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Application and admission: Business Communication and Digital Media - national procedure

This is the national application and admission procedure for the Business Communication and Digital Media track of the MSc Communication and Information Sciences.

Please read before continuing

Are you applying with a Bachelor's diploma obtained in the Netherlands? 

Then you must follow the national procedure below.

 

Follow the procedure below

Are you applying with a Bachelor's diploma from a non-Dutch educational institution*?

Then you must follow the international procedure.

 

Go to the international procedure

*including Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

a) Check your eligibility

Educational background

Students of Tilburg University

With the following Tilburg University Bachelor's degrees, you can be directly admitted.

  • Bachelor Communicatie- en Informatiewetenschappen
  • Premaster Communication and Information Sciences
  • Bachelor Liberal Arts and Sciences: with the Major Cognitive Neuroscience: Brain and Cognition, the Major Social Sciences: Human Behavior, or the Major Business and Economics

Are you taking a different Bachelor at Tilburg University? Or are you not or no longer enrolled as a Tilburg University student?

In that case, the Admissions Committee will determine whether your Bachelor's degree is (still) a sufficient fit to be admitted to the Master's program.

The Committee investigates, among other things, whether you meet the knowledge and skills as determined for the courses Methodologie, Statistiek voor bachelors CIW, and the research seminars (OZ-practica) from Tilburg University's Bachelor's program Communication and Information Sciences.

Students of other Dutch research universities

Are you studying at or do you have a Bachelor's degree from a research university other than Tilburg University?

In that case, the program’s Admissions Committee will determine whether your Bachelor's degree is a sufficient fit to be admitted to the Master's program.

Previously, students with a research university Bachelor's degree in one of the following - or related - fields have been admitted:

  • Communication and Information Sciences
  • Communication Science
  • Psychology
  • Information science
  • Organization Studies
  • Business Administration

Please note:

  • The above-mentioned fields of study give you an indication of your chances of admission, not a guarantee. The program's Admissions Committee assesses each application individually.
  • Depending on your knowledge and skills in methodology and statistics, there is a possibility that you must first complete a pre-Master before you can be admitted to the Master's program.

Do you have a degree from a different field than those mentioned above?

And do you feel that yours is relevant? If you are in doubt about the suitability of your university degree, we invite you to register in Studielink. The program’s Admissions Committee will assess each application individually and determine whether you can be admitted to the Master or its pre-Master.

Students from a Dutch university of applied sciences (hbo)

Are you studying at or do you have a Bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences (hbo)?

The program’s Admissions Committee will assess whether your previous education is sufficiently relevant to be admitted to the pre-Master’s program of Communication and Information Sciences.

  • After you have completed the pre-Master's program, you will be directly admitted to the Master's program of Communication and Information Sciences.
  • You can only be admitted to the pre-Master's program with an officially recognized four-year hbo program (240 ECTS).

Previously, students with a university of applied sciences (hbo) Bachelor's degree in one of the following fields have been admitted:

  • Communicatie
  • Communicatie en Multimedia Design
  • Creative Business
  • Journalistiek
  • Toegepaste Psychologie
  • Commerciële economie
  • ICT & Media Design
  • Vormgeving
  • Business Innovation
  • International Business
  • Industrieel Product Ontwerpen
  • Trend Research & Concept Creation in Lifestyle

Please note: 
The above-mentioned fields of study give you an indication of your chances of admission, not a guarantee. The program’s Admissions Committee assesses each application individually to decide whether the content of your previous education is a sufficiently good match to be admitted to the pre-Master’s program of Communication and Information Sciences.

Do you have a degree from a different field than those mentioned above?

But do you feel that yours is relevant? If you are in doubt about the suitability of your University of Applied Sciences degree, we invite you to register in Studielink. The program’s Admissions Committee will assess each application individually to decide whether the content of your previous education is a sufficiently good match to be admitted to the pre-Master’s program of Communication and Information Sciences.

