Informations for Incoming Students

Information for Incoming Master Students

Master in “Media and Communication”,
Augsburg University

 

The Master’s program requires a completed academic degree, usually a Bachelor’s degree, in communication science or a related field. This program is research-oriented, conveying knowledge and skills for multifaceted analyses of media-related phenomena and developments. It puts a special focus on transformations of media and society, as well as health, environmental, and science communication. The program aims at systematically analyzing and understanding the interrelations between media and society, as well as the potential of media to contribute to public knowledge and understanding of complex issues. Intensive research projects are an integral part of the Master’s program, with students acquiring knowledge on empirical research methods and their practical applications. Upon successful completion of the Master’s program, students will have gained specialized knowledge in the field of communication, as well as skills essential to leadership. Students will be capable of working with and contemplating scientific methods.

 

Modules offered in English

Each summer term (April to July), courses are offered in English language. Erasmus students may acquire up to 30 ECTS. The descriptions below showcase the general modules in which the actual courses are located. The specific courses within each module may vary from year to year. Examples of courses from previous years are mentioned below. Course requirements are adapted to the specific course. Methods of examination most commonly used are oral presentations or written tests.

 

1. Advanced Qualitative Methods (12 ECTS, 4 contact hours)

In this module, students will develop and carry out a research project, enhancing their understanding and application of qualitative research methods. They will first formulate a research question, approach the question analytically, apply a specific qualitative method, and finally present their results. After completing the course, students will not only have practiced the evaluation of sources and data, but they will also be able to critically reflect on specific methods. This course is especially useful in training students to develop their own research projects and writing their Master’s thesis.

Previous courses of this module dealt with some of the following essential methods:

  • Content analysis
  • Group discussions
  • Interviews
  • Participant observation
  • Textual analysis

2. Society and Media (6 ECTS, 2 contact hours)

Courses in this module address the significance of media in and for society. They address the question how media creates realities, knowledge and common values (or norms) and how these depictions affect audiences. A special focus is put on communicators and their role in communication processes, or the creation of media realities,  e.g. by creating and distributing world views or stereotypes. We deal with communicators both in a classic sense, as media professionals, and in new digital media landscapes (like virtual reality) that need to be defined more broadly. For example, we also consider social media users, who might turn into communicators themselves through engaging more actively in the communication process. In this module, we also consider the respective contexts of media systems or cultural backgrounds. These contexts serve as a base that improves our understanding of media content, and how media affects recipients and audiences. After completing the courses in this module, students will be able to critically reflect on the media’s construction of ‘realities’ and the significance of media realities overall. Examples of previous courses are:

  • Virtual ethnography and digital cultures
  • Old topics, current perspectives: Journalists and history in the media
  • Media use as media production in digital markets
  • Virtual Reality in everyday life

3. Transformations of media and publics (6 ECTS, 2 contact hours)

The courses in this module deal with current and historical cases of media change and changes of the public through relating them to changes in culture and society. Students will become acquainted with various concepts, models and theories of publics, ranging from counter-publics over mass audiences, to transnational publics, and publics defined by the social media. By putting different ideas of public communication into historical perspective, students will learn about processes of social change and media transformations that are crucial to understanding and analyzing “the public.” After completing this module, students will be able to critically reflect on current transformation phenomena and connect them to the theoretical approaches discussed. Additionally, the courses will put a special focus on communicators; how their role in public communication has changed over time, how they adapted to processes of media and social change, and finally, how this affects the contemporary concepts of public communication and theories of “the public sphere”. Examples of previous courses are:

  • Professional journalism? No, thanks! 1968 and its influence on communicators
  • Blackout! Dystopias as a perspective on media change and the public
  • Participation in public sphere(s). Media(ted) discourses in the 21st century
  • Talking gender, constructing gender: Media and changes in gender concepts

 

4. Health, Environment and Science Communication (6 ECTS, 2 contact hours)

The courses in this module deal with how complex and often abstract issues of health, environment and science are communicated by media within society. They deal with strategies, possibilities and difficulties when communicating these issues to individuals, or different social groups in a more accessible way. They also deal with perceptions and effects of this type of communication among audiences. Specifically, a focus lies in analyses of attitude and behavior changes in different academic domains. For example, in health communication both issues of personal health (e.g. sports and the prevention of heart diseases) and societal health (e.g. public attitudes on vaccination and effects of vaccination campaigns) will be discussed, while courses in environmental communication address more international topics like climate change, but without losing sight of national contexts. Courses in science communication can deal with different disciplines ranging from natural sciences to the social sciences, and especially how these disciplines communicate knowledge to wider audiences. Students will become acquainted with the specifics and challenges in communicating highly innovative research fields. Examples of previous courses are:

  • Environmental communication. Climate change skepticism in fictional media formats
  • Health (communication) and the everyday life
  • More than talking nerds: The research field of science communication

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