Communication and Information Studies

The Master’s programme in Communication and Information Studies (CIS) is designed to train students to become language and communication experts. The programme equips students with a solid academic basis for their professional career. Learn how to unravel verbal communication in various areas such as government, organisations, news media and medical care institutions.

The courses in the Master’s programme focus on the role that language plays in different institutional contexts, such as government, industry, journalism, and health care. Students complete their Masters’s programme by writing a thesis based on independently conducted research.

The specialisations of CIS are:

• Dialogue, Health, and Society
• Multimodal Communication
• Journalistiek

The specialisation Schrijven en Vertalen is no longer open to new applications as of 2025-2026. Only re-enrollments are allowed.

Journalistiek is taught in Dutch. If, occasionally, a course is open to students from English specialisations, it will be taught in English. For more information, please consult the Dutch study guide.

Specialisation in Dialogue, Health, and Society

Dialogue, Health, and Society is a degree program that uniquely combines a solid theoretical understanding of the role of language in real-life healthcare interactions with applied knowledge of facilitating dialogue. You will learn to how analyse and improve conversations in healthcare settings, ranging from public debates to online discussions. Internships at health organisations will help you to prepare for your future career in practice.

Specialisation in Multimodal Communication

In daily life, but also in present-day media, communication rarely takes place text-only, or by just hearing speech, Videos are audio-visual, speakers use gestures and messages can be non-verbal. This degree programme provides theory and methods for analysing and understanding “how multimodal communication works”. The courses provide an array of theories and methods for analysing the complexity of audio-visual communication in various contexts – through the natural media of our bodies and other material and virtual means.

Graduates are equipped with theoretical background and research skills they can later apply in the range of job opportunities that the field of communication has to offer. Students can also pursue a PhD on a topic related to the study of language and communication.