The two-year Media Studies Research Master's programme offers an interdisciplinary, humanities-oriented approach to media. It considers media as cultural discourses and practices, technological infrastructures, as well as powerful political-economic actors. With roots in philosophy, history, and literary studies, as well as science and technology studies, sociology, and political science, this discipline has developed pertinent theoretical approaches to the study of media in contemporary culture. The programme teaches students to engage with crucial theoretical concepts and current issues and to develop their own research practices culminating in the Research Master's thesis.
1 Check entry requirements prior education
You are eligible to apply for admission if you hold an academic Bachelor's degree from an accredited research university in:
No pre-Master's available
You must meet the above-mentioned entry requirements in full to be considered for admission. We currently do not offer a pre-Master's programme (schakelprogramma) for this Master's to bridge any deficiencies.
If you obtained your degree outside the Netherlands, the minimum level of your diploma should be at least equivalent to or comparable to three years of a Dutch research-oriented university. The assessment of whether your degree is considered equivalent will be completed by professional diploma evaluators according to the guidelines set forth by Nuffic, the independent organisation for internationalisation in education in the Netherlands. More information on this assessment can be found on the Graduate School of Humanities website .
New Master's students should be able to speak, read, write and understand English at an advanced academic level. Please check carefully on the page below whether:
Check the English language requirements
This is a selective Master's programme, which means that apart from having to meet the entry requirements, you also need to meet the selection crtieria. The selection criteria are as follows:
Grade point average (GPA)
You need a minimum GPA of a 7,5 in your Bachelor's degree, according to the Dutch system. Below you will find a conversion table:
A/3.6 (American system) 2.1 HONS (an upper second class honours degree in the British system) B (ECTS-system) 7.5 (Dutch system)
Have you not yet obtained your diploma at the time of application? In that case, your GPA at the time of application will be used. Ensure that you upload an official (provisional) transcript of records that mentions your GPA thus far.
If you obtained a lower grade average you can still apply, particularly if you obtained high grades for the courses related to this Master’s programme, and/or courses taken in the advanced phase (2nd, 3rd or - if applicable - 4th year) of your Bachelor’s programme. Please include an explanation in your motivation form as to why you do not meet the GPA requirement.
Motivation form
You must submit a completed motivation form as part of your application. Please ensure to use the motivation form template (see step 5. Submit your application form in SIS). Self-written statements are not accepted.
In your statement, make sure to explain:
Make sure your motivation aligns with the structure and objectives of the programme. You can download the motivation form in the step 'Submit your application form in SIS'.
Sample of written work
Applicants to the Research Master’s programme in Media Studies are asked to submit an academic writing sample in English of no more than 3000 words, preferably from a media studies (or equivalent) course in their previous degree. Writing samples will be assessed on the basis of argumentation, analysis, language use and evidence of research skills.