p. 1

master s programme in psychology 2010 specialisations in biological psychology · neuropsychology · developmental psychology · cognitive neuroscience specialisations in applied cognitive psychology · health and social psychology · psychology and law · work and organisational psychology language of instruction english

[close]

p. 2

maastricht university leading in learning historic yet forward-thinking and contemporary typically dutch yet multicultural and vibrant maastricht is a city of contrasts not only is maastricht the birthplace of the modern european union it also continues to establish itself internationally thanks to maastricht university s position as a leading academic centre in europe beyond boundaries with over half of its master s students and a third of its academic staff coming from outside the netherlands maastricht university has a reputation for quality and for its international orientation and dynamic interdisciplinary environment most of our master s programmes are taught in english and international themes are deeply rooted in the curricula at maastricht university you will be encouraged to look across traditional boundaries for answers looking to other departments disciplines institutes universities and international scholars to provide better insight into your own education and research new perspectives as a master s student you are a contributing member of our academic community using the problem-based learning methodology you work in small groups alongside students from all over the world in close cooperation with the academic staff you and your fellow students seek solutions to real-world problems you exchange knowledge and experiences learn to see things from new perspectives and develop skills that will last a lifetime research research at maastricht university focuses on gaining insights into current issues in today s society and we recognise the value of bright young researchers in contributing to the development of fresh and innovative ideas that is why research plays an integral role in the majority of our master s programmes and why we offer a number of research master s focused solely on the training of future researchers career further specialising in your field by earning a master s degree at maastricht university will greatly enhance your career prospects the effectiveness of our approach to education and research is demonstrated by the performance of our graduates they are self-assured independent and assertive professionals who are able to make a smooth transition from university to the job market because they focus on more than just theory they also learn the skills they need to have a successful career.

[close]

p. 3

contents master s programme in psychology specialisations in biological psychology · neuropsychology · developmental psychology · cognitive neuroscience specialisations in applied cognitive psychology · health and social psychology · psychology and law · work and organisational psychology practical matters admission requirements entrance exam tuition fees applying and enrolling coming to the netherlands contact information 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 the faculty of psychology and neuroscience the faculty of psychology and neuroscience fpn is a dynamic community consisting of 1400 students and 220 scientists tutors/lecturers technicians and other support staff together they ensure an inspiring environment that is engaged in education and research of a constantly high level the faculty tops the national rankings in terms of the quality and organisation of its degree programmes and is consistently successful in acquiring competitive research subsidies internationally too the faculty has a strong reputation the fpn is housed in a modern building at an excellent location in the immediate vicinity of the randwyck railway station the building accommodates various facilities that support its education such as the university library modern computer facilities rooms for practical sessions and laboratories including the mri scanner the nearby campus that is currently under construction offers space for new sports facilities and student rooms problem-based learning all programmes in this brochure are accredited by the accreditation organisation of the netherlands and flanders nvao for more information on nvao please visit www.nvao.nl maastricht university is a signatory of the code of conduct more information about this code of conduct is available at www.internationalstudy.nl with respect to international students in dutch higher education at maastricht university we believe that education should be centred on you the student and to us you re not one of many master s students filling a seat in a crowded lecture hall instead you re a contributing member of our academic community you work in small groups that together seek solutions to real world problems this means that you are continuously exchanging knowledge experiences and opinions with your fellow students as well as the academic staff this way of cooperative learning is called problem-based learning pbl it is driven by a spirit of inquiry that motivates you to go deeper than memorisation and a shallow understanding of concepts 3

[close]

