Communications and Information Sciences

Master in Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) Specialisations within CIS: • • • •

Business Communication and Digital Media Communication Design Human Aspects of Information Technology Intercultural Communication

Master’s Programmes 2011/2012

Humanities

Table of Contents

Why Tilburg University, School of Humanities 03

Our profile and mission statement

School of Humanities

CIS at a Glance

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Tilburg University is an inspiring university offering a stimulating and

Tilburg University is located in the Southern part of the Netherlands,

My Personal Opinion

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challenging environment for students, staff, and alumni.

one and half hour from Amsterdam. Tilburg is a warm and young city

Communication and Information Sciences (CIS)

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Why Tilburg University

for ambitious students who would like to combine their studies with a The university highly values authenticity, academic freedom, and

Specialisations within CIS:

pleasant social life.

• Business Communication and Digital Media

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continuous development. In its top-quality education and research

• Communication Design

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programmes in the disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities,

Tilburg School of Humanities is one of the leading academic bodies

• Human Aspects of Information Technology

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the university is committed to addressing quality issues in society at

within the university and is responsible for a promising teaching

• Intercultural Communication

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national and international levels. It does so by training people for

programme. The programmes offered by Tilburg School of Humanities

Curriculum

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positions of responsibility in society and by contributing to socially

are accredited by the NVAO (in Dutch: Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatie-

Prospective Students

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sustainable solutions.

organisatie). NVAO, which is established by an international treaty, independently ensures the quality of higher education in the Netherlands

After Graduation

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Career Opportunities

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Tilburg University draws on a rich tradition which nourishes reflection

and Flanders by assessing and accrediting programmes, and contributes

Admissions and Application

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and which also encourages the academic community’s awareness of its

to enhancing this quality.

Contact Us

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philosophy of life in relation to academic disciplines.

Tilburg University in a nutshell

We offer • Reliable service

• Located in Tilburg

• Responsive environment

• Founded in 1927

• Supportive staff

• Best specialist university in the Netherlands

• Modern facilities

• With 12,000 students

• Excellent research institutions

• International students from 65 countries

• Highly qualified (academic) staff...and more!

• 233 full professors • 1,500 Master’s degrees each year • 85 PhD degrees each year • 1,940 scientific publications each year For more information on the latest rankings and accreditations of Tilburg University, please visit our website: www.tilburguniversity.nl/rankings

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CIS at a Glance Name

Communication and Information Sciences

Specialisations

• Business Communication and Digital

My Personal Opinion

Media

• Communication Design

• Human Aspects of Information

• Intercultural Communication

Language

English

Start

The end of January or the end of August

Duration

12 months

Why CIS…

Title

Master of Arts (MA)

“The good atmosphere between teachers and students

Tuition fee

€ 1672 per year (EU/EEA)

creates a perfect learning environment”

€ 2550 per year (NON-EU/EEA)

Technology

CIS student

Head of Department CIS

Marlies Lammers

Prof.dr. Fons Maes

CIS is a master programme for highly talented, motivated, curious

* The tuition fees for 2011-2012 should be confirmed yet!

When I started with the CIS Bachelor, I wanted to learn everything

Pre-master’s programme

Available (in Dutch)

about writing the perfect text. During the curriculum, I soon found

Head of department

Prof.dr. Fons Maes

out that communication holds so much more than writing texts

Your personal contact

Mr. Omid Feyli

only. I became particularly interested in the interface between

(International Relations Office)

communication and Information Technology and wanted to go deeply into that subject. Therefore I decided to choose the CIS Master specialisation Human Aspects of Information Technology.

For me, the curriculum is a valuable experience. Having no background in IT, I knew this part of the programme would become challenging for me. Moreover, all the subjects are finished at a great pace: it takes a lot of effort and dedication to keep up. Fortunately, we have highly qualified teachers, who are more than only experts in their field and they are very passionate about their specialties.

Their enthusiasm motivates me even more to be at my best.

The best part of CIS is the good atmosphere between teachers and students. This creates a perfect learning environment, which gives me the opportunity to show initiative, ask questions and actively engage and contribute to discussions about the field of CIS.

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www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis

and internationally-oriented students. CIS challenges students to embark in a comprehensive study of communication and information.

