Communication and Journalism Research for a Sustainable Society

The programme offers a curriculum uniquely focused on developing an analytical and critical lens on the challenges posed by digitalisation and ecological transformation. It provides a solid foundation for analysing and dealing with digital communication as well as reporting on climate change. Media and journalism play a pivotal role in dealing with these challenges as society must agree on how these challenges can be met democratically and in a sustainable way. In digital media environments and against the backdrop of existential ecological risks, questions about the ethics and quality of journalism and media communication are being raised anew, with implications for the practices and rules of public communication. The programme aims to contribute to a body of scholarship and media practice that is interested in strengthening a democratic public sphere, with professional, independent, quality journalism as an important moderator of open and pluralistic debates. We understand sustainability as a guiding principle of a society that seeks to preserve the opportunities for a good life for current and future generations worldwide. The aim of the first year is to build a thorough knowledge about sustainability and digitalisation as challenges for journalism and a democratic public sphere. Students will furthermore develop their knowledge of social science methods and acquire digital data literacy. Students will then apply these skills to analyse socio-ecological, institutional or technological sustainability by researching topics such as climate reporting and protest participation, disinformation and mistrust in journalism or digital divide and AI. In the second year, students will get an insight into the professional field of sustainable and digital communication and prove their research skills by researching and writing a Master's thesis. In the first two modules, students will be offered a mix of lectures and seminars. In the other modules, teaching is problem-focused and project-orientated. The modules are as follows: Twin Transformation: Sustainability and Digitalisation as Challenges for Journalism and a Democratic Public Sphere (6 ECTS) – first semester Methods of Empirical Communication Research (12 ECTS) – first and second semester Research Seminar (16 ECTS) – second and third semester From Research to Practice (16 ECTS) – first and second semester Professional Practice in Sustainable and Digital Communication (12 ECTS) – first to third semester Transforming Society – Transforming Communications (14 ECTS) first to third semester Finale Module (MA thesis, 30 ECTS) elective courses – fourth semester Elective courses – first to fourth semester PDF Download