p. 4

master s programme in psychology the one-year master s of science msc in psychology is a challenging programme that prepares you for a professional career in one of the emerging fields of biological and cognitive psychology keywords that describe the programme are international state-of-the-art challenging student centred and research driven keywords that describe our students include independent critical curious assertive and eager to learn the master s programme comprises the fields of biological psychology and applied cognitive psychology with each three specialisations biological psychology the biological revolution taking place in general psychology is also occurring in the research at our faculty and in our studies in the field of biological psychology this takes mutual relations between psychological and biological factors into account for example the development of our brain largely determines if and when we learn to see think or speak many psychological or psychiatric disorders appear to have at least in part a genetic origin and are associated with some deficit in brain circuits courses in biological psychology all study the roots of our behaviour by relating our actions and experiences to brain functioning mechanisms these mechanisms can be made visible with such brain imaging techniques as fmri erp and tms we also study the issues surrounding these techniques biological psychology where brain and behaviour meet biological psychology covers one of the most exciting areas of psychological science where brain and behaviour meet for a long time there were roughly two types of psychologists those primarily interested in brain processes and those primarily interested in overt behaviour nowadays the gap between brain and behaviour is smaller than ever with modern imaging techniques researchers can determine which brain areas are responsible for certain types of behaviour at the same time knowledge is accumulating on how these brain areas develop in early life and how they deteriorate in later life last but not least we have gained insight into how dysfunctions of the brain result in abnormal behaviour such as in adhd dyslexia and dementia although the three specialisations within biological psychology are all aimed at biological aspects pascal van gerven phd assistant professor in cognitive aging of behaviour making use of such techniques as eeg fmri tms and neurofeedback they differ in their primary focus of interest cognitive neuroscience is mainly concerned with the description prediction and change of fundamental brain processes involved in such functions as perception emotion and language developmental psychology focuses on normal and abnormal cognitive and brain development finally neuropsychology is mainly concerned with behavioural and neurobiological manifestations of brain dysfunctions taken together these specialisations offer an attractive and broad range of opportunities preparing you for a career in any area of research or mental health care 4 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 5

applied cognitive psychology applied cognitive psychology is designed for students who are committed to studying contemporary issues such as the reliability of eyewitnesses false memory child obesity alcohol abuse unsafe sexual practices workplace safety human-machine interaction or optimising team work in our programme you focus on the fundamental processes of human behaviour such as learning memory decision-making attention or perception and on how such processes occur in applied settings such as the comprehension of instructions eyewitness testimonies expert versus lay decisions attentional biases or body image you have a choice of three cognitive specialisacarolien martijn phd assistent professor in cognitive psychology tions health and social psychology psychology and law and work and organisational psychology you learn how to approach and analyse real-life problems from a scientific angle to come up with solutions and you get many opportunities to participate in research each specialisation of applied cognitive psychology prepares you for employment in academia government and industry settings applied cognitive psychology one of the central postulates in cognitive psychology is that our behaviour depends on our subjective interpretation of an event rather than on the event itself it is not the cracking of the twig in the dark wood that determines whether the lonely walker runs away in terror but the interpretation of that sound an anxious city dweller will attribute it to something creepy a forester will attribute the sound differently and will act accordingly between the external stimulus and our response to it occur various kinds of cognitive processes which often lie outside our awareness such processes are at the centre of applied cognitive psychology specialisations biological psychology and applied cognitive psychology both have three specialisations each biological psychology has developmental psychology cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology applied cognitive psychology has health and social psychology psychology and law and work and organisational psychology you start each specialisation programme with four theoretical courses combined with training in academic research and professional skills you devote the second semester to planning and conducting a research internship under the supervision of a faculty member a substantial number of students conduct this internship abroad you conclude the master s programme by writing a master s thesis on the research you conducted during the internship 5

[close]

