Ibero-American Studies: Master's Program 'Communication and Society in Ibero-America' Program Content and Structure
Application period is now open for a study start in October 2025!
The master's program Communication and Society in Ibero-America focuses on the social dimensions of communication in the Ibero-American macro-region and its contact areas. It combines the different angles of the humanities, the social sciences, and environmental factors and provides students with interdisciplinary knowledge about social and communication dynamics
- in political and economic spaces of the Ibero-American macro-region;
- with regard to Ibero-American cultures, peoples, and their natural environments;
- related to social, linguistic, and socio-cognitive phenomena and the information society in Ibero-America.
Thematic Sections
Over four semesters students acquire basic and advanced competencies as well as methodological knowledge required to fully comprehend communication, society, and their interrelations in Ibero-America. These competencies are further combined with transversal competencies which correspond to key professional skills for activities in and outside academia. Additionally, students flexibly adapt their course of study to individually configure their qualification profile. During the mobility window they are integrated into an ongoing research project at a university or non-university institution or a working environment at a private or public institution in Ibero-America, e.g. an international organization, an NGO, or a cultural institution. Students might also extend the mobility window for a stay abroad.
The course work for acquiring the competencies and knowledge is organized into five thematic sections:
Fundamental Competencies
Students are provided with fundamental and specialized knowledge organized into three major thematic areas to address the complex relationships between communication and society in Ibero-America:
- Social, political, and economic spaces, and their communication dynamics in Ibero-America
- Cultures, peoples, and their environments in Ibero-America
- Language diversity, social cognition, and information society in Ibero-America
Selection of possible courses offered in this section:
- Latin American Politics
- Theories of Social Change
- The Making of Migration Crises in Ibero-America
- Environment and Development
- Socioenvironmental Change
- Crises and Transformations: Social Science Debates across World Regions
- Resources, Space and Power
- Justice, Fairness and (in-)Equality
- Language Diversity in the World: Ideologies and Migrations
- Communication and Public Spheres in Ibero-America
- Latino migration in the U.S.: culture, language and identity
- Lenguas, Comunicación y discursos de Iberoamérica
Methodology
Students will gain methodological knowledge on the Humanities and Social Sciences in order to tackle societal and communication-related phenomena. The courses highlight the diversity of methodological approaches in Area Studies and provide a comprehensive understanding of the specific goals and application contexts.
Selection of possible courses offered in this section:
- Introduction to qualitative methods (e.g. semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, focus groups)
- Introduction to quantitative methods (e.g. content analysis, R, SPSS)
- Approaches, Methods, and Resources in Ibero-American Studies
Advanced Competencies
Students acquire further in-depth knowledge on the dynamics of communication and societies in Ibero-America which is combined with interdisciplinary perspectives. Students interested in a research-oriented profile choose further courses to deepen their knowledge in a specialized area of their choice. Courses in this area often are taught by two lecturers in order to merge different perspectives in the classroom.
Selection of possible courses offered in this section:
- Media Effects and Ibero-America
- Citizens and Digital Media
- Ámbitos de la Comunicación pública en Iberoamérica
- Migration, border regimes and language identity: Theories, methods and current debates
Selection of courses for specialized knowledge deepening:
- Gender Studies: Lessons from Latin America and Decolonial Feminisms
- Politics and energy transition in Ibero-America
- Struggles for hegemony in contemporary Brazil
- Entangled Geographies: Migration, Urban Space, and Infrastructures of contemporary Mexico
- Debates across World Regions: Socio-Ecological Transformations in Energy and Food
- Gender, Food, Migration: An intersectional approach
Key Transversal Skills
Students have the possibility to gain and expand language and methodological knowledge and application-oriented skills that are relevant for professional practice. They flexibly configure their course program according to their academic and professional interests. During the mobility window they apply these skills and gain insights into professional fields.
Selection of courses for specialized knowledge deepening:
- Digital disinformation research and Ibero-America
- Trends in digital communication research
- Antirracismo e sociedade
- Contested Resources for a Low-Carbon Economy: Biomass, Minerals, Land and Water
- Poverty and inequality in Latin America
- Open Science and Replication
- Estudios demolingüisticos: teorias y métodos
- Comunicación científica en ciencias sociales y humanas
- Workshop on Science Communication
Graduation Modules
The study program concludes with a master’s thesis and an oral final exam. During the five-month preparation of the thesis, students are advised by two professors representing different thematic areas and participate in a colloquium where they will present an outline of their thesis and discuss it with their fellow students and researchers from Heidelberg and abroad.