Data Science of Human Multimodal Communication (M.A.)

TERM 1. Introduction to multimodal data science.

September-December. University of Murcia, Spain

• Welcome week, inauguration, social program
• Thorough overview of multimodal data science
• Intensive training in basic or intermediate quantitative skills
• Basic professional skills
• Opportunities to pursue key topics in the field, participate in hands-on research, fill in any gaps on language and cognition, or develop further professional and entrepreneurial skills

TERM 2. The multimodality lab: cognition and learning.

January-June. Lund University, Sweden

• Welcome week, social program
• Specialized training in laboratory-based methods and on theoretical background for research on multimodality in language, cognition, and learning
• Intermediate or advanced training in quantitative skills
• Data management, property rights, and ethics
• Opportunity to gain further expertise in hands-on experimental research projects, explore the connections between multimodality and natural and artificial intelligence, or pursue a key topic in the field
• Professional fair

TERM 3. Machine learning and multimodal corpora.

September-January. FAU, Erlangen Campus, Germany

• Professional project of at least 6 weeks between June and October
• Specialized training in multimodal corpus linguistics, multimodal language models, and the creation, curation, analysis, and management of large-scale audiovisual data sets
• Advanced professional skills
• Opportunities to further master key technologies: machine-learning techniques, computer vision, speech analysis, and natural language understanding, or to pursue key topics in the field
• Conference at the end of term, co-organized by students and faculty

TERM 4. Research and professional development.

January-August. Location(s) of choice

• Work on the MA thesis at one or two organizations, beneficiaries or associated partners, chosen by the student and the main supervisor, who must be from one of the three universities. Stays at non-academic partners, as well as professional training related to the thesis research, will be encouraged
• Further professional training for both academic and industry careers
• Thesis defense (virtual)
• Graduation ceremony 
• To get more detailed information about the modules taught, please visit https://multicom-em.eu/program/ .

Courses
Term 1 – University of Murcia
 
Core Modules (21 ECTS)
Human Multimodal Communication (6 ECTS Compulsory)
Methods in Multimodal Data Science (6 ECTS Compulsory)
Professional Impact I (3 ECTS Compulsory)
Statistics and Computing (6 ECTS One required)
Advanced Statistics and Computing (6 ECTS One required)
Language and Cognition (6 ECTS One required)
 
Elective Courses (9 ECTS)
Language and Cognition (6 ECTS Optional)
Studying the Multimodal Flow of Language (6 ECTS Optional)
Management and Business (6 ECTS Optional)
Trends in Multimodal Data Science I (3 ECTS Optional)
Trends in Multimodal Data Science III (3 ECTS Optional)
Free-choice Course at the University of Murcia (6 ECTS Optional)

Term 2 – University of Lund
Core Modules (20 ECTS)
Lab Methods in Multimodal Data Science (7.5 ECTS Compulsory)
Language and Multimodality (5 ECTS Compulsory)
Ethics, Data Management, Intellectual Property (2.5 ECTS Compulsory)
Introduction to Programming in Python (5 ECTS One required)
Advanced Statistics and Computing (5 ECTS One required)
 
Elective Courses (10 ECTS)
Trends in Multimodal Data Science II (5 ECTS Optional)
Artificial Cognitive Systems and Multimodality  (5 ECTS Optional)
Lab Project in Multimodality (5 ECTS Optional)

Term 3 – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Core Modules (22.5 ECTS)
Professional Project (Associated Partner) (5 ECTS Compulsory)
Applications of Machine Learning (10 ECTS Compulsory)
Multimodal Corpus Linguistics  (5 ECTS Compulsory)
Professional Impact II (2.5 ECTS Compulsory)
 
Elective Courses (7.5 ECTS)
Management and Business (5 ECTS Optional)
Trends in Multimodal Data Science I (2.5 ECTS Optional)
Trends in Multimodal Data Science III (2.5 ECTS Optional)
Work Project in Multimodal Data Science (2.5 ECTS Optional)
Multimodal Computer Science (5 ECTS Optional)

Term 4 – Location of Choice

Core Modules (30 ECTS)
MA Research Thesis (30 ECTS Compulsory)

1. Leadership, commitment, autonomy and motivation

You are intrinsically motivated and have a sufficiently mature understanding of what the program can offer you and of what you can contribute to the MULTICOM community. Through achievements commensurate with your age and career stage, you show leadership, commitment, autonomy, and the ability to thrive in a multidisciplinary and international environment.

2. Language, communication, and thought background

Courses directly related to multimodal communication will be appreciated, but no previous multimodality-related training is required to be considered an excellent candidate, provided that the applicant has an outstanding background in the study of language and thought. Professional experience of demonstrable quality and of specific relevance to the area background will be assessed on an individual basis.

3. Academic/professional excellence

Overall grades and other standard indicators of academic distinction, beyond the specific grades in the relevant areas: class valedictorian, top tier of promotion, graduation from prestigious programs, and similar distinctions, depending on the university system. For candidates with substantial professional experience, indicators of overall quality and distinction: highly competitive selection process, certified top performance, or any other significant achievements commensurate with their career stage, beyond their experience in relevant areas for multimodal data science.

4. Quantitative background

Excellence in quantitative skills will be rewarded, but training beyond the equivalent to two undergraduate courses will not be considered for applicant selection. While applicants with a stronger quantitative background are encouraged to apply, they should bear in mind that MULTICOM is designed to provide training on multimodality and its related data science to strong profiles in language, communication, and thought.

5. International experience

Although not required, international mobility and intercultural collaboration will be regarded as a factor increasing the likelihood of success in the MULTICOM environment.

MULTICOM is the first master’s degree in the data science of human multimodal communication, co-funded by the European Union and co-awarded by the universities of Murcia (Daedalus Lab) in Spain, Lund (Centre for Languages and Literature ) in Sweden, and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (Big Data Linguistics) in Germany.