p. 6

biological psychology specialisation neuropsychology if you d like to explore the intricacies of the brain and gain insights from cognitive psychology and neuropsychology to understand normal and abnormal behaviour this is the specialisation for you neuropsychology offers a one-year interdisciplinary programme in psychology and neuroscience that is focused on normal and deviant cognitive-affective behaviour in relation to brain structure and function much of the emphasis is on congenital acquired or degenerative brain dysfunction and related neuropsychiatric disorders e.g age-related decline schizophrenia alzheimer adhd as well as on neuropharmacological mechanisms that underlie cognitive-affective behaviour in health and disease the curriculum combines in-depth courses that provide you with the sound theoretical knowledge required for attaining advanced methodological and diagnostic skills both are necessary to pursue a clinical or research career in the broad domain of neuropsychology for this specialisation we expect our students to be highly motivated and have a genuine interest in understanding normal and abnormal behaviour from a cognitive-neuropsychological or brain-behaviour perspective programme outline the programme comprises four obligatory courses · `brain damage focuses on patients with brain damage whose condition can often provide us with insights into how the human brain works in relation to behaviour · `behavioural disorders focuses on cognitive function and dysfunction in neuropsychiatric conditions and explores neuropsychological mechanisms and treatment strategies · `arousal and attention introduces key theories and controversies about arousal and attention and integrates these with knowledge from psychopharmacology effects of drugs neurotransmitters medicine to understand such related diseases as insomnia and adhd · `cognitive ageing focuses on basic theories and neurobiological processes of cognitive aging and age-related cognitive decline as often found in dementia alzheimer s and parkinson s diseases these courses combine basic neurobiological e.g brain anatomy and biochemical or hormonal function and cognitiveaffective mechanisms underlying behaviour in healthy subjects and patients with neurological or psychiatric disease in addition the programme includes practical training focused on neuropsychological diagnostic skills during these training courses you learn the basics of psychological research from designing and applying diagnostic and experimental instruments and assessment procedures to interpreting and reporting the data e.g obtained from simulation patients or experiments during the second semester you complete a research internship and write your master thesis you can also obtain the clinical experience needed to fulfil the requirements of a clinical career fascinating subject when i decided to follow the specialisation in neuropsychology i wasn t entirely sure what to expect i had taken some electives in my third year that made me choose neuropsychology because of my interest in neurology and the clinical field the first six months of theoretical courses were inspiring particularly cognitive ageing the ageing brain was something i didn t know much about yet the subject fascinated me perhaps also due to its inevitable personal relevance enough reason for me to look for a research internship in this arjan tervoort master s student in neuropsychology field i found one at our faculty under the supervision of pascal van gerven although i was a bit nervous at first interacting with the participants has been an amazing learning experience i m still unsure what psychological career to pursue after finishing this master s but i am confident that the skills and knowledge i ve acquired over the past year will prove to be of great value 6 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 7

broad study experience i chose the specialisation in neuropsychology because i m especially interested in the functioning of the young brain for my thesis i did an internship in toronto on the neuropsychological effects of a surgical intervention in the brain of children with `moya moya disease during a practical internship at the academic hospital of maastricht i developed my psychological diagnostic skills thanks to this broad study experience i could start immediately after graduation at an audiology centre in the south of the netherlands working with children in the ages from 1 to 7 years with language disorders i m maartje salden master s graduate in neuropsychology children s healthcare psychologist now specialising as a children s health care psychologist and also working in a psychiatric clinic with children from 4 to 12 to further develop my skills i m guiding parents and their children with such psychiatric problems as adhd and autism as you can see neuropsychology really cleared my path to a varied career which i m enjoying every day internships in this specialisation you can select the subject of your research internship from a broad range of topics spanning several areas · `cognitive-behavioural dysfunction assessment and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as attention deficits functional deficits neurotrauma schizophrenia and dementia · `cognitive-behavioural and affective effects of drugs and related psychoactive substances the study of the effects of drugs of abuse on brain toxicity and cognitive impairment the effects of various nutrients and foods on brain neurotransmission and cognitive-affective behaviour such as depression and stress and the effects of drugs and medicines on driving performance · `neurodegenerative or age-related cognitive-affective changes a study including cognitive ageing testing models of neuro-degenerative diseases and exploring markers for neurocognitive dysfunction · `genes stress and behaviour the study of genetic brain vulnerability for stress and stress-related cognitive-affective disorders in these and many other internship projects not listed above you can use both behavioural e.g observational and experimental psychometric tests tasks and questionnaires and neuroimaging e.g eeg/erp and fmri methods and techniques also available are the biopsychological labs and cross-sectional and longitudinal human data sets from both children and adults all of this gives you the opportunity to develop both clinically and scientifically relevant skills career focus the specialisation in neuropsychology provides you with an excellent basis to become a versatile and skilled professional researcher capable of pursuing a successful career in the netherlands or abroad in universities and research institutes clinical settings such as hospitals and rehabilitation centres or schools and other educational institutions the pharmacological industry may also offer good job opportunities for students who have completed this specialisation core courses · brain damage · behavioural disorders · practical neuropsychological assessment · arousal and attention · cognitive ageing · practical arousal attention and ageing · research internship and master s thesis 7

