Is the master's in English or Dutch?
The master's is bilingual. You choose either a Dutch or an English-language track. If you choose the English-language track, all teaching is in English and you yourself will always speak and write in English. If you choose the Dutch-language track, you can write in Dutch. If possible, we offer working groups in Dutch, so the working language there is Dutch. But all literature and also many lectures are in English. So even in the Dutch-language track, English is an important second language.

Can you combine specialisations?
In principle, it is always possible to take additional courses. But to graduate in two specialisations, you have to take a lot of extra courses. In practice, we rarely see this happen.  Given the study pressure, it is not advisable to combine two tracks. However, you can, for example, choose to follow the Media & Democracy track but take Marketing Communication electives.

What about electives?
In every specialization, we offer 5 different electives in period four. These are described on the website and in the study guide. In addition, it is also possible to choose courses from other master's programmes. You choose 2 electives in period four.

Is the focus of the Marketing Communication track only on companies or also on civil society organisations?
Definitely also on civil society organisations. The track covers both commercial and societal aspects related to marketing.

How is CS different from other programmes?
Communication Science is a multi-faceted study that combines elements from different scientific disciplines. Questions are therefore regularly asked about the differences between Communication Science (CS) and other programmes, such as Psychology, Marketing or Communication and Information Science (CIW). Below, we explain these differences:

• Communication Science is a social science study. This means it focuses on the impact of media and communication on individuals, organisations and society. This includes research into how people experience media, how they are influenced by messages, and how emotions, opinions and attitudes change as a result. We draw on knowledge from many other disciplines; psychology first and foremost, but also sociology, political science, anthropology, linguistics ...
• Marketing communication is an important focus area within CS. Whereas Marketing studies also focus on economic analysis and strategies, marketing communication within CS focuses on the strategic use of persuasive messages. The central question here is: how can you influence people and what impact do specific marketing communication strategies have on different target groups?
• In CIW, communication processes are studied from a linguistic point of view.  At CW, this also plays a role, but the emphasis is much more on the impact of messages and the context in which communication takes place and less on how exactly those messages are formulated.