English language requirements for the pre-Master's program

Students from a Dutch university of applied sciences (hbo)

If all of the following applies to you, you must prove your proficiency in English to be able to get admitted to the pre-Master's program of the Master Communication and Information Sciences:

  • You apply based on a diploma from a Dutch university of applied sciences (hbo);
  • You do not meet the criteria to be exempt from the English language requirement (for the criteria, please scroll down).

How to prove your proficiency in English

You must prove your proficiency in English by submitting the results of one of these tests:

  • Academic IELTS with a minimum overall score of 6.5 and a minimum score of 6.0 on all individual parts of the test.
  • TOEFL with a minimum score of 90-91 for the internet-based test; we do not accept the revised paper-based test.
    • The TOEFL institutional code for Tilburg University is 9860.
    • Please note: we do not accept the TOEFL Institutional Testing Program (TOEFL ITP)
  • Cambridge English test results: C1 advanced (formerly CAE) or C2 proficiency (formerly CPE). For both C1 and C2, we accept a score of A, B, or C.

Please note:

  • The test results must not be older than two years at the time of application.
  • The deadline for submitting your test results is:
    • July 15, if you want to start end of August.
    • December 15, if you want to start end of January.
  • The sooner you register for the pre-Master’s program in Studielink, the sooner you will know whether you are admissible based on your previous education and whether it is worth investing in a language test. Once registered in Studielink, your application for admission will be processed.
    • If you register in Studielink before May 1 with the intention to start end of August, you will know no later than July 1 whether you are admissible on the basis of your previous education.
    • If you register in Studielink before October 1 with the intention to start end of January, you will know no later than December 1 whether you are admissible on the basis of your previous education.
  • After you have registered in Studielink, you will receive information about:
    • how to submit your test results.
    • how to apply for exemption from the English language test.

Criteria to be exempt from the English language test

An English proficiency test is not required if one of the following applies to your situation:

  • You have obtained a Dutch VWO diploma.
  • You have an International Baccalaureate (IB) or European Baccalaureate (EB) diploma with English as the language of instruction.
  • You completed a four-year Bachelor’s program (of at least 240 ECTS credits) fully in English at an accredited University of Applied Sciences (hbo) in the Netherlands.
  • You hold a passport from one of the following countries:
    Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States of America.

After you have registered in Studielink, you will receive information on how to apply for exemption by submitting the Exemption form and proof that you can be exempted.

b) Remember the deadline

Your application must be submitted before:

  • Starting end of August: July 1
  • Starting end of January: December 1

Are you still finishing your previous program?

Do register in Studielink now. You can send us your diploma later.

c) Follow the procedure for national applicants

Step 1: Register in Studielink

After you have registered in Studielink, the program’s Admissions Committee will assess whether your previous education is a sufficient fit with this program to be admitted. Studielink opens on October 1.

Applicants with a degree from a research university register for the Master’s program.

  • The name of the Master’s program in Studielink.
    In Dutch: M Communicatie- en Informatiewetenschappen
    In English: M Communication and Information Sciences
    After selecting this program, you will be asked to select the track of your choice.

Register in Studielink

Applicants with a degree from a Dutch university of applied sciences (hbo) register for the pre-Master's program. 

  • The name of the pre-Master's program in Studielink is:
    B Communicatie- en Informatiewetenschappen (premaster Communicatie- en Informatiewetenschappen: New Media Design / Bedrijfscommunicatie en Digitale Media / Communicatie  en Cognitie).
  • Applicants with a degree from a university of applied sciences (hbo) and a pre-Master’s program can register for the Master’s program directly in Studielink. If you took a pre-Master other than Tilburg University’s Communication and Information Sciences pre-Master’s program, the Admissions Committee will request additional information to assess your eligibility.

Register in Studielink

Enter an e-mail address in Studielink that you use regularly. Tilburg University will use this e-mail address to send you important information on your application and admission.

Step 2: Continue your application in our online application system

This step is not applicable for:  

Students who are currently enrolled or have already completed a Bachelor's program at Tilburg University that makes them directly admissible for this Master’s program.  

