Career prospects | Department of Languages and Literatures

The MA in Language and Communication offers ideal qualifications for demanding (communication) activities within the multilingual cultural and economic areas of Switzerland and Europe.

The wide range of options in the study program allows you to freely choose your fields of interest and to position yourself for the areas of activity you are most interested in during your studies.

Graduates of this degree program work

in the media industry (newspapers, radio, television and social media)
in (international) companies (mainly in corporate communications and public relations, but also in human resources departments and in continuing education and training)
in companies that deal with issues relating to the modeling of language in artificial systems
in associations and institutions, cantonal and municipal administrations (as press spokespersons and communication experts)
in culture, health, politics (e.g. as experts in multilingual communication in a multicultural context)
in education and training (in language teaching and learning research, for secondary school and grammar school teaching)
at higher education institutions in academic careers (doctorate and beyond)

The conceptual and methodological skills acquired in the degree program to analyze and explain linguistic and communicative processes at different levels qualify you not only for appointments in which the use of language(s) is the main focus, but also for positions in which communication concepts and processes are developed and implemented.

In the following, we present interesting career pathways in linguistics:

Kofi Yakpo

From rapper to linguistics professor: https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/entdecken/magazin-humboldt-kosmos/mit-freundlicher-unterstuetzung-wie-kuenstliche-intelligenz-unser-leben-veraendert/der-linguist

and show you examples, experience reports and tips from our graduates in non-academic appointments:

Luana Ercolin Pizzi - HR Coordinator for Google Switzerland via Wipro

After completing her Bachelor's degree in language and literature studies in Brazil, Luana Ercolin Pizzi moved to Switzerland. Here she was looking for a suitable Master's degree that would also make it easier for her to enter the world of work. The master's degree program in Language and Communication at the University of Basel not only enabled her to continue her academic career, but also opened the doors to exciting career opportunities.

After successfully completing her degree, she took up a position as Human Resources Coordinator at Wipro and has since worked directly in the office of her corporate client Google in Zurich. more

Anja Iseli - Publishing Project Manager, Coop Cooperative

After completing her bachelor's degree, Anja Iseli decided to do an internship to enter the professional world. For a long time, she didn't know which direction she wanted to take with her German and English studies. After attending an information event organized by the careers advice service in collaboration with the University of Basel, she came across the professions of corporate communications. This sounded promising, as it combined several of her interests and strengths: Copywriting, creativity, organization and project coordination. Her one-year internship confirmed that this was the right thing for her. After the internship, she was hired part-time at the same company and started her Master's degree in Language and Communication at the same time. In the last semester of her master's studies, she switched to corporate communications at the Coop Cooperative and has since worked as a project manager for various corporate communications projects. more

Dina Ruflin Zwimpfer - Communications Specialist at the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (NSI)

Dina Ruflin works as a communications specialist at the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate. After completing her master's studies in language and communication at the University of Basel, she did a year's internship: first as a journalist at the Basellandschaftliche Zeitung newspaper, then on the staff of the DETEC General Secretariat. After various short stints in project management and communications at the Federal Administration and at a start-up, she has now been working as a communications specialist at the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate for seven years. more

Julia Schaffer - Managing Director & Visionary at ARCHITEKT ROLF STALDER

Julia Schaffer holds a Bachelor's degree in German Philology and Art History, a Master's degree in Language and Communication and is mandated with a degree in Interior Design. After her studies, she worked at Vitra International AG in marketing as a project manager. After a move to Helvetia Insurance as a research associate and communications manager, she returned to Vitra in marketing. She has a three-year-old daughter and lives with her family in Allschwil BL. more

Nina Gregori - Head of Department and Lecturer PH FHNW and PH Bern

Nina Gregori works at the FHNW School of Education in the area of vocational internships and professionalization and at the Bern School of Teacher Education in the area of German didactics. Here she combines her areas of interest in language didactics, orality and professionalization. She previously worked for several years in teaching research at the Center for Oral Language at the school for teacher education in Zug. After training as a lower secondary level teacher, she worked at a school in the city of Bern for several years before coming to Canton of Basel-Stadt in 2011 to complete her Master's degree in SuK. She obtained a doctorate in subject didactics at the University of Zurich. more

