Program content
Mandatory courses
In the first year you will take 6 mandatory courses (27 ECTS in total):
Foundations of Language and Communication (6 ECTS)
Statistics and Experimental Methods 1 & 2 (6 ECTS)
Research Orientation (3 ECTS)
Lab rotation 1 (internship, 6 ECTS)
Term Paper ReMa (6 ECTS)
In the second year you will take 3 mandatory courses (21 ECTS in total):
Lab rotation 2 (internship, 9 ECTS)
Grant Proposal Writing (6 ECTS)
Valorization (6 ECTS)
Lab Rotation
Lab Rotation (1 and 2) gives you the opportunity to experience what it is like to be a researcher by immersing yourself as a 'research intern' in a research group or research project within Tilburg University or Radboud University Nijmegen. You will carry out an individual research project within the context of a larger project, or within the context of a research program. You will be supervised by one or more experienced researchers.
Master's thesis
The Research Master's thesis (30 ECTS) is a research project in which you demonstrate 1) disciplinary knowledge, 2) methodological expertise and 3) research skills.
You will be supervised by two senior researchers.
In the assessment of your thesis, the quality of your literature review, originality, clarity and feasibility of your research questions, appropriateness and quality of the methodology applied, quality of the analysis and discussion, and the clarity with which you present the research and results will be considered.
In many cases, the thesis results in a conference paper, a paper for an academic journal, or a proposal for PhD research.
Examples of previous thesis topics include:
Mind the map! The interaction of language and graphics in communicating route information
The Effect of Perspective Taking on Trust and Understanding in Mediations. Experimental research of the use of circular questions as perspective taking technique in online and face-to-face mediation
Contact-induced Language Change in Turkish as Spoken in the Netherlands: A Study of Loan Translations
Emerging knowledge of word order and the acquisition of word meanings: An artificial language learning study
Children’s interpretation of overspecified information in a persuasive context: An experimental study into the effects of overspecified modifiers in referring expressions on purchase intention
Supporting educational practices through social media. On the functionality and usefulness of Facebook groups in higher education
The impact of communicative behavior on doctors’ and patients’ satisfaction: A comparison between computer-mediated and face-to-face consultations
Modeling child-adult interaction: a computational study of word learning in context
Elective courses
In your first year you will choose four core electives (6 ECTS per course) and three Research Skills electives (3 ECTS per course).
In the second year you choose one core elective (6 ECTS) and one Research Skills elective (3 ECTS per course).
You may combine courses offered in Tilburg with courses offered in Nijmegen. You are also allowed to combine courses from different domains.
At Tilburg University we offer courses in the following domains:
Cognition and Communication
About Cognition and Communication
People use communication in many ways and for various purposes: we interact socially with each other, gather and disseminate information, try to convince others, use communication to entertain others, and we express our emotions by, for example, laughing or crying.
Within this domain, you will study a wide range of communicative processes from a cognitive approach. Topics include linguistic framing of information, computational models of language acquisition, nonverbal communication, and visual communication.
Choose 5 core electives out of (for example):
Cognition and Process
Data and (Mis)information
Non-verbal Communication
Cognition of Visual Narratives
Negotiation Studies
Multimodal Communication
Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
Language Technology & Cognition
Interactive Storytelling
Intercultural Communication Online and Offline
Taalkennis
Persuasion and (Dis)agreement
Creativity and Innovation
Risk Communication
Emerging Technologies for Learning
Choose 4 Research Skills electives out of (for example):
Research Skills: Programming
Research Skills: Visual Thinking and Composition
Research Skills: Annotation
Research Skills: Analysis of Variance
Research Skills: Eye Tracking
Research Skills: Academic Writing
Research Skills: Rapid Prototyping
Research Skills: Survey Design
Research Skills: Usability and User Experience Evaluation
Linguistic Anthropology
About Linguistic Anthropology
Within this domain, you will study the ways in which globalization affects the way we build our communicative repertoires.
Choose 5 core electives out of (for example):
Usage Based Approaches to Knowledge
Non-verbal Communication
Intercultural Communication Online and Offline
Online Health Practices
Digital Health Communication
The Normal and the Abnormal in Health
Discourse Analysis and Digital Media
Knowing Language (taught in Dutch)
Choose 4 Research Skills electives out of (for example):
Research Skills: Research Interview
Research Skills: Anthropology and fieldwork
Research Skills: Academic Writing
Research Skills: Online Data Collection
Research Skills: Ethnography and Interview
Research Skills: Survey Design
Research Skills: Narratology and Discursive Analytical Strategies
Business Communication and Persuasion
About Business Communication and Persuasion
Within this domain, you will study the factors that determine whether companies and organizations' communications with their customers and other stakeholders are successful or unsuccessful. You will look at processes such as negotiation, conflict management, public relations and marketing communication.
Choose 5 core electives out of (for example):
Multimodal Communication
Negotiation Studies
Social Media Marketing
Online Public Relations
Roles in Networked Organizations
Psychology of Business Communication
Digital Food Marketing
Social Media: Risks and Opportunities
Resistance and Persuasion
Social Media at Work
Webcare
Choose 4 Research Skills electives out of (for example):
Research Skills: Programming
Research Skills: Online Data Collection
Research Skills: Academic Writing
Research Skills: Analysis of Variance
Research Skills: Eye Tracking
Research Skills: Social Media Analytics
Research Skills: Survey Design
Digital Media and Communication
About Digital Media and Communication
Within this domain, you will study the implications of using digital media for both interpersonal communication and communication within the context of businesses.
How does the way we communicate with each other online differ from the way we communicate with each other offline?
How does the use of digital media affect social and communicative processes, such as self-representation, collaboration, and the formation, maintenance, and termination of relationships?
What challenges and opportunities do digital media bring, both in social and business contexts?
Choose 5 elective core courses out of (for example):
The Human Mind in the Digital World
Digital industries and infrastructures
Language Technology and Society
Social Media Marketing
Roles in Networked Organizations
Digital Health Communication
Language Technology & Cognition
Interactive Storytelling
Responsible UX Design
Discourse Analysis and Digital Media
Design Research
Social Media at Work
Choose 4 Research Skills electives out of (for example):
Research Skills: Annotation
Research Skills: Academic Writing
Research Skills: Analysis of Variance
Research Skills: Online Data Collection
Research Skills: Social Media Analytics
Research Skills: Rapid Prototyping
Research Skills: Survey Design
Research Skills: Usability and User Experience Evaluation
Online Culture
About Online Culture
Within this domain, you will study the implications of digitalization for our everyday lives. You will combine different perspectives: cognitive, social and anthropological.
Choose 5 elective core courses out of (for example):
Digital Knowledge
Language Technology & Society
Digital Media and Everyday Life
Discourse Analysis and Digital Media
Studying Online Health Practices
The Normal and the Abnormal in Health
Social Media: Risks and Opportunities
Intercultural Communication Online and Offline
Online Public Relations
Social Media at Work
Intimacy, Privacy and Authenticity
Experiences of the Sublime
Choose 4 Research Skills electives out of (for example):
Research Skills: Annotation
Research Skills: Online Data Collection
Research Skills: Academic Writing
Research Skills: Research Interview
Research Skills: Anthropology and fieldwork
Research Skills: Interaction in the Hybrid Media System
Research Skills: Ethnomining
Research Skills: Using digital literacies
Research Skills: Ethnography and Interview
Research Skills: Survey Design
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.
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