[close]

p. 8

specialisation developmental psychology developmental psychology is the study of the development of behaviour and cognitive functions from infancy to old age the specialisation in developmental psychology has a special focus on understanding how the development of certain behaviours and cognitive functions relates to a person s psychological and biological constitution and the development of the brain this cognitive-biological orientation is still unique in europe it familiarises you with the most recent developmental theories and research findings from several fields so that you become acquainted with various diagnostic and research tools relevant to the clinical field and developmental research you learn what is needed both biologically and environmentally to develop normal audition vision memory language social perception emotion and motor skills during childhood adolescence and adulthood besides healthy development atypical development is an important topic the neurocognitive-behavioural disorders studied include adhd autism dyslexia dyscalculia gilles de la tourette williams syndrome we aim to attract students who aspire to a career in an applied or scientific setting and are interested in learning about the psychological and biological genetic brain and psychopharmacological factors that play a role in healthy or atypical cognitive development across the lifespan the specialisation is an excellent preparation for the post-graduate programme `gz-opleiding kinderen jeugdpsychologie to become a professionally recognised therapist for children and adolescents programme outline the programme comprises four obligatory courses · `infancy gives an overview of the development of cognitive and social-emotional functions during the first two years of human life · `perception attention and motor development deals with typical and atypical adhd gilles de la tourette development of these functions in childhood adolescence and adulthood · `development of cognition and language provides an overview of typical and atypical dyscalculia dyslexia life-span development of higher cognitive functions such as shortand long-term memory arithmetic and language · `social and emotional development deals with biological genetic brain pathology personality and environmental factors underlying life-span social-emotional and moral development practical courses focus on learning skills important for pursuing a career as a psychologist in applied settings for example learning to apply and design instruments measuring cognitive function in infants and children you also learn scientific skills such as how to design a developmental experiment and how to measure eeg/erps the latter is optional in the second semester you complete a research internship write your thesis and may also obtain the clinical experience needed to fulfil the requirements of a clinical career latest findings i chose the specialisation in developmental psychology because i m very interested in the early development of the human being especially infancy and childhood i wanted to learn which biological processes underlie this development and find explanations for why this goes wrong in some children i m getting more and more enthusiastic partly because i m reading the latest findings in research articles which were addressed frequently in the courses at the moment i m doing an internship in clinical practice in combination with eefje schoonewille master s student in developmental psychology conducting research into dance and movement therapy this shows how broadly oriented this specialisation is plus the fact that you can tweak the topic to suit yourself i see positive prospects for finding a job in this field especially since there is a great demand for research from practitioners and vice versa for a link with practice from theoretical scientists 8 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 9

a dream is coming true choosing a master s wasn t very difficult for me during my um studies i wanted to learn about the biological mechanisms and possible deficits affecting people s functioning especially children s 0-18 yrs the master s in developmental psychology was a perfect fit while studying i realised i didn t want to work in research but in mental healthcare mhc giving treatment guidance and psychological education to children and their parents my experience is that this master s is not just about making a research career possible it lets you work in mhc if you claudia bosch master s graduate in developmental psychology mental healthcare psychologist want and you can also follow the postgraduate `gz-psycholoog mhc psychologist programme if you take extra in-service training at the moment my dream is coming true i m working in mhc with children 0-18 and their parents and in nine months i ll be a qualified mhc psychologist internships there is a strong link with the research performed in the specialisation in developmental psychology you can choose the subject of your research internship from a broad variety of topics including · `the development of executive control attention or memory in children and adolescents with or without adhd autism or dyscalculia · `cognitive training in children and adolescents with or without adhd or autism · `life-span social perception and emotion development in healthy people and in autism these projects use both behavioural observational or questionnaires and neuropsychological methods as well as brainimaging techniques eeg/erp providing you with the opportunity to develop both clinically and scientifically relevant skills the group has access to excellent lab facilities eyemovement equipment eeg fmri and uses mobile eeg equipment for measurements at schools and institutions career focus the specialisation in developmental psychology provides an excellent basis for several career paths most students end up as psychologists in applied settings working in mental health or educational institutions or in medical settings working with children adults or elderly people many become researchers in academic settings phd but you could also conduct research in a clinical setting core courses · infancy · perception attention and motor development in behavioural paradigms · practical measuring attention and executive functions · or practical eeg/erp · development of cognition and language · social and emotional development · practical psychological test · research internship and master s thesis 9

[close]

p. 10

specialisation cognitive neuroscience the teaching programme covers the relevant topics from cognitive neuroscience and reflects the expertise of the cognitive neuroscience research group you learn about cognitive neuroscience theories and how to measure and interpret human brain activity using imaging techniques to observe fmri eeg meg and modulate tms the brain `at work the specialisation unravels the cognitive and neural mechanisms that are at work whenever we hear see think talk attend to others or move in other words the core aspects of human behaviour thesis on one of these topics there is a focus on issues such as motor learning predicting the actions of others and reacting to errors in performance one of the goals is to provide knowledge of the basic principles underlying fmri another aim is learning to think critically about recent and ongoing research in the domain of attention and perception auditory/speech processing and cross-modal integration including eventrelated potential erp and fmri studies during the second semester you complete a research internship and write your thesis research internships involve cognitive neuroscience research that can be performed internally or in an external possibly international setting for example at one of our collaborating universities or research institutes programme outline the core programme deals with humans and non-human primates the neural basis of perception cognition sensory and motor systems as well as cognitive neuroscience methods it introduces important theoretical concepts and includes training for you to develop your own research questions and carry out your own experiments you may undertake a master s links with research the faculty of psychology and neuroscience has its own 3-tesla mri research scanner and hosts fully equipped eeg as well as tms laboratories the cognitive neuroscience research group and our collaborators use these to investigate a wide variety of theoretical and methodological research themes ongoing attention research tests ideas from non-human studies in the brain and behaviour i wanted a master s programme that offered me the opportunity to enrich my knowledge on the relationship between brain and behaviour but at the same time i longed for some hands-on experience with neuroimaging methods this programme combines these interests perfectly it contributes to my understanding of core human behaviour which is a prerequisite for studying abnormal brains and behaviour and the effect of psychopharmacology two of my main areas of interest i definitely enjoyed the theoretical courses because of the small groups and the problem-based learning anouk schantree master s student in cognitive neuroscience format really fostered an environment for discussions we also had the opportunity to practise with two imaging methods eeg and fmri currently i m in melbourne working on a structural imaging project involving substance abuse in schizophrenic patients as for my future plans i would like to do a phd using my knowledge of imaging methods to study neural correlates of neuropsychiatric disorders 10 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 11

fascinating and dynamic the thing i immediately remember and appreciate most about my master s specialisation in cognitive neuroscience is the enthusiasm with which we were taught you could really sense that the researchers involved were highly motivated to make us realise how fascinating and dynamic cognitive neuroscience is we were also encouraged to gain practical experience with various research methods such as fmri and eeg at a certain point we had to develop from scratch a valid research proposal design an experiment perform actual fmri scanning and analyse and interpret the data i remember that it was pretty complex in the rinus verdonschot master s graduate in cognitive neuroscience phd candidate leiden beginning or if we got stuck somewhere we were given pointers but for the most part we did everything ourselves to me this was a great way to gain first-hand experience of how exciting it is to conduct research that is the main reason why i have become a phd candidate i conduct psychological and neurolingistic research in kanji japanese pictogrammes of chinese origine domains of human vision and audition language research focuses on the neural basis of normal language development and dyslexia as well as on the role of attention in language processing auditory research investigates how we identify and localise sounds we also investigate neurofeedback sensorimotor mapping neural connectivity cross-modal integration and real-time imaging of social interactions the cognitive neuroscience research group develops new analysis methods for brain imaging data brainvoyager because the group has much international collaboration we strongly support international student exchanges core courses · auditory and crossmodal speech processing · mechanisms of perception and attention · practical eeg/erp · brain imaging methods · practical fmri · the cognitive neuroscience of the sensory and motor systems · research internship and master s thesis career focus the specialisation in cognitive neuroscience is an excellent background for any professional career its interdisciplinary character is a major advantage for research or teaching careers because students become experts in cognitive psychology as well as neuroscience methods this specialisation prepares students for employment at universities research institutes and the private industry sector as well as in clinics 11

