Global Communication: Politics and Society University of Erfurt

The Master’s programme in "Global Communication: Politics and Society" is an English language consecutive degree dealing with media systems and communication cultures in international comparison. It focuses on multilayered political, social, cultural and historical approaches. 

The programme is innovative in that it does not treat questions of communication as isolated national processes, but deals specifically with "global communication" in the sense of international comparisons. In seminars, special emphasis is placed on the equal inclusion of the Global North and South as well as communicative interactions. In addition, processes of international cross-border communication, foreign reporting and the globalisation of lifeworlds are addressed. The effects of media content, interpersonal communication and current trends in media use are also dealt with.

Exemplary issues and fields of application:

• the role of media in democracies, political transitions, wars, and conflicts in different regions of the world (e.g. war and crisis communication)
• the interplay between media and globalisation (e.g. global pop culture, global public sphere) 
• media developments in Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America (e.g. media production, journalism and ethics in global and international comparative perspective, disinformation) 
• migration and the public sphere (e.g. hate speech, racism, intercultural communication)
• globalisation and communication in everyday life
• communication in Islamic-Western relations (e.g. media and stereotypes, diplomacy, terrorism as communication strategy)

The course is primarily oriented towards social sciences, but it also takes into account approaches from the field of cultural studies. Besides developing academic research skills and learning quantitative and qualitative empirical methods, students will acquire knowledge of academic communication consultancy in dedicated teaching units.

The Master's programme in "Global Communication: Politics and Society" consists of one mandatory introductory module in the first semester that covers both the theories and methods of global comparative media and communication research.

• During their first three semesters, students choose four optional compulsory modules in the fields of a) politics, b) society, and c) media. 
• In the second and third semester, students also chose two optional modules in empirical methods as well as two accompanying knowledge transfer modules that introduce communication consultancy for politics and society and include an internship at home or abroad. 
• The fourth semester will be devoted to the Master’s thesis, which will be presented in a colloquium.

The programme includes an internship in an internationally orientated political, commercial, or civic institution or organisation. The internship provides students with the opportunity to learn and apply academic communication consultancy skills in practice. The search for appropriate internship positions will be supported by programme staff.

The application period for the winter semester starts on 1 January and ends 15 July. All applications are submitted digitally via an online application portal and will be continually processed. Early application is strongly recommended given lengthy visa processes.

The prerequisite for admission to the programme is a relevant Bachelor's degree in the area of media and communication studies or journalism studies or another related social science degree programme with proven communication and media science specialisations. Furthermore, prior knowledge of empirical methods is necessary (12 ECTS). Admission to study in the programme requires the successful participation in the selection procedure, which includes a personal interview. Detailed information about the application process can be found on the programme website.

The semester contribution (approx. 300 EUR per semester) currently includes the "Deutschlandsemesterticket" (Germany Semester Ticket), which enables travel free of charge through Germany on all local public transport (not valid in ICE, IC/EC).

Detailed Information on finances is provided on the website of the DAAD. 

International students who are staying in Erfurt for at least two semesters are legally allowed to work up to 120 full days or 240 half days per year, mainly during the semester break. The authorisation is provided directly by the Foreigners' Registration Authority, so you do not need a work permit from the job centre. If you have received a scholarship for your studies and want to earn extra money during your stay in Erfurt, you will need permission from the body providing you with the scholarship. You do not need permission for a job as a student assistant at the university. Please also see the information about daily life in Erfurt provided by the International Office at the University of Erfurt.

1. Student Residence: This is the classic choice of the student housing options. Student residences are usually run by the Student Services Organisation. The rooms are often partially furnished but vary from residence to residence.
2. You can also look for a room in a shared flat on your own. Quite a few German degree-seeking students partake in exchange programmes for a semester or two and offer their rooms for sublet.
3. Further information are provided by the International Office at the University of Erfurt.

Since its refoundation in 1994, the University of Erfurt has firmly established itself in the national and international university landscape with an explicit cultural and social science profile. With its focus on religion, the humanities and cultural studies, society and teacher training, it is a centrally located education and research institution with around 5,700 students, around 100 professorships and around 400 academic staff and 300 administrative staff.

Certified as "family-friendly", the University of Erfurt, as a reform university with its attractive and sometimes unusual teaching and research profile, has from the outset focused on Bachelor's and Master's courses and interdisciplinarity. It addresses the major social challenges of our time and is committed to international scientific cooperation with a view to global participation in knowledge and science.

On its campus in the state capital, close to the city centre, the University of Erfurt enables direct communication through its short distances and promotes intensive study and interdisciplinary research. And with its mentoring system, the "Studium Fundamentale" and an orientation on professional fields, it is also a model for other universities. It also has two professional schools based on the American model: the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy and the Erfurt School of Education, which is responsible for coordinating the nationwide exemplary teacher training.

Today, the University of Erfurt sets standards in basic research and at the same time strives to transfer its scientific findings to society. In doing so, the four faculties (Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences and Faculty of Catholic Theology), the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies and the Gotha Research Institutes contribute their structural and task-related diversity to the overall concept, thus enabling interdisciplinary, international and cooperative research.

Against this background, the University of Erfurt also attaches particular importance to academic freedom and the promotion of young researchers. The attractive and in part unusual profile of the University of Erfurt is also reflected in its research activities within the three main areas of focus "Education, School, and Behaviour", "Religion, Society, and World Relations" and "Knowledge, Spaces, and Media".

In the sense of an "Erfurter Modell", the university will continue to underline its role as an unusual profile university in the future, thus enhancing its attractiveness and special recognisability. In addition to its accentuation as an innovative reform university, it will also expand its original idea of internationality in the direction of interculturality and diversity of cultures as a "mission statement" for the entire Erfurt Model. 

The City of Erfurt
A whole host of unique characteristics make Erfurt what it is. One of the oldest cities in Central Germany, it looks back on a long history spanning more than 1,250 eventful years. Its fortunate location at the crossroads of many European trading routes allowed the city grow into an economical, political, cultural and intellectual hub at a very early stage. Many important figures helped to write the history of Erfurt: Martin Luther, Ulrich von Hutten, Adam Ries, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Wilhelm von Humboldt are just a few.

Erfurt is situated at the centre of Germany, conveniently accessible from all corners of the country. It is two hours away from Frankfurt/Main, a little under two hours from Berlin, two and a half hours from Munich and just 40 minutes from Leipzig on the high-speed ICE train. Weimar, Jena, Gotha and Eisenach — cities that are famous far beyond the national borders of Germany — are a mere stone’s throw away. Even the Thuringian Forest, just 30 kilometres from Erfurt, is within easy reach.

With a population of approx. 214,000 people, Erfurt is a student town that boasts a great atmosphere and plenty of character. Students of the university and of the University of Applied Sciences get to enjoy a well-preserved medieval old town with lovingly restored patrician townhouses, picturesque alleys and cobbled squares. The charm of the student metropolis of the Middle Ages still reverberates in the Andreasviertel district and the university quarter, home to Collegium Maius (the reconstructed main building of the old university), the international guest house on Michaelisstraße and the student dormitories on Kreuzsand.

Cosy cafés, pubs, parks, museums, art galleries and the new, modern opera shape the cultural landscape of the city. Erfurt is also an administrative centre and media hub at the heart of Germany. Over the course of the past years, the city’s old freight yard has been turned into a creative venue that hosts innovative live shows and other events.