What master did you do? And where?
I did the master Communication Design at Tilburg University. After that, I did a post master to become a teacher in the Dutch language, also at Tilburg University.
Were there any admission requirements?
For the master Communication Design were no admission requirements, because the master program is in line with the bachelor CIS. For the post master there were admission requirements, because you have to follow certain courses of both Online Culture and CIS. I did follow these courses within my bachelor and I did an educational minor. That means, that I have to do the post master in just half a year, after the master Communication Design.
Why did you choose this master?
I wanted to immerse myself into communication and because I couldn’t do some courses in the bachelor, because I did have to follow courses of Online Culture, I thought Communication Design was a good solution. On top of that, I had some side jobs at the university that I wanted to keep doing and that was possible in this way.
I firstly chose the post master to have an extra option. It is only half a year or a year extra, but you can do a lot of things once you have the authority to teach. However, I thought teaching was really fun and I wanted to do this as a job.
What courses did you do?
For Communication Design I did Communication Strategies, Negotiation Strategies, Cognition & Process, ANOVA, Web Analytics, DEOT, Visual Communication, and Understanding Cooperation in Communication. For the post master I didn’t have to do courses anymore because this exists of an internship of half a year, some meetings about teaching where you share experiences with your fellow students and two reports you have to write.
Did you live in a dorm?
I didn’t live in a dorm, because I lived with my parents before too. I didn’t think it was a problem. Last summer I did move to Tilburg, but that didn’t have to do a lot with my study, because I had an internship in Bergen op Zoom.
How did you like it?
A lot! The master was doable, good options for courses and a lot of possibilities to write a thesis about. There were a lot of subjects and finally I was able to choose a subject myself. For the post master applies the same. I like to teach and that is the main point of the study. You have to ask yourself if you like to be in front of the class, because that is what it is about. If you will do the post master at once, that means in one year, you will be in front of the class a whole year. You have to realize that!
Was is hard to switch?
I had more difficulty with focusing on just Communication Design and not on teaching. The post master didn’t give any troubles. During the three years in the bachelor, I was busy with teaching and literature courses and then you have to do communication courses – that was hard. The switch from a CIS bachelor program to a master program was not hard.
Did you know someone else who did this master?
Actually not. I did these studies because I was interested in it, like my bachelor. I did courses with two other CIS students, my friends chose the standard CIS master. I saw them less than before, that was a pity. However, I do not regret my choice, because I now have four degrees instead of two, and a lot more choices in my career.
