Are you interested in media and communication within the European Union and their changes over time? This master's programme allows you to focus on business, policy and/or user aspects of new media from an original and interdisciplinary approach. Discover your options here.

What do you learn on the master's programme? 

How do new media affect our lives as citizens and consumers? How are European businesses impacted? Do they really suffer from the domination of American platform giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple? Can policy makers protect our privacy as citizens? How do media and new media affect democratic processes? These are just a few of the questions that we'll tackle in our 5 mandatory courses.

1. Theories on media, technology and society: What is the impact of technology on media and society? And what is the impact of society on technology?
2. European media and communication policies: How do both national and European policies contribute or fail to contribute to quality of media, diversity, trust, freedom of expression, etc.? We explore the policies that impact Europe’s media and communications sectors in lectures by Prof. Tim Raats and group discussions.
3. Critical issues in media economics: Topics such as innovation and diversity in media, advertising, competition and bottlenecks in new media markets, future networks for new media and net neutrality are part of this course, preparing you to go into strategy departments of media companies, management and interest groups.
4. Users and innovation in digital media: Prof. Jo Pierson explains how different people use digital media differently (e.g. young and old) and how new technologies shape user behaviour.
5. Brussels Talking: Europe, Media and Society: A prestigious lecture series, organised by Prof. Luciano Morganti, in which invited guest speakers from the European Institutions, companies such as Discovery Communications, Google and Politico, Facebook, civil society actors and top media professionals share their newest insights on economic, political, technical, legal and societal aspects of new media and society in Europe.

On top of these 5 courses, you’ll also demonstrate your analytical and critical skills or independent problem-solving capacity with academic research. The master's thesis reflects your general critical-reflective mindset or research mentality. You’ll complete the programme by choosing 2 elective courses or the internship.

The strengths of Communication studies: Digital Media in Europe

• 3 interlinked perspectives: the user, the market and the policy.
• International experience, thanks to an international student body and location in the heart of Europe.
• Small groups and interactivity maximise the learning and networking outcomes.

After graduation

You’ll be armed with the necessary skills and competences and the right mindset to perfectly function in a rapidly changing and demanding media job market. A variety of career opportunities await you. Some of the options? A role in a media company or in the innovation and strategy departments of diverse industrial sectors. Communication official or policy advisor in a national, European or international institution or NGO. Marketing manager or social media strategist. Lobbying or advocacy. Academic researcher or independent entrepreneur in the media or communication sector. Policy advisor. Or, of course, a journalist or press officer.