USE THE MOST EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND INNOVATIONS TO TACKLE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETAL CHALLENGES.
The programme is focused on social science theories, so you will gain insights into human behaviour and learn to predict and understand the motivations behind people’s actions. How can you leverage online platforms, craft impactful digital marketing campaigns, and understand consumer behaviour in digital spaces, such as social media channels? In what ways can you help companies mitigate the negative effect of a breach of trust on their reputation?
Thanks to our collaboration with many organisations, you will have the opportunity to work on challenging real-world projects in your master’s thesis or internship. For example, you might investigate if a village with 600 houses can transition away from natural gas. What communication strategies can you implement to persuade the residents to make the shift? How can you ensure that all stakeholders, including local government and energy providers, are on a board? Moreover, you will gain access to our advanced BMS Lab and the Behavioural Data Science Incubator (BDSI) where you can expand your research.
CO-DECIDE THE CONTENT OF YOUR MASTER’S
Examples of courses you can take as part of this Master's:
- In the elective course Social Marketing and Behaviour Change, you will understand how human behaviour and behaviour change work, drawing on marketing, social psychology, behaviour change theory, and intervention mapping.
- Games are a growing medium of communication. In the elective course Game Studies in Social Sciences, you will dive into serious games (games that educate) and develop your own game to promote prosocial behaviour or advertise a product.
- How can organisations cope with major technological, economic, cultural, or ecological transitions? If you choose the elective course Vision, Strategy and Leadership, you will visit companies and create a portfolio with the competencies they need in order to thrive in the 21st century.
BUILD YOUR UNIQUE PROFILE with profile areas
As a student of the Master’s in Communication Science at UT, you can customise your programme to your interests and choose to what extent you want to focus on technology. You will not only build a strong foundation in core communication science concepts but also shape your distinctive profile by taking elective courses.
Suppose you look forward to a career in corporate communications or public relations. Perhaps you are eager to dive into digital marketing and consumer behaviour. Or you are interested in optimising employee interaction using social robots? You can structure your curriculum around one of the three unique focus areas, or alternatively, you can combine courses from multiple focus areas.
Organisational Communication & Reputation When unexpected challenges jeopardize the reputation of an organisation, how should it respond? Moreover, how can you improve its reputation? How can you build credibility for social responsibility strategies, such as sharing information about sustainability efforts, to make people trust them? Also, consider the implications of technologies like social robots assisting employees with disabilities. Through real-world cases, you will learn to guide organisations in today's fast-paced digital world.
Media, Technology & Communication From smart homes to social robots helping the elderly, the challenge lies in bridging the communication gap between humans and technology. How can you design a social robot that responds to an elderly person’s needs? What about the benefits and risks of self-driving cars, and how can you debunk misinformation related to them? In what ways can you make AI work for you instead of against you? By examining real-world cases, you will learn to apply user-centred design to optimise human-tech interactions.
Digital Marketing Communication & Design Design influences human behaviour. So, how can you leverage digital marketing and design principles for the greater good of society? How can you use website design to promote sustainable consumer behaviour and food choices? Think of strategies to transform physical spaces, such as hospital waiting rooms, so that people feel more relaxed. Imagine using VR to reconstruct a crime scene, helping witnesses recall details of the crime. You can also explore the impact of multi-sensory design, such as scents or sounds, on people’s well-being and behaviour. Or consider designing an environmental game that educates and promotes ocean conservation.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN
After completing this Master’s, you:
- know which processes and strategies account for an effective change in (sustainable) human behaviour;
- have a thorough understanding of the latest technologies and their interconnectedness with communication;
- can optimise interactions between individuals and technology, taking into account specific contextual factors (such as digital skills or social support).
After completing this Master’s, you can:
- address major societal challenges, such as polarization, sustainability, safety, filter bubbles, fake news, and conspiracy theories;
- effectively engage and facilitate constructive communication among diverse stakeholders;
- collect and analyse data to make informed decisions about how people and organisations interact.
After completing this Master’s, you:
- embrace the concept of social responsibility in communication, considering the broader implications of your work on communities;
- recognise communication challenges on micro (personal), meso (organisational), and macro (societal) levels;
- apply new techniques and technologies to adapt to the ever-changing communication landscape.
RELATED MASTER'S
Is this Master’s not exactly what you are looking for? Find out more about these related master’s:
