The Politics & Communication specialisation is offered by the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in
the capital of the Netherlands.

Placed at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), the largest research institute of its kind in Europe, and one of the largest worldwide, the Politics & Communication specialisation focuses on the role of political journalism in democracy. In particular, it centres on the changing nature of political journalism and other forms of political communication, and the impact it has on citizens, politics and society at large. In the courses, we look at the perspectives of journalists, citizens, politicians and communication professionals and explore the challenges they face interacting with each other in a changing media landscape.

The Politics & Communication courses focus on global challenges for news production and evolutions and differences in journalistic role conceptions, and they include key political issues such as European (dis)integration, climate change, the rise of populism, dis- and misinformation and electoral polarization. Journalism nowadays is faced with a crisis of legitimacy. We thus examine the rise of fake news and automated journalism in exacerbating this crisis. We also analyse new, innovative forms of journalism, with a particular focus on (big) data journalism.

Throughout the specialisation year in Amsterdam, you will get the opportunity to take part in numerous field trips, guest lectures and activities. In the past, our students have visited World Press Photo, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the EU Commission Representation in the Hague, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and a career event with former Mundus students, among others.

The specialisations in Totalitarianism & Transition and Crisis & Conflict offer more practical journalism training. The specialisations in Politics & Communication and Cultures & Contexts are instead more theory-oriented and focuses on substantive issues and empirical research analysing the content, production, and effects of journalism and other forms of communication. While some of the Amsterdam courses, offer the opportunity to engage in practical journalism, this specialisation does not offer practical journalism training as such. Instead, you will be trained to improve your analytical skills, and you will be equipped with a solid theoretical and empirical basis to be able to critically assess contemporary and future evolutions in journalism.

An energetic and ambitious study environment 

As a student in Amsterdam, you will most probably find that there is no time to waste. Staff at the University are very research-engaged and are actively involved in a number of international collaborations and larger research projects. They make sure their students become part of this energetic environment - students have the possibility to participate in ongoing research projects, and they have access to internal events and talks organised by the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). All course lecturers are also member of the Centre for Politics and Communication which provides an overview on ongoing research projects and activities on its website.

Students at UvA are ambitious and international. Their work outputs echo the ambitious working environment of their teachers. Several Mundus students have published their master’s thesis research in international peer-reviewed journals or presented their thesis findings at international conferences.

Even though the focus of Politics & Communication is empirical social-scientific research, guest lecturers from the professional field also contribute to the courses. You will also work on your own journalistic product in which you will translate the findings from your empirical MA thesis research into a journalistic format for a broader non-academic audience.