This means that CIS covers different communicative codes, such as language, pictorial information, and non-verbal communication, and that it invites students to take different disciplinary perspectives on communication and information behaviour: linguistic, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, technological. Empirical study is an important part of each course. Recent technological developments in communication and information, ranging from social media to data mining, are covered in different selective courses. The idea behind this set up is communication and information experts nowadays have to deal with the soft side of Information Technology more than ever before.

Within this programme, students can focus on different fields of communication and information. CIS offers a range of optional courses. That way, students can focus on different areas of study (communication design, digital media, intercultural communication).

In sum, CIS is waiting for students who have creative and innovative ideas about communication and society, who are eager to empirically examine these ideas and opinions, and who like to work cooperatively in an agreeable academic environment.

Please read more about our CIS students and staff on www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis

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Communication and Information Sciences (CIS) Communication and Information Sciences offers a unique programme

Business Communication and Digital Media

in which you learn about how people inform themselves and others, and

In the Master’s specialisation Business Communication and Digital

how new means of communication can be used in a creative way.

Media, you will focus on communication issues in the area of business

The approach of Tilburg School of Humanities is unique in the sense

communications. You will research how people use different ways to

that the broad concept of communication is viewed from many

communicate with each other, and how they process information

perspectives, among which linguistics, cognitive and social psychology,

through language, pictures, sound and computers. For example, you

computational modelling and document design.

will acquire knowledge about pitfalls and misunderstandings in the

You are most welcome to join

exchange of information, negotiation and conflict management in business settings. An emphasis lies on the effects of digital communi-

This programme is intended for highly talented, motivated, curious and

cation on our society and culture. Business Communications and

internationally-oriented students. In this Master programme you will

Digital media enable you to study the consequences/implications of

encounter state of the art research in the broad interdisciplinary area of

media selection for effective communication transaction.

communication. The point of departure is natural communication: how do people transfer information between each other? To what purpose?

Communication Design

You will attend diverse courses like communication strategies, non-verbal

One of the essential parts of information transaction and communication

communication and computer vision. Through this unique multidiscipli-

is text, verbal or written. One of the purposes of texts is to inform or

nary approach and research traditions, you will be able to work as a

convince depending on the communication objectives. Communication

communication expert, and answer questions such as: What is the best

designers research different factors that influence the effectiveness of texts

way to present information to an audience? How do people communicate

as communication tools. These factors can be the text characteristics,

within an organization? And how can you influence people’s behaviour

such as style and structure, but also the conversation characteristics

through language?

and influence of non-verbal communication. Furthermore, the context and purpose of a text and how readers process information also play a

You take a more than average interest in language and you want to broaden

major role in communication. In the English Master’s specialisation

and deepen your academic knowledge. What you are curious about is

Communication Design, you will research how communication processes

the many different aspects of communication.

work and how you can effectively influence these processes. You will

You can specialise This one-year programme offers four different specialisations: ‘Business

learn to analyse texts, adjust them for different target groups and you will acquire knowledge on how to measure in practice whether a text has the desired effect.

Communication and Digital Media’, ‘Communication Design’, ‘Human Aspects of Information Technology’ and ‘Intercultural Communication’.

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Curriculum Human Aspects of Information Technology

Intercultural Communication

The courses in this one-year programme are taught in English and start

A selection of subjects:

We live in a time when more and more automated systems provide

Communication between different cultures in different languages

the end of January or the end of August each year.

The programme offers a wide range of communication and information

us with access to enormous amounts of information, through search

has become increasingly important. Interaction between people has

engines, websites and digital helpdesks. How can we make sure that

become more internationally oriented and therefore multicultural and

The academic year

people get the exact information or (access to) the knowledge that they

in multilingual. In the English Master’s specialisation Intercultural

The academic year for this programme is divided into four blocks of six

• Communication Strategies

require? What technologies do we have at our disposal to effectuate this?

Communication you will learn about the influences of internationalisation

weeks each.