  • See the tab “Students of Tilburg University” below the heading Check your eligibility at the top of this webpage for an overview of Bachelor’s programs that make you directly admissible. 
  • If you are directly admissible with your Bachelor's program, you only need to register in Studielink. Please continue to Step 3: Admissions Committee's decision. 

In all other cases, you must continue your application in OSIRIS Aanmeld, our online application system, after you have registered in Studielink. 

Application in OSIRIS Aanmeld

Within 1 week of your registration in Studielink, you will receive two e-mails from Tilburg University.  

  • One e-mail contains your Tilburg University account details (your student number and Tilburg University e-mail address). You will not need these details for your application, but please save them carefully, as you will need them at a later stage.
  • The other e-mail contains your OSIRIS Aanmeld account details as well as information on how you can start your application in OSIRIS Aanmeld. If you have not received this e-mail within 1 week of your registration in Studielink, please contact TSHD.admissions@tilburguniversity.edu

Upload your documents

Please collect the requested documents and upload them in pdf-format.  

  • Transcript of Records
    This is a list from your University of the courses you have taken in your Bachelor's (and Master's) degree, with the grades you have achieved.  This must be an official list from your University, not your results downloaded from the University’s student system. If you have not yet completed all courses at the time of application, please provide the Transcript plus a list of the courses you still need to complete before graduation.
  • Resume / Curriculum vitae
  • Statistics checklist. Please complete the checklist (pdf) as requested.
  • Motivation letter (optional)
    Please use this format (pdf) to write your motivation letter.
  • English language test results (only for students from a Dutch university of applied sciences / hbo) 
    You can check the requirements and exemptions above under the heading 'English language requirements for the pre-Master’s program'

Submit your application before the deadline as stated above

If you submit your application either close to or on the deadline, but have not uploaded the correct documents, Tilburg University reserves the right not to process your application.

After submitting your application

Our Admissions Committee will check that your application is complete, according to the requirements above. 

If your documents are not complete, you will be asked to submit any missing or replace any illegible document(s).  

You can check your application status anytime you log in to your account in OSIRIS Aanmeld. 

Step 3: Admissions Committee's decision

You will receive the Admissions Committee's decision within six weeks after application at the e-mail address you have provided in Studielink. The e-mail will also contain a description of the further steps you need to take for your admission.

Students from a research university

The Admissions Committee will make one of the following decisions.

  1. You are unconditionally admitted to the Master (you meet all the conditions).
  2. You are conditionally admitted to the Master (you do not, or not yet, meet all the conditions, for example, because you have not yet obtained your Bachelor's degree).
  3. The Committee needs additional information to assess your admissibility.
  4. You are not directly admissible to the Master, but you are admissible to the corresponding pre-Master, a transition program.
  5. Unfortunately you cannot be admitted.

Students with a degree from a university of applied sciences (hbo)

The Admissions Committee will make one of the following decisions.

  1. You are unconditionally admitted to the pre-Master (you meet all the conditions).
  2. You are conditionally admitted to the pre-Master (you do not, or not yet, meet all the conditions, for example, because you have not yet obtained your Bachelor's degree and/or because you have not yet submitted your English language test results).
  3. The Committee needs additional information to assess your admissibility.
  4. Unfortunately you cannot be admitted.
Step 4: Admitted, what's next?

Congratulations on being admitted to Tilburg University, either conditionally or unconditionally! 

You may be wondering what the next steps are. To ensure a smooth (and stress-free) start of your studies, we have prepared a timeline to give you an overview of the things you need to arrange before the start of your studies. 

On the timeline you can find information about:  

  • Completing your enrollment  
  • Paying your tuition fees 
  • Tips on finding accommodation (if applicable) 
  • Books and schedule 
  • Introduction activities like TOP week and your (mandatory) Study Program Introduction

Go to the Welcome page

Do you have any questions?

Please feel free to contact us for your personal queries. You can contact us on every page of the Master's website.