[close]

p. 12

applied cognitive psychology specialisation health and social psychology the specialisation in health and social psychology aims at understanding behaviour change from the clinical and social psychology perspective the main focus is on understanding how people s personalities cognitions and social environment influence their health and social functioning you learn to analyse the underlying mechanisms of unhealthy or antisocial behaviour using recent theories and models from various psychological disciplines examples of behaviours are eating disorders smoking excessive drinking reckless driving and unsafe sex with this knowledge you can systematically develop interventions to change such behaviour in your thesis you could study for instance why people maintain bad habits key issues concern automatic versus controlled influences on behaviour self-regulation and the development of behaviour change programmes students who choose this specialisation should be interested in analysing everyday individual and societal problems by means of experimental or applied research beliefs and of acceptance you also focus on possible ways of improving self-control abilities · `planning behaviour-change programmes focuses on applying psychological theory in developing behaviour change interventions for instance theories about risk communication attitude change social influences skill training selfregulation and prejudice and discrimination · `manipulation deals with strategies of social influence persuasion and attitude change you learn what techniques tactics procedures people use to manipulate or change the beliefs and behaviour of other people you participate in discussions of how social influence techniques work what are the psychological principles underlying the effect of those techniques during the second semester you complete a research internship and write your thesis for your thesis you could examine the conditions under which people are successful in controlling their impulses when faced by temptation and when they are likely to fail or you could for instance study how theories of social influence can be applied to change behaviour or how persuasive messages should be designed to change behaviour effectively you can conduct your research internship in one of the faculty s well-equipped laboratories such as the behaviour laboratory equipped with cameras the social psychology laboratory with separate computer cubicles the drinking laboratory with a full-scale bar or the eating laboratory includes a kitchen programme outline the specialisation in health and social psychology offers the following courses · `bad habits uses various recent views from both social and clinical psychology to explain how healthy and wanted behaviours and their negative counterparts develop and endure you consider bad habits from a cognitive perspective with a focus on automatic associative processes and perceptual processes you study the role of the social environment on the occurrence of bad habits · `self-control focuses on the regulation of behaviour why do people find it so hard to resist their impulses here you study various self-control processes including emotional selfregulation automatic self-regulation the role of thinking links with research the themes of the specialisation in health and social psychology are strongly linked to other research programmes on the role of fear in risk communication eating disorders sexual health obesity social norms self-control addictive behaviours stigmatisation as well as discrimination learning theories open-minded psychologist it fascinates me that people tend to lose control in certain situations resulting in eating excessive amounts of food gaming until they drop getting aggressive smoking drinking having unsafe sex etc the underlying cognitive mechanisms of these behaviours are studied in the specialisation in health and social psychology using knowledge from all kinds of disciplines in my own research internship i use theories and models from buddhist psychology to determine whether acceptance is an effective and efficient strategy to deal with desires the research is not limited to the cognitive fundamentals of behaviour manipulation of behaviour and the mizzi middelweerd master s student in health and social psychology development of theory-based health intervention programmes are also study objectives the specialisation in health and social psychology provides detailed knowledge and skills and encourages you to be an open-minded psychologist and eventually spread your wings to work in the field recently i found a job on a project about hiv-related knowledge attitudes and the sexual risk behaviours of men who have sex with men 12 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 13

changing people s minds i chose the specialisation in health and social psychology because i was fascinated by the discrepancies between human behaviour and human thought i wanted to explain why individuals eat too much food drive too fast refuse vaccinations continue smoking perform unsafe sex and so on when at the same time they believe all these behaviours to be detrimental and even unacceptable during the course of the specialisation i felt that all i d learned about during my bachelor s cognitions biases and behavioural mechanisms was finally put to use i was challenged to take the next step how to move people toward healthier behaviour it is a matter of changing people s minds currently i am working as a phd candidate researching whether certain government policies aimed at improving living conditions in deprived neighbourhoods will indeed change residents cognitions and behaviours with relation to overweight i intend to explain my future findings with the same fascination i felt during the specialisation but with a deeper understanding of cognitive-behaviour discrepancies jordi tonnard master s graduate in health and social psychology phd candidate maastricht cognitive processing of health-related issues intervention development and planned behaviour change this close link between education and research offers you many opportunities to participate in ongoing research core courses · bad habits · self-control · planning behaviour-change programmes · manipulation · research internship and master s thesis career focus job possibilities for health and social psychologists are broad you could be a researcher in an academic or applied health setting or work in communication planning health promotion and policy-making 13