• Multimodality & Communication

How can users’ demands and wishes be catered for most naturally?

and multiculturalism on language and interaction. You will study this in

Can computers identify and mimic human behaviour? How can all this

a wide range of social contexts. You will research how language, culture

The load of the CIS programme is 60 ECTS-credits. European Credit

• Natural Language Processing

be translated into smart information systems? Questions like these

and identity are linked and how these influence each other and you will

Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard for comparing

• Computer Vision

are central to the one-year English Master’s specialisation Human

conduct research about how people behave and interact with each other

the study attainment and performance of students of higher education

• Language, Culture & Identity

Aspects of Information Technology, a heavily internationally-oriented

in a multicultural society. You will study intercultural communication in

across the European Union and other collaborating European countries.

• Negotiation Strategies

specialisation.

social institutions and organisations such as schools, government and

In terms of time, the students should study 28hrs including class time

• Online Marketing

co-operations and answer questions like: How do people from different

for 1 ECTS-credit.

• Information Search, Retrieval & Recommendation

subjects which even enables you to specialise in different fields of your interest.

• Cognition & Process

In this specialisation, you will learn how to organise information systems

cultural, ethnical and national backgrounds, cooperate and how can you

in such a way that they can communicate with the user in a natural way.

work with culturally different teams? You will also acquire knowledge

Credit distribution

A search engine will have to ‘understand’ what results an inquirer is

about how governments create policies concerning multilingual and

The programme consists of six courses of 6 ECTS, two research skills

• Digital Collaboration

looking for; an automatic telephone service helpdesk will have to be

multicultural aspects of societies.

modules of 3 ECTS, and a Master thesis of 18 ECTS. From a list of elective

• Knowledge Management

able to enter into a dialogue with a caller through speech recognition

courses, you will select two elective courses of 6 ECTS each per block.

• Computer Games

and artificial speech. By making use of the unique combination of

In addition, you will select an elective research skills module of 3 ECTS

• Non-verbal Communication

information and language technology you actively contribute to the

in the first two blocks. In the third and fourth block you will write your

• Culture & Technology

accessibility and the categorisation of information.

Master thesis.

• Evolution of Language

• Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery • Culture, Communication and Computers

• Language & Globalization When you decide to specialise in one of the specialisations, you should

• Social Media

choose at least four related electives in that year!

Schedule

Full-time programme

www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis

Duration

Average

12 months

40 - 50 hours/week

60 ECTS or 1680 hours

(28hrs/ECTS)

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Study Load

including class time

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Prospective Students

After Graduation

Students are participants We believe strongly that our students are participants when it comes to knowledge exchange that occurs every day at Tilburg University!

CIS student graduated in 2005 Imagine exchanging ideas and developing solutions with the most

CIS student graduated in 2009

Corporate Communications

talented and motivated students from different international schools.

Translator at ALERT

Consultant at Winkelman en

This international Master’s programme offers courses to a variety of

Gemma Searle

Van Hessen - Sanne Stadler

both Dutch and international students. With their different cultural backgrounds and strong academic records, they have chosen Tilburg University, Tilburg School of Humanities as a start of their international

My name is Gemma Searle. I am currently working at Alert Life

I really enjoyed being student Communication and Information

career in the field of Communication and Information Sciences.

Sciences Computing B.V. in ‘s-Hertogenbosch as a translator.

Sciences at Tilburg University, from 2001 till 2005. The study

ALERT is an international company fully committed to the develop-

offered me the right balance between theory and practice,

Many of the courses are taught in small groups, as a result of which

ment, distribution and implementation of healthcare software,

personal classes and self-study, communications classes and

there is intensive contact with fellow-students and lecturers. Students

which creates paper-free clinical environments.

more technical classes. Starting in my first job as a consultant in 2005 I took advantage of all aspects of the programme.

also get all the supervision they need in writing their Master’s thesis.

Are you the right candidate

My work involves carrying out Dutch and English translations, proofreading and writing texts in different areas, for example

At the moment I work as a Communications Consultant at

Nowadays in our constantly fast changing world Communication and

online news for the website, marketing, commercial, development,

Winkelman en Van Hessen in The Hague. I advice organizations

Information plays a major role in the international society. Students who

operations and legal texts.

about their positioning in the market and help them to strengthen

would like to have a competitive advantage among the others should

their corporate communications and PR programmes. I really

not be taken aback and act strategically by choosing the right academic

I took a major in Business Communication and Digital Media and

love this broad working field; it offers diversity, experience and

programme. With Communication and Information Sciences in your

I graduated in December 2009. This course definitely gave me

inspiration. In my job I get confronted with human behaviour

knowledge baggage you will be a step ahead of the others!

useful knowledge and taught me valuable skills. I found the courses

and media each day.

very interesting and varied which provided many opportunities.

