Students participating in a lecture

Program and courses Business Communication and Digital Media

Study the opportunities digital media offer to companies and organizations, for example for their marketing communication, corporate branding, customer service, crisis communication, and communication in the workplace.

Program structure

This one-year track of MSc Communication and Information Sciences consists of 60 credits (ECTS), of which:

  • 6 core electives (36 ECTS in total)
  • 2 research skills electives (6 ECTS in total)
  • Master’s thesis (18 ECTS)

You can start either at the end of August or at the end of January.

Program content

Core electives

Choose 6 core electives:

To have the Business Communication and Digital Media (BDM) specialization listed on your diploma, at least 4 of the courses you choose must have the BDM-label. You are free to choose the other 2 courses from the total range of electives offered by the MSc Communication and Information Sciences. This includes electives with the label of the Communication and Cognition (CC) and New Media Design (NMD) tracks.

Below are courses that are classified under BDM:

  • Interactive Storytelling
  • Social Media at Work
  • Webcare
  • Digital Food Marketing
  • Negotiation Strategies
  • Persuasion & (Dis)agreement
  • Social Media: Risks & Opportunities
  • Language Technology & Society
  • Digital Health Communication
  • Resistance and Persuasion
  • Roles in Networked Organizations
  • Psychology of Business Communication
  • Online Public Relations
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Multimodal Communication
  • Risk Communication
  • Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
Research skills electives

Choose at least 2 research skills modules from the list below:

  • Analysis of Variance
  • Annotation
  • Survey
  • Eye Tracking
  • Online Data Collection
  • Programming
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Research Interview
Master’s thesis

You start with your Master's Thesis (18 ECTS) in the first lecture week of the third block of your study and complete it at the end of the fourth block.

  • For your Master's thesis, you will conduct research on a subject related to Business Communication and Digital Media.
  • You will be paired with a supervisor with expertise in the area of the topic you have indicated your interest in.

Examples of previous Master's thesis subjects are:

  • Crisis communication by the police via Twitter: what kind of communication do people at risk appreciate and expect from the police during a crisis?
  • To joke, or not to joke? The effect of using humor in webcare on corporate reputation
  • First impressions, Relationship Management, and Negotiation Outcome in the context of online text-based negotiations
  • Content marketing on Instagram: An investigation of the effects of vividness and content type in brand messages on brand engagement, brand attitude, and content attitude
  • Does beauty sell? A cross-cultural study on the influence of celebrity endorsement and attractiveness on online purchase behavior
  • Getting Personal: The influence of publicness and anonymity on self-disclosure via social media
  • Can personalization go beyond its effectiveness? The effects of personalized online advertisements, privacy concerns and feelings of unfamiliarity on advertising

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Dual Degree with Wirtschaftsuniversität Vienna (+1 year)

Become a specialist in the field of business communication with a special focus on digital and intercultural communication.

This Dual Degree program provides two degrees: one from the Wirtschaftsuniversität (WU) Vienna in Austria and one from Tilburg University. Yo will learn how companies can optimally adapt their communication to the international environment in which they operate, and the opportunities and challenges of today's media society.

  • You will start at the end of September at WU Vienna.
  • One year later you will continue the program at Tilburg University, starting at the end of August.
  • scholarship covers part of your tuition.

More on the Dual Degree with Wirtschaftsuniversität Vienna

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature in our course catalog.

Go to the course descriptions


Please note: programs are subject to change. We advise you to look up the current program in OSIRIS Student at the start of the year.


Do you want to know more about this Master’s program?

Find out more during one of our events

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Short overview of the Business Communication and Digital Media program

  • Research the opportunities digital media offer for companies and organizations, for example for their marketing communication, corporate branding, customer service, crisis communication, and communication in the workplace.
  • Analyze the effects of the implementation of new communication tools on communication processes and their outcomes. And learn how to turn your findings into advice on how to use these tools effectively.
  • Choose from a wide range of electives. Become an all-round professional or specialize in the field of marketing communication, internal communication or corporate communication.

Interested in the Business Communication and Digital Media track?

Check your eligibility and the deadlines for application