[close]

p. 14

specialisation psychology and law the specialisation in psychology and law is unique in the netherlands while brief courses on the topic are offered at other dutch universities maastricht provides you with a complete master s programme cognitive and to a lesser extent clinical psychology form the essentials of this specialisation questions that are typical for psychology and law are for example how reliable are eyewitnesses testimonies do serious criminals have a brain dysfunction makin them permanently dangerous to society psychologists with a background in psychology and law ask questions that have direct relevance to the legal arena and conduct research to address these questions the aim of this specialisation is to familiarise you with typical themes in the psychology and law domain for example you learn how to analyse the reliability of eyewitness testimonies in doing so you study memory from various perspectives testing is another issue that you address which tests can you use to detect malingerers or predict the risk of recidivism although the theoretical part of the specialisation in psychology and law is given in english you should be aware that many examples and illustrations are drawn from the dutch judicial system for example the tbs system mandatory psychiatric treatment on behalf of the state also legal decisions are made by professional judges rather than juries the course discusses several important cases that have made an impact on the dutch psychology and law field in the practical part of this specialisation you visit dutch court hearings and forensic settings programme outline the specialisation in psychology and law is underpinned by two important elements research and testing the specialisation consists of four courses `eyewitnesses and victims provides you with insight into the psychology of eyewitnesses and victims while `forensic psychology focuses on the development assessment and treatment of criminal behaviour `perpetrators and defendants exposes you to different types of offending behaviour and offenders and you also learn to analyse these in the context of legal questions in `experts and their decisions the role that experts play in judicial decisionmaking and the validity of expert opinions are important subjects the literature for these courses consists of individual research papers taken from experimental applied and forensic psychiatric journals during the second semester you complete a research internship and write your thesis very educational the master s specialisation in psychology and law is tailor-made for me the programme is fantastic interesting and very educational you get taught five courses which bring the theoretical and practical sides together you learn how to become a good expertwitness in court and how to deal with vulnerable suspects you also learn about psychopathology with respect to crime you ll find out what false memories are and so much more the spectrum of jobs to choose from is wide and diverse you could appear in court as an expert witness become a university researcher or work for a forensic institution for me personally the idea of combining a research position with a job in a forensic institution as a therapist seems ideal this way i will be able to stay in touch with all the new developments in the field and will also be able to make a difference for patients and society anne douven master s student in psychology and law 14 master s programme in psychology 2010

[close]

p. 15

where psychology and law meet in september 2007 i started the specialisation in psychology and law i made this decision because i have the notion that psychologists should have more interaction with the legal system and both disciplines meet in this master s track so i m very positive and enthusiastic about doing this master s in psychology and law it addresses a broad spectrum of topics from police work to the mental state of perpetrators when i d finished my research internship i did a clinical internship in a detention centre where diagnostics and interventions take place after my kim duchateau master s graduate in psychology and law forensic clinical practitioner clinical internship i began applying for jobs at places where psychology and law meet i ended up at `het keerpunt an institute for juvenile offenders as an intervention employee my work is to treat juvenile offenders and guide their training in aggression self-regulation links with research research in the psychology and law domain covers a broad range of issues topics include for example lie detection eyewitness testimonies interrogation techniques vulnerable suspects false confessions forensic psychopathology violence risk assessment offender treatment and malingering as a master s student you have the opportunity to participate in the ongoing research on these topics conducted by department s scientific staff core courses · eyewitnesses and victims · forensic psychology · perpetrators and defendants · experts and their decisions · practical psychology and law in action · research internship and master s thesis career focus because of the wide range of psychology and law themes psychologists with a background in psychology and law are well equipped to work in such diverse areas as police investigation juvenile offender institutions child protection services and high security forensic facilities with its heavy emphasis on research this track offers good training to students who intend to become researchers in the psychology and law field 15

[close]