Communication is at the centre of human social action. From everyday family life to communication in organizations, our lives are shaped and organized through communication.
Communication plays a crucial role in society. How can people be persuaded to live a healthy life? How can teachers find out what students understand? How can doctors successfully communicate with low-literate patients? These are all questions about Communication design.
In the bachelor programme Communication and Information Studies (CIS) you will learn:
CIS focuses on communication from a language perspective in the broadest sense: CIS is about text, talk, gestures, pictures and digital media.
Communication is not only about products, but also about processes involving people, attitudes and opinions. Therefore, you will receive a multidisciplinary training with elements from linguistics, psychology, sociology and marketing.
CIS is an international degree programme taught in English. You will be part of an international group of students. You will collaborate with students abroad. And you will have guest lecturers from universities outside the Netherlands. The programme also provides the possibility to follow a Dutch Track.
Hi! My name is Tamara, I am 22 years old and a third culture kid who mainly grew up in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. I am a second-year student in the Communication and Information Studies (CIS) bachelor's degree programme as well as a teaching assistant, student ambassador, co-host for a radio show and an active member of the CIS study association, Commotie. As I am halfway through my degree programme, I'm quite busy doing school work and studying. Additionally, I do lots of art and craft projects, journal, go with fellow Commotie members friends to fun events and lectures, and, very importantly, spend an evening or two a week relaxing and taking care of my plants.
After relentlessly looking for a programme that fits one of my many interests, I felt like something was a missing every time. However, the Communication and Information Studies programme aligned with my interests in philosophical language and linguistics, marketing, sociology, and multi-media, while still leaving enough time outside the programme to pursue all my other interests and skillsets. I decided on this programme because, to me, it is the perfect baseline degree to evolve into whatever other career I wanted: communication, research, marketing, English language, etc.
Hey! Mijn naam is Merle Kooij en ik studeer communicatie- en informatiewetenschappen aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Ik heb vorig jaar mijn tweede jaar met heel veel plezier afgerond en zit nu in mijn derde jaar. Naast studeren ben ik ook op veel andere vlakken actief in de stad. Zo zit ik dit jaar in het bestuur van de studievereniging Commotie en ben ik actief bij een studenten roeivereniging. Ik onderneem veel met mijn vriendinnen en huisgenoten en werk hiernaast ook.
Toen ik een aantal jaren geleden voor een moeilijke studiekeuze stond, heb ik veel verschillende voorlichtingen bezocht. Hierbij vond ik CIW veruit het leukst. Het meest interessante vond ik hierbij het echte communicatie gedeelte. Hoe overtuig je iemand door middel van communicatie? Of hoe informeer je klanten of aandeelhouders op de juiste manier door middel van taal? Zelf vond ik het daarnaast vroeger altijd leuk om te presenteren en voorlichtingen te geven en veel met mensen te praten, waar deze studie natuurlijk perfect op aansluit.
Er eenmaal van overtuigt om CIW te gaan studeren heb ik specifiek gekozen voor de Nederlandstalige track van deze studie. Ik heb hiervoor gekozen, omdat ik graag zo veelzijdig mogelijk opgeleid wilde worden, met kennis over taal en communicatie in het Nederlands en in het Engels. Daarnaast vond ik het belangrijk dat ik alle mogelijkheden in dit vakgebied voor mezelf open kon houden en dat ik in theorie na mijn Bachelor evenveel kansen zou hebben op zowel de Nederlandstalige als op de Engelstalige arbeidsmarkt.
After completing a Master's in Communication & Education, I was able to start immediately as a communications officer at Camerik Voorman Communicatie- en PR-adviseurs. My job involved supporting the communications advisor in implementing projects.
That was anything from writing texts and collecting images to organizing press briefings and planning interviews. Every assignment was different. I really liked thinking up different ways to implement a communications assignment, but after two years it was time for something new.
In 2016 I started my own communications and copywriting company. Since then I have been working for several different clients, particularly in the public sector. I’m now responsible for a project from start to finish. I draw up the offers, complete the assignments and submit the invoices. It’s hard work, but I get a lot of freedom in return.
I chose the Communication & Education track because the curriculum dovetailed closely with the Bachelor’s programme in Communication and Information Sciences. The teaching part of the Master’s particularly appealed to me. How can you teach people communication skills? That was the trigger for me to choose that Master’s programme. Nowadays I occasionally give writing training. My studies equipped me with the skills to be able to do so.
Are you at secondary school and want to know what studying at university is like? The Communication and Information Studies programme is offering a web class! This online course from the University of Groningen is specially designed for secondary school students.
If you are interested in an Communication and Information Studies web class, register here.
