The curriculum will be taught in English. Therefore, very good English proficiency is required in order to successfully follow the programme. We recommend that students from abroad who are unable to speak German study German before and during their studies. Participants can choose to write their exams, term papers, and Master's theses in either English or German.
The application period for the following winter semester starts on 1 January and ends on 15 July. Applications will be continually processed during this period.
Please note that because of time-consuming visa application procedures, an early application is strongly recommended for international applicants from abroad!
The Master’s programme “Global Communication: Politics and Society” is an English language consecutive degree dealing with media systems and communication cultures in international comparison.
Classical fields of research in social and political communication as well as media communication are framed in a global perspective. The Master's programme is innovative in that it considers global communication through international comparison rather than as isolated national processes. In the courses, 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 everyday lifeworlds are addressed. As a result, sensitivity for the common communicative challenges of the world is growing.
Exemplary issues and fields of application are:
While the programme is primarily oriented towards the social sciences, it also takes approaches from the field of cultural studies into account. 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 "Global Communication: Politics and Society" prepares students to work in the professional fields of academic or commercial social research, market analysis, and media research. Moreover, students will be qualified to work in various professions in the fields of journalism, public relations, and academic communication consultancy for politics and society, for example, in government bodies, foundations, and NGOs. Due to the research-oriented specialisation, students may also choose to pursue an academic career. For this purpose, the programme provides an optional “fast track” programme for PhD students. Owing to the focus on global comparative research perspectives and consultancy skills in international contexts, the programme opens up further professional fields at home and abroad.
The Master's programme "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. In the second and third semesters, students choose four optional compulsory modules in the fields of a) politics, b) society, and c) media as well as two optional modules in empirical methods. Two accompanying modules introduce communication consultancy for politics and society, including 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 oriented 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 the programme staff.
The semester contribution (approx. 300 EUR per semester) includes the semester ticket, which enables travel free of charge on all local public transport in and around Erfurt.
Authorities estimate that living costs are currently 931 EUR per month (as of winter semester 2023/24). You must provide relevant proof to the authorities that this amount of money is available each month for your entire stay in Germany. The DAAD website provides detailed information on finances.
The prerequisite for admission to the programme is a relevant Bachelor's degree in the area of media and communication studies or journalism studies. If students have a degree in another subject area within the social sciences, proof of basic knowledge of media and communication theories and subjects is required. 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.
Very good English proficiency is required:
Equally accepted standards are:
The application period for the following winter semester starts on 1 January and ends on 15 July. Applications will be continually processed during this period.
Please note that because of time-consuming visa application procedures, an early application is strongly recommended for international applicants from abroad!
Applications are submitted via the online Applicant Portal.
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.
It is not easy to find part-time jobs in Germany. However, with good language skills, particularly in German and English, and a little bit of luck, you could find a temporary job typing or doing auxiliary work for companies or a part-time job in a call centre, factory or bar.
Please also see the information about daily life in Erfurt provided by the International Office at the University of Erfurt.
Individual consultation will be offered on a regular basis.
The University of Erfurt is a campus university with more than 100 chairs and nearly 6,000 students. The reform university for the arts and humanities with a particular focus on cultural and social sciences offers an inspiring atmosphere for studying and conducting academic work. The close ties between the Faculty of Humanities; Faculty of Education; Faculty of Economics, Law, and Social Sciences; Faculty of Catholic Theology; and the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies help the university as a whole to forge new paths in teaching and research.
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" (Erfurt model), the university will continue to underline its role as an unique 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 cultural diversity as a mission 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.
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