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During the Master, I found the courses Intercultural Communication

I think Communication and Information Sciences is an interesting

and International Communication especially useful. Since I currently

study for anyone who is interested in human communications and

work for an international company it is very useful to be able to

ready to look ahead. It is a study that offers knowledge of commu-

communicate with different nationalities and recognize cultural

nications, media and technique, practical experience and analytical

differences.

skills. CIS is definitely a strong basis for many professional careers.

Please read more about our CIS alumni on www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis

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Career Opportunities

Admissions and Application International skills:

Admissions requirements

Application and selection procedure

Sciences you will have a broad career path in business, research and

• Improving the way people using computers

Before applying, check that you meet the following requirements:

All applicants must go through an application and selection procedure

education in front of you. You are able to analyse and consult about

• Understanding the end-users’ perceptions (also in IT departments)

After finishing your MA programme in Communication and Information

before joining the programme. This procedure ensures all students’

internal and external communications. With a Master’s degree you can

• Expert in Intercultural Communication processes

• You have a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline

also start your career as scientific researcher in this field. Keep in mind

• Team leader in multinational companies and institutions

• Adequate knowledge of English. Please send in a true copy of one of

that these opportunities are world wide because your studies are inter-

• Managing programmers

the following English proficiency tests: Academic IELTS, TOEFL. If you

nationally-oriented!

• Analysing internal and external communication within organisations

are an English native speaker or an EEA citizen who has studied in an

• Advising (local) government and related organisations about

English undergraduate programme, an English proficiency test is

Career path after graduation

NOT required.

communication methods and tools International careers:

backgrounds, profiles and ambitions meet our requirements.

Please consult our website www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis for detailed information concerning the admissions and applications.

Send in your application form and required documents.

Within 1 week you will receive confirmation of your delivered documents from the Admissions Officer.

Admissions Committee will deal with individual applications.

The Admissions Committee will spend 4 weeks on your individual application to form their decision.

Stage 3

You will receive a letter of notification, stating committee’s decision.

The notification letter will be send to you within 1 week.

Stage 4

You can either start studying immediately or you have to meet additional requirements.

From stage 1 onwards, the entire procedure will take up to 6 weeks!

Stage 1

Application deadlines

• International scientific researcher • Intercultural Communication Consultant

Next course Next course Deadlines

• Intercultural Communication trainer

begins

ends

• Intercultural Communication Officer in multinational organisations

01-10-2010

Students NON-EU/EEA

• Communication advisor in (non)-profit organisations

(requiring a visa)

• Communication employee of government agencies and related

21-01-2011

15-01-2012

01-11-2010

NON-EU/EEA

(NOT requiring a visa)

01-12-2010

EU/EEA

15-04-2011

NON-EU/EEA

institutions • Opportunities as communication consultant

Stage 2

(requiring a visa)

30-08-2011

15-07-2012

15-05-2011

NON-EU/EEA

(NOT requiring a visa)

01-07-2011

EU/EEA

Please consult our website for updated information concerning the deadlines!

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Contact Us for More Information

Feel free to join our online social networks

Please do not hesitate to contact our International Relations Office (IRO), for your personal queries about the programme, scholarships, admissions and enrolment. You are more than welcome to contact us before, during or even after your submission period. Our international team is glad to answer all your questions about studying at Tilburg School of Humanities and provide you with detailed practical information!

Your personal contact: Omid Feyli

Paulien Staal

International Relations Office

International Relations Office

admissionshumanities@uvt.nl

admissionshumanities@uvt.nl

IRO.humanities

IRO.humanities

Phone: +31 (0)13 466 3580

Phone: +31 (0)13 466 3060

For further information on the latest updates, please visit our website: www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis

WikipediA

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Tilburg

Tilburg University Address

PO Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands

Telephone

+31 13 466 35 80

Fax

+31 13 466 28 92

E-mail

admissionshumanities@uvt.nl

Skype

IRO.humanities

www.tilburguniversity.nl/masters/cis