Why do we offer this new program?

Media and Information has been one of the fastest growing industries and job markts during the past years. The Internet has stimulates this development even further. Existence and influence of mass media have been catalysts for a profound change in politics, economy and other areas of society. Those changes pose new questions for social sciences. At the same time the need for well educated professionals in media practice increases as systematic analysis and competent, scientifically based consultancy are crucial factors for keeping up with recent changes. This is why the role of media research will be an increasingly important one - not only for companies and institutions but also for politics and society as a whole. The new graduate program "MA in Applied Media Research" was established in the winter semester of 2007/2008.

Different from the most graduate programs associated with Communications, this new program focuses solely on applied research. We define this as the application of theories, methods and results of Communications as a science to answer the questions that matter to communication practice. This communication practice includes not only the media and other institutions that engage in public communications or feel the need to be informed about their image in the public eye but also scientific service companies that use content analysis of the media, polling and other methods to analysis public communication.   

Where do our students go?

Our students go off to work in a variety of fields and sectors:

• Audience research for all branches of media
• Communication departments of companies, NGOs or political parties
• Marketing
• Opinion Research
• Media Content Analysis
• Advertisement
• Public Relations
• Media Consulting
• Communication and Usability departments of IT-companies
• Political Consulting
• Academic Communication Researchere Absolventen werden für zahlreiche Berufe und Branchen ausgebildet:
  

What is thought?

Aside from the core information about Media and the Public and relevant concept from other social sciences, the following courses are thought:

Who do we affiliate with?

The program is affiliated with the ZDF (a public-service German television channel based in Mainz) that supports the IfK by providing guest lecturers, offering internships to the students and conducting joined research projects. Other partners coming from the fields of politics, economy and culture give the students the opportunity to gather practical experiences and networking opportunities.

Why Dresden?

Erich Kästner, a renown german writer and poet once said about his hometown Dresden: If it would be true, that I not only knew what was grim and ugly, but also what is beauty, I owe this pleasure to the fact of growing up in Dresden. I didn´t have to study books, to discover beauty. Nor did school or university need to teach me that. I was entitled to breathe beauty like a woodsman the pure air of nature.”
Since Kästner´s lifetime, Dresden has changed significantly but preserved its beauty. The capital of Saxony is one of the fastest growing cities in Germany with great potential – but still affordable for students to live in!  Surrounded by beautiful landscape, Dresden is offering great culture and art, economy and innovations as education and science. The students of the seven colleges are just as important for the city as its baroque buildings. Students especially enjoy the unique flair of the Neustadt, a part of Dresden featuring a variety of clubs, bars, theaters and art galleries. 

 
What to expect?

The program starts in the winter semester of each year and typically four semesters to complete. The students will listen to lectures (including guest lectures by practicioners), work in seminars and tutorials and conduct a research project that takes two semesters. A master´s thesis completes the program.  The limited number of students guarantees an appropriate supervision by professors and lecturers.

Who can apply?