Communication and Information Studies

This programme addresses questions such as: What argumentative strategies are used in sustainability campaigns? How do style choices contribute to the persuasive power of a text?
Which skills and competencies are required to co-produce communicative artifacts with multimodal generative AI? How does cultural background influence the interpretation of indirect communication? How do media narratives about migration contribute to societal polarization?
Communication lies at the heart of social practices and civic engagement. From everyday family life to professional settings, our lives are shaped and organized through communication.
CIS in Groningen is the only 100% international CIS BA programme in The Netherlands. It is taught in English and it takes an intercultural perspective on communication. It has a strong focus on communication design. Our graduates are experts in designing and advising on successful corporate communication, workplace interactions, and communication trainings. We do not only focus on written text, but also include human-to-human interaction, human-computer interaction, and effective use of visuals in our study of communication.
In the Bachelor's programme Communication and Information Studies (CIS) you will learn:
- to find where communication succeeds or fails
- to design and implement interventions to improve communication
- to measure the success of these interventions.
CIS focuses on communication from a language perspective in the broadest sense: CIS is about text, talk, gestures, pictures, digital media, and more recently, generative AI.
Communication is not only about messages or outputs, but also about processes involving people, attitudes and opinions. Therefore, you will receive multidisciplinary training with elements from linguistics, psychology, media studies, sociology, and marketing.
Job examples:
- Communications Officer
- Communications Consultant
- Editor
- Communications Manager
- Press Officer
- Media Advisor
- Web coordinator
- Journalist
- Marketing Manager