Your Bachelor’s degree will open up a wide range of opportunities in the communication and media industry:

Journalists deliver relevant information to the public across various channels, moderate the public discourse and present complex topics in an understandable manner.

Communication officers utilise all channels and in different formats to shape the image of companies and organisations and keep employees up to date

Content marketing managers bring brands to life, inform and entertain communities and interact with them on platforms such as social media, websites and apps.

In all professional fields, a gift for languages, creativity and a flair for current trends and new technologies are crucial.

In seminars, lectures, newsrooms, hands-on workshops and the MediaLab, you learn and receive training in the following areas, among others:

• Multimedia storytelling (text, image, audio, video)
• Media production (print, web, radio, TV, apps, AR/VR)
• Live appearances (for presentations and hosting assignments both in front of and behind the camera)    
• Social media management
• Content marketing
• PR and marketing
• Visual communication and media design
• Design methods and design thinking
• Entrepreneurship
• Data analysis, statistics and reporting
• Empirical research
• Scientific work
• Professional writing in German and English

Programme structure

Module overview

Our Journalism, Corporate Communications and Content Marketing specialisations will allow you to fine-tune your profile and equip you with the skill set you need to succeed in the professional world.

Students expand their skills in the areas of digital storytelling and multimodal production. They acquire in-depth knowledge of research and fact-checking, which enables them to work in an investigative manner. They also learn how to present themselves confidently in interview situations and develop stories.

Students expand their skills in developing PR strategies and campaigns, multimedia storytelling, community management and professional writing – always keeping an eye on the latest technologies. They also understand what is involved in internal and external communication.

Using state-of-the-art technologies, students learn to plan and produce attractive multimedia content for social media, websites and apps. In the process, they gain in-depth skills in the area of content strategy. They also train in the fields of cross-media and trans-media storytelling and UX writing.

The MediaLab is an incubator for ideas and innovation. It provides space for our students to deal with digital technologies, social trends and new formats and to realise projects in the professional fields of journalism, communication and content marketing. Students benefit from coaching and supervision as well as wide-ranging expert knowledge as they work on their own projects or fulfil client requests. This allows them to learn how to think and act entrepreneurially and experience what it is like to collaborate as part of interdisciplinary teams.

To be admitted for enrolment in this programme, you will need to meet the following requirements:

1. Present either a Swiss higher secondary education certificate (Matura) – which may be either a Swiss general baccalaureate (in German, “gymnasiale Maturität”), a Swiss specialist baccalaureate (in German, “Fachmaturität”), a Swiss vocational baccalaureate (in German, “Berufsmaturität”) – or an equivalent qualification from another country.
2. Pass the aptitude test.

You are not required to demonstrate practical professional experience (e.g. a year of work experience) in order to be admitted to the BA in Communication and Media Studies.

Exceptions to this rule exist for the following higher education degree certificates:

• Candidates with a recognised Swiss diploma from a college of higher education (HF) are eligible to take the aptitude test.
• Candidates with an Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (HFP) or a Federal Diploma of Higher Education (BP) must pass the aptitude test and the entrance examination to establish equivalency of the school-leaving certificate(PDF 96,6 KB).

Students on the BA in Communication and Media Studies are required to have above-average language skills. In addition to meeting the general admission requirements for a Bachelor's degree programme by holding a Swiss higher secondary education certificate (Matura), candidates must also pass an aptitude test in order to be admitted to the BA in Communication and Media Studies.

In this aptitude test, the language skills relevant to the degree programme are examined. The test language is German. The test takes four hours and costs CHF 200. The written test comprises several parts and examines language knowledge and situation-specific communication. The test is held at the IAM in Winterthur.

In order to successfully complete the Communication and Media (BA KM) degree program, you should have the following qualities in addition to your technical aptitude:

A high degree of self-organization

Independence and personal responsibility are very important: you will acquire content partly through self-study and keep an eye on deadlines. Individual coaching sessions support you in this.

Resilience and stress resistance

During your studies, we simulate situations in professional fields that are associated with time pressure and a high workload: For example, you will create communication materials such as texts, videos, audios, graphics or concepts with tight deadlines.

Readiness for appearances in front of an audience

We practise situations in which journalists and communication professionals present and discuss content in front of an audience. For example, you pitch your ideas in editorial conferences and editorial meetings or present communication solutions to clients. To this end, all students complete several days of presentation training.

Willingness to work in groups

In the professional fields, cooperation is a key to success. You will learn to perform as a team in various group projects. Individual and team work are assessed.

Over the course of your studies, you will learn how to deal with these requirements. At the beginning of your studies, you will need to be prepared to face the challenges.
 

If you have gained a foreign qualification either abroad or in Switzerland which allows you access to higher education (e.g. Abitur or International Baccalaureate), please submit the documents requested by the academic office responsible for the degree programme you have chosen so that your qualification can be checked for equivalency. This equivalency recognition process follows the Guidelines on Equivalency Recognition for Bachelor’s Degree Programmes and takes place after your application has been submitted. If you have any questions, please contact the academic office. There are no quotas on students from other countries.