Kevin Heller - Head of Employer Branding & Sourcing

Kevin Heller has been Head of Employer Branding & Sourcing at Psychiatric Services Aargau since April 2022. From November 2020 to April 2022, he worked there as HR project manager for the construction of the new clinic for forensic psychiatry. He was also responsible for Talent Acquisition. He comes from Tenniken. From 2012 to 2016, he studied German philology and English in his bachelor's studies and from 2016 to 2019, language and communication in his master's degree at the University of Basel. His appointment in Human Resources (HR) therefore came about rather by chance. Originally, he passed his wish to become a high school teacher. However, after several years as a deputy at various primary and secondary schools, he became increasingly aware that he was not passionate enough for a long-term appointment. He therefore looked around for opportunities while he was still studying and, as a first step, ended up working on the "Solothurnisches Orts- und Flurnamenbuch" research project at the University of Basel in 2018, where he gained his first small-scale experience in the field of communication. A successful application to the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche later gave him the opportunity to gain a foothold in the areas of employer branding and recruiting, allowing him to apply the theoretical knowledge from his communication studies in practice. more

Dino Kuckovic - Director of Community & Events at Falcon.io

Dino Kuckovic - Global Project Manager, Social Media at Royal Caribbean International

Dino Kuckovic is Global Project Manager, Social Media at Royal Caribbean International in Miami. He studied English and Media Studies from 2007 to 2010 and Language and Communication from 2010 to 2013. His career began alongside his studies as an intern at the Swiss fashion company TALLY WEiJL in the marketing department. There he was responsible for social media. His love for creative texts combined his studies and appointment, and a clear path towards marketing and PR developed. After his studies, he returned to the States and continued his career in marketing and social media first at a New York tech company and then at the travel company Royal Caribbean International. more

Luca Lavina - Communications Manager from Basel

Luca Lavina is a Communications Manager from Basel. He completed a bachelor's studies in German and English and then an interphilological master's degree program in "Language and Communication" at the University of Basel. During his bachelor's studies, he worked for three years as a freelance journalist for the "Basler Zeitung". He then worked in communications consulting before switching to corporate communications. more

Isabelle Lüthi - Project Manager Basics & Social Policy at Caritas Zurich

Isabelle Lüthi works as Project Manager for Basics & Social Policy at Caritas Zurich. She is also a member of the Schaffhausen Cantonal Council. She studied Translation & Multilingual Communication at the ZHAW and worked as a German teacher and advisor for Syrian refugees. She studied Language & Communication in her Master's degree. After her studies, Isabelle Lüthi completed a university internship at the Federal Chancellery, where she helped to support the member of the Federal Council with the teleprompter, among other things, and then worked as Team Leader Communications & Campaigns at the trade union Unia. more

Felix Michel - Data journalist at Swiss Radio and Television

Felix Michel - Data journalist and web developer

Felix Michel has been working at the interface between journalism and technology for ten years. After completing his studies in communication and linguistics in Winterthur, Zurich and Basel, he worked for media such as Swiss Radio and Television (SRF), Republik Magazin and the Correctiv research center. At SRF, he was part of the data team and responsible for the visual implementation of data-driven projects, while also accompanying or carrying out research, data analysis and text work himself. His work has been honored several times. Today, Felix Michel works as a freelance data journalist and web developer. more

Aylin Nepicks - Marketing & Communications Manager at LITEF

Aylin Kübler - Marketing & Communications Manager at LITEF

Aylin Kübler works as Marketing & Communications Manager at LITEF. Born in the Rhineland, she decided to do a bachelor's studies in English Studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. She then moved to Freiburg, where she initially worked as a project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Parallel to this position, she began her master's studies in the multilingual degree program Language and Communication at the University of Basel, which she successfully completed in 2018. After completing her master's studies, she started as a trainee in Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at Roche Pharma AG and at the end of 2020, after an exciting 18 months in the pharmaceutical environment, she decided to join LITEF in Freiburg to help build up corporate communications there from the very beginning. She has now been working there for almost a year and a half and is responsible for both internal and external communications. With the founding of Coherence PR in February 2021, she is also pursuing her desire to work freelance for other clients and industries. more

Clara Vuille-dit-Bille - Corporate Communications Manager at Tillotts Pharma AG

Clara Vuille-dit-Bille completed a bachelor's degree in German and English, followed by a master's degree program in Language and Communication at the University of Basel. During her studies, she worked as a project-based co-worker at Farner Consulting AG in Zurich and as a freelance writer for the Basler Zeitung. She later worked as an editor in the culture department and online team at Basler Zeitung before joining the Basel-based communications agency int/ext Communications in 2020. Today she works as Corporate Communications Manager at Tillotts Pharma in Rheinfelden. more

Stefanie Wunderlin - Public Diplomacy Officer

Stefanie Wunderlin studied English, German and Language and Communication at the University of Basel. Stefanie Wunderlin now lives in Vancouver, Canada, and is responsible for public relations in the area of culture at the Swiss Consulate General. During her studies, she spent a gap year abroad as an intern at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). After gaining some experience in marketing and event management, Stefanie Wunderlin worked as a reporter and news editor at Radio Basilisk for around 6 years. In spring 2020, she then took up a position in public diplomacy at the Consulate General in Vancouver. more

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