General provisions

This elective course is offered in the specialization Digital Media and Society of the Master's Programme in Social Sciences. Only one internship course can be selected and accounted for, in the students’ Master’s Degree.

Entry requirements

60 credits from Master Programme in Social Sciences, Digital Media and Society

Learning outcomes

After the successful completion of the course, students are expected to:

Knowledge and understanding

• demonstrate advanced knowledge about academic research work and methods in Media and Communication Studies,
• demonstrate comprehensive knowledge about a researcher’s tasks and duties in Media and Communication Studies,
• demonstrate advanced academic knowledge within a delimited research field in Media and Communication Studies,

Competence and skills

• critically and independently apply methods, tools and practices concerning academic research planning, implementation and reporting of research results,
• apply theory and methodology to a particular research project,
• demonstrate a developed ability to collaborate with a supervisor and/or with small research teams, as well as to work independently, for the accomplishment of a particular research project,

Judgement and approach

• demonstrate a reflective approach towards the challenges and opportunities of academic research,
• make ethically informed decisions in research practice, guided by the ethical principles and standards in the academic field of Media and Communication Studies.

Content

The course is carried out in cooperation with an academic research supervisor, who initiates the process by formulating a clear and well-defined research project. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange for a research internship, in response to a call from a (potential) research internship supervisor. The student can be assisted in the search for a research project and supervisor, if needed, by the internship course coordinator. The research internship can only take place with a research project and a supervisor approved by the course coordinator.

To achieve the aim of the course, the student will carry out a focused but still extensive research project and is expected to be engaged in different tasks and stages of the research project.

Instruction

Teaching is offered in the form of guidance and supervision, by the research internship supervisor.

The course corresponds to ten weeks of full-time studies (equivalent to minimally 375 hours or work) and is completed normally within a semester. Exceptions have to be approved by the research internship supervisor and the internship course coordinator.

All students who undertake the internship course attend an introductory seminar to the internship course, organised by the internship coordinator.

Assessment

The student is evaluated on the basis of a research report submitted by the student to the internship supervisor and to the course coordinator, as well as the internship supervisors report on the student’s performance, submitted to the course coordinator.

To pass the course, it is required that the student has met the requirements set by the course and has carried out the internship assigned tasks, in a satisfactory manner.