general public.

Subjects

Masterthesis Communication Science
Marketing Communication and the Consumer
Research Methods in Communication Science
Marketing and Corporate Communication for Impact
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Public Relations

Subjects highlighted
The subject Marketing Communications and the Consumer focuses on key developments in marketing communications. How do you build a strong brand with modern marketing communications? And how can you use communication effectively to influence behaviour? The course revolves around four central themes: knowing how marketing communication works, how to shape the message (content) and through which channels (media planning). It also takes a critical look at the ethical side: is it responsible to encourage consumers to buy products at a time when sustainability is increasingly important? In addition, on applying marketing communication in practice, in this course you design a marketing communication strategy for a client, which you will pitch to the company. This way, you get a good idea of how marketing communication is applied in practice.

In the Public Relations subject, you will investigate the dynamics and impact of communication between organisations, news media and the public. Media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, accelerate and intensify interaction between organisations and their audiences. On the one hand, this offers opportunities, for instance to communicate Corporate Social Responsibility policies more effectively. On the other hand, it also brings risks, think of reputational damage caused by social media scandals that can go viral. Which communication strategies are most effective in this digital environment? During the workshops, you will apply your knowledge directly to realistic cases. You will develop a PR strategy for an organisation in crisis, or design a Corporate Social Responsibility programme for an organisation.

Please consult the Study Guide for more information

Summary

Are social media causing polarisation? Why do so many people no longer trust journalism or politics? Do we really consume so much fake news?

In this specialisation, you become an expert in the societal impact of communication processes. You will learn how public debate is shaped, how the dynamics relationships between journalists, media, politics, organisations and citizens evolve. And how public debate influences public opinion.

Subjects

Masterthesis Communication Science
Source to Story: Creating Public Debate
Research Methods in Communication Science
Political Communication for Impact
Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
Headlines to Mindset: Shaping Public Opinion

Subjects highlighted
In the subject Source to Story: Creating Public Debate, you will learn how the dynamic and often heated public debates on social issues - ranging from a global pandemic to climate change, from immigration to global conflicts - are shaped. The central question is who dominates the public debate. You will learn how digitalisation, fragmentation and polarisation have changed the ability of different parties - such as politicians, lobbyists, journalists and the public - to engage in the debate. You apply the theory by taking a voice in the public debate yourself: you create blogs, vlogs or explainers. And you write a research proposal.

The subject Headlines to Mindset: Forming Public Opinion is about how public information influences citizens' opinions. What impact does the public debate - on politics, for example, on climate change, on security - have on your opinions? How do citizens process all the information they are faced with in this fragmented and digitised media environment? You will learn to what extent social media serve as fuel for polarisation, and what role algorithms play in this. In the working groups, you will work on weekly challenges, translating theories or concepts into different products: you will write a chapter for a social studies textbook, create a visualisation for a children's news item or an Instagram Reels. With these skills, you learn to critically understand information and learn to explain complex social issues in a comprehensible way to different audiences.

Please consult the Study Guide for more information

Media Psychology
Summary

How do media affect individuals’ brains, bodies, and behaviors? Which people are most susceptible to these effects? And how can new media contribute to individuals' well-being?
Media psychology is a relevant field of study. People are increasingly communicating with and engaging with media: from television and social media to virtual reality glasses and robots. This is important because our choices of media shape our image of ourselves, others and the world around us. In this specialisation, you will learn how media use affects your thinking and your view of the world, and how to apply these insights to address challenges with innovative communication technologies.
Subjects
- Masterthesis Communication Science
- Essentials of Media Psychology
- Research Methods in Communication Science
- Media Psychology for Impact
- Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
- Problematic and Beneficial Effects of Media Use
Subjects highlighted
The Essentials of Media Psychology subject offers theoretical insights into how media affects brains, body and behaviour of individuals. These include selective media use, message processing, media violence, addiction, emotional responses, mediated reality and the future of communication technology. You will discover which psychological theories can guide the design and adaptation of both traditional media (TV, films) and newer media (social media, video games, VR, social robotics).
The rise of new media often leads to public debates. Some fear that media use will worsen our well-being, while others expect new media to improve our lives. In the course Problematic and Beneficial Effects of Media Use, you will analyse the benefits and challenges associated with communication technologies and our relationship with them: from cyberbullying, cyberslacking, cyberchondria, addiction, online dating, virtual reality, loneliness and sexual harassment. Whereas the discussion used to revolve mostly around video games, personal computers and the internet, today's public discussion now focuses on the development of AI, ChatGPT, Virtual Reality and social robotics. During the workshops, you will be introduced to VR and learn how to use it. You will conduct your own research and present your findings via a poster in a VR environment.

