Application & Academics

You apply to UZH Global Student Experience. In case you choose IKMZ as your Major, you do not need to upload any subject-specific documents. The Global Student Experience department can answer your questions regarding application, visa, housing, stipend, … IKMZ supports you choosing and booking your modules.

IKMZ offers you the possibility to pre-book your modules. This is highly recommended as modules fill up quickly as soon as the regular booking period starts. Deadlines for pre-booking are mid-July (fall semester) and mid-December (spring semester). You will be informed on the process by e-mail the month before. The departmental coordinator of your Major books you in the modules. Only modules from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences can be pre-booked. You can always adapt your learning agreement/ study plan, but courses cannot be pre-booked after above-mentioned deadlines. You can cancel pre-booked courses yourself before the cancellation deadline, should you wish to do so.

In the course catalogue. IKMZ is part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. You choose either Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences or Master of Arts in Social Sciences, depending on your study level. Then click on Major 120 (Bachelor) or Major 90 (Master). Here you will find Communication Science and Media Research. The modules are shown per semester. Make sure you select the right semester. The course offering for the fall semester is published in May. The course offering for the spring semester is published in November.

Although the module titles have all been translated to English on the English course catalogue pages, this does not mean that the language of instruction is English too. You will find the language of instruction by clicking on the module and then again on the module title. If you switch the language of the course catalogue pages to German, you will easily recognize the English taught modules, as these will be the ones with English titles.

When choosing your modules, please take into account the following:

• If you are enrolled as Bachelor student, you cannot book Master modules.
• Seminars require methodological and statistical skills.
• It is advised not to take more than two seminars per semester due to the high workload.
• Exchange/ visiting students are not allowed to attend research seminars. If you are in your final semester and have sufficient methodological and statistical skills, you could ask for an exception.
• Seminars offered by the specialized Master programs - Strategic Communication & Management, Political Communication & Governance, Internet & Society - can only be booked upon request.

The majority of the modules need to be from your Major. You are allowed to book modules offered by other departments/ faculties, as long as approved by the responsible coordinator. Within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, each semester, various departments offer English taught courses without pre-requisites to inbound exchange/ visiting students from other disciplines. You will receive this list by e-mail and can be downloaded from this website.

In general, students take between 20 – 30 ECTS credits per semester. Subject-specific ERASMUS+/ SEMP exchange students (agreement on departmental level) do not need to take a minimum amount of ECTS. Non-subject-specific exchange students (agreement on university level) and regular visiting students (no agreement) need to take a minimum amount of 20 ECTS credits per semester.

You can find the instruction mode and the location in the course catalogue. The room may be added weeks after the module has been published.

By booking a module, you are automatically registered for the exam. Exams take place in December (fall semester), and May/June (spring semester). In general, the exam takes place on the last lecture day of the specific course. You can find these dates in the course catalogue.

Yes, you have to fill out a learning agreement/ study plan. This must contain all the modules that you attend at UZH and need to be signed off by the responsible departmental coordinator. The fully signed learning agreement/ study plan must be uploaded to Mobility-Online.

The Language Center of UZH and ETH Zurich offers various language courses. These courses must be booked directly at the language center.

OLAT (Online Learning and Training) is a learning platform at the University of Zurich. All IKMZ modules use OLAT to provide students with learning materials and to encourage collaborative learning and communication. As soon as you are booked in your modules, you have to register to OLAT. Registering for a module in OLAT does not mean that you have booked the module. Only booked modules will appear on your transcript of records.