Bachelor's in International Communication

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Hanze University of Applied Sciences

Program Overview

The International Communication programme is a four-year bachelor's degree designed for students who want to understand how stories, campaigns, and media shape the world and make a genuine impact on a global stage. This programme transforms you into a proactive, creative, and responsible communication professional by combining hands-on experience with strong intercultural skills—perfect if you enjoy communication, marketing, and PR but also crave creativity, teamwork, and cultural discovery.

Curriculum Structure

First Year: Foundation & Exploration

Your first year focuses on building core competencies and exploring the communication landscape. You'll sharpen your English language skills, discover how cultural differences shape communication, and learn essential media, research, and communication fundamentals. Through the Communication & Media Theory course, you'll gain base knowledge about different types of communication—including marketing communications, PR, public affairs, and education—alongside must-know economic and research terminology that will anchor your professional understanding.

Years Two Through Four: Specialization & Real-World Application

As you progress, you'll deepen your expertise through specialized modules in strategic thinking, brand management, crisis communication, and consultancy work, all guided by industry-experienced lecturers. You'll gain hands-on experience across multiple communication disciplines—public relations, marketing, consultancy, and crisis strategy—while building practical skills through internships, company visits, and real-life projects that prepare you for actual workplace challenges. By graduation, you'll be equipped for diverse career paths as a public relations advisor, communications coordinator, brand manager, event manager, marketing communication consultant, or online content strategist.

Focus Areas

Strategic communication, brand management, PR, marketing, media literacy, consultancy, crisis communication, and intercultural communication skills.

Learning Outcomes

You'll develop the ability to tell compelling stories on a global stage, collaborate effectively across cultural boundaries, conduct applied research, manage brand narratives, and demonstrate reflective professionalism in international contexts.

Professional Alignment

All programmes at Hanze University of Applied Sciences are accredited by the NVAO (Dutch and Belgian official accreditation body), ensuring your degree meets rigorous quality standards.

Reputation & Employability

Hanze UAS maintains an internationally oriented, dynamic reputation for blending creativity, strategic thinking, and real-world practice to shape tomorrow's communicators, with graduates prepared for global career opportunities across corporate, non-profit, and consultancy sectors.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

At Hanze University of Applied Sciences' Bachelor's in International Communication, you'll dive straight into practical, hands-on learning from day one, building real-world skills like campaign design, media production, and client consulting that employers love. You'll work with modern tools like After Effects for animations and produce everything from websites and videos to live talk shows, all while collaborating in international teams on projects for actual NGOs, small businesses, and big organizations. This isn't just theory—it's about applying what you learn to shape global stories and make an impact right away.

Here's how our experiential learning ramps up your skills through specific program features::
- Real client projects and group work: Tackle communication challenges for international clients like NGOs and companies, collaborating in diverse, international project groups to research problems, design campaigns, and create tools like videos, printed media, and websites.
- Media production roles: Experience every part of live productions, from host and editor to designer and camera operator, including animating in After Effects and building corporate identities and websites for your own agency.
- Campaign development: In your second year, design behavior-changing campaigns on topics like sustainability and social responsibility, sharpening creativity, copywriting, and presentation skills for global audiences.
- Internships and partnerships: Gain pro experience through internships and collaborations with pros, just like our master students do at places like Philips, IKEA, Unilever, and UNESCO—bachelor projects set you up perfectly for this.

Progression & Future Opportunities

At the Bachelor's in International Communication at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, you'll dive straight into gaining practical skills by working on real-world projects from day one, collaborating with actual clients like NGOs, small businesses, large organizations, and brands such as Centraal Beheer. You'll build expertise in areas like creating sustainable campaigns, developing marketing strategies, writing business plans, designing communication plans, building corporate identities and websites for your own agency, animating in After Effects, and producing live talk shows—taking on every role from host and editor to designer and camera operator. This hands-on approach sharpens your creativity, critical thinking, and ability to make campaigns that truly change behavior in a global context, all while networking with diverse international peers and professionals.

Here's how our program equips you with the tools and experiences to launch your career:
- Real client projects throughout: Tackle challenges for international clients right from year one, like planning sustainable campaigns, crafting marketing strategies for brands, and creating full communication plans—giving you a portfolio that stands out.
- Group projects and teamwork: Collaborate in dynamic teams on live productions, agency simulations, and multi-block challenges promoting sustainability, ethical behavior, or social responsibility, just like working in a real communication agency.
- Software and digital tools: Hands-on with professional tools like After Effects for animation, plus media production skills for websites, editing, and live shows to bring your ideas to life.
- Internships and partnerships: Build experience through projects with real organizations, mirroring the internship-style opportunities our students access, such as with Philips, IKEA, Unilever, and more—preparing you to step into global roles confidently.
- Intercultural and global experiences: Work with students and clients from around the world, developing skills to bridge cultures and create impactful stories on a global stage—no field trips specified, but the program's international focus delivers real-world exposure.