Please consult the Study Guide for more information
Marketing and Corporate Communication
Summary

How can you influence human behavior through communication? And how do you build strong brands and corporate reputations using modern marketing and PR strategies?
In this specialization, you will focus on marketing and PR communication, developing expertise that goes beyond traditional marketing and corporate communication. You will not only learn how to design effective campaigns, but also how to use communication to promote socially responsible behavior among consumers and companies. The knowledge and skills you acquire will make you a communication specialist who understands, and knows how to influence consumers, employees, policymakers, and the general public.
Subjects
- Masterthesis Communication Science
- Marketing Communication and the Consumer
- Research Methods in Communication Science
- Marketing and Corporate Communication for Impact
- Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
- Public Relations
Subjects highlighted
The subject Marketing Communications and the Consumer focuses on key developments in marketing communications. How do you build a strong brand with modern marketing communications? And how can you use communication effectively to influence behaviour? The course revolves around four central themes: knowing how marketing communication works, how to shape the message (content) and through which channels (media planning). It also takes a critical look at the ethical side: is it responsible to encourage consumers to buy products at a time when sustainability is increasingly important? In addition, on applying marketing communication in practice, in this course you design a marketing communication strategy for a client, which you will pitch to the company. This way, you get a good idea of how marketing communication is applied in practice.

In the Public Relations subject, you will investigate the dynamics and impact of communication between organisations, news media and the public. Media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, accelerate and intensify interaction between organisations and their audiences. On the one hand, this offers opportunities, for instance to communicate Corporate Social Responsibility policies more effectively. On the other hand, it also brings risks, think of reputational damage caused by social media scandals that can go viral. Which communication strategies are most effective in this digital environment? During the workshops, you will apply your knowledge directly to realistic cases. You will develop a PR strategy for an organisation in crisis, or design a Corporate Social Responsibility programme for an organisation.
Please consult the Study Guide for more information
Media and Democracy
Summary

Are social media causing polarisation? Why do so many people no longer trust journalism or politics? Do we really consume so much fake news?
In this specialisation, you become an expert in the societal impact of communication processes. You will learn how public debate is shaped, how the dynamics relationships between journalists, media, politics, organisations and citizens evolve. And how public debate influences public opinion.
Subjects
- Masterthesis Communication Science
- Source to Story: Creating Public Debate
- Research Methods in Communication Science
- Political Communication for Impact
- Computational Analysis of Digital Communication
- Headlines to Mindset: Shaping Public Opinion
Subjects highlighted
In the subject Source to Story: Creating Public Debate, you will learn how the dynamic and often heated public debates on social issues - ranging from a global pandemic to climate change, from immigration to global conflicts - are shaped. The central question is who dominates the public debate. You will learn how digitalisation, fragmentation and polarisation have changed the ability of different parties - such as politicians, lobbyists, journalists and the public - to engage in the debate. You apply the theory by taking a voice in the public debate yourself: you create blogs, vlogs or explainers. And you write a research proposal.
The subject Headlines to Mindset: Forming Public Opinion is about how public information influences citizens' opinions. What impact does the public debate - on politics, for example, on climate change, on security - have on your opinions? How do citizens process all the information they are faced with in this fragmented and digitised media environment? You will learn to what extent social media serve as fuel for polarisation, and what role algorithms play in this. In the working groups, you will work on weekly challenges, translating theories or concepts into different products: you will write a chapter for a social studies textbook, create a visualisation for a children's news item or an Instagram Reels. With these skills, you learn to critically understand information and learn to explain complex social issues in a comprehensible way to different audiences.
Please consult the Study Guide for more information

Are you curious about the experiences of students of the track Media and Democracy (formerly known as Political Communication, Digital News and Public Opinion)? Then watch this video.

The programme of this Communication Master at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is taught by lecturers and researchers from different backgrounds, including communication science, social psychology, political science and text, film, and literature studies. The teaching and research activities of our lecturers are closely linked.

For each specialisation, you take one Impact subject in semester 1: Impact with Marketing and Corporate Communication; Impact with Media Psychology or Impact with Media on Democracy. In this subject, you will be challenged to tackle problems in society. You will conduct research on behalf of an organisation facing a communication problem. Based on a scientific analysis, you present a specific advice or intervention to the organisation. Based on a scientific analysis, you present a concrete advice or intervention to the organisation.

This proves very useful for external stakeholders: many of these recommendations were directly adopted in previous years and are applied in practice. Through these assignments, you gain valuable practical experience during your studies and become well informed about the kind of challenges many organisations face.

In other courses as well, you will work on practical cases presented by organisations. The Communication Science programme gives you the opportunity to develop your professional network and skills.

After you have obtained a Master's degree in Communication Science, you could, for example, work as a strategist at a marketing or advertising agency, or become a communication consultant for an organisation within the profit, non-profit or government sector.

Explore your future prospects

Communication Science

Media Psychology

Marketing and Corporate Communication

Media and Democracy

Media and Democracy

Interdisciplinary

Impact subjects

Change your future with Communication Science

Change your future with Communication Science

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