Admission requirements

On this page, you will find important details of the application process (such as deadlines, admission requirements, required documents and application assessment) for the master Psychology - specialisation Cognitive Neuroscience for academic year 2025-2026.

Please note: the master Psychology has six specialisations. You can only apply for one specialisation of this programme

The information on this page is for students who would like to start in academic year 2025-2026.
Please click here to look into the admission requirements for academic year 2024-2025.

Important deadlines for application

The deadlines below are applicable to applicants who want to start their studies in September 2025.

Note: if you are viewing this webpage on your phone, we recommend that you use landscape mode.

Date	What you need to know about this date
1 October 2024	Studielink is open for applications for the academic year 2025-2026
1 February 2025, 23:59 CET	Application deadline for students who want to be considered for the UM NL-High Potential Scholarship
1 May 2025, 23:59 CET	Deadline for completing the entire application process for non-EU/EEA applicants (these applicants require a visa or residence permit)
1 June 2025, 23:59 CET	Deadline for completing the entire application process for applicants from the EU/EEA or Switzerland. This includes Maastricht University students.

General requirements: previous education

The admission requirements for academic year 2025-2026 for the master Psychology depend on your previous education. Please check below which requirements apply to you.

Bachelor's degree		Remarks
Dutch university bachelor's in Psychology	You qualify for admission	No further requirements needed
Non-Dutch university bachelor's in Psychology	Will be assessed by the Board of Admissions	Check below for additional requirements
All other university bachelor's programmes	Will be assessed by the Board of Admissions	Check below for additional requirements
University of applied sciences (HBO) bachelor’s	You do not qualify for admission
University of applied sciences (HBO) bachelor's + pre-master's in Psychology*	Will be assessed by the Board of Admissions	Check below for additional requirements
University of applied sciences (HBO) bachelor's + pre-master Psychology from Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht	You qualify for admission	Check below for additional requirements

* Please note: English is the language of instruction of the master Psychology. When you apply with a pre-master's degree in Psychology, you must also submit proof of English language proficiency.

Please note: the Board of Admissions cannot give any advice about your admission chances on the basis of email information. If you want to know if you qualify for admission, you must apply in Studielink/MyApplication portal.

Equivalent bachelor's degree

In order to determine if a bachelor’s degree is equivalent to a Dutch university bachelor’s degree, the Board of Admissions makes use of NUFFIC diploma recognition. NUFFIC issues recommendations on the value of higher or secondary education diplomas obtained outside the Netherlands. Where possible, the foreign diploma is compared to a Dutch diploma. As well as evaluating the diploma, NUFFIC is also able to determine whether a study programme or an educational institution is officially recognised. Bachelor’s degrees that NUFFIC judges as non-equivalent to a Dutch university bachelor’s degree will not be admitted.

If you are uncertain whether your bachelor’s degree is equivalent to a Dutch university bachelor’s degree you are strongly advised to submit a request via the NUFFIC website to have this checked prior to submitting your application.

The same holds for the combination of a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from a university of applied sciences (HBO) and a pre-master's in Psychology. The bachelor’s degree must be equivalent to a Dutch university of applied sciences (HBO) bachelor’s degree according to NUFFIC.

Additional requirements

Academic background

The document 'Academic background form' that needs to be filled in will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal under the task 'Prove your academic capabilities'. In this form, you have to provide details regarding the relevant courses, and the number of (ECTS) credits that you obtained per course.

27 ECTS in statistics and research methods on a research university level. This can include courses on statistics, methods, psychometrics, data management, and research ethics, as well as practical experience in carrying out an empirical research project.
10 ECTS in academic writing (preferably in English) on a research university level. This can include academic writing courses, as well as, academic writing assignments (e.g. bachelor theses), and systematic literature searches.
24 ECTS in theoretical courses and skills training covering general knowledge of psychology. This can include courses, such as Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, Personality Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuropsychology and/or Biopsychology, Clinical and Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Communication Skills, Intervention and/or Rehabilitation, Psychodiagnostics, Decision Making, and History of Psychology.

If your university uses another system, we ask you to translate the number of obtained credits into the ECTS system (1 ECTS = 28 hours study load).

Students with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from a Dutch university do not need to complete and upload the 'Academic background form'.

Language requirements for English-language master's programmes

As English is the language of instruction in this study programme, it is essential that your English language skills are good enough for you to undertake intensive and challenging academic courses that are taught and examined in English.

Answer the questions below to find out if you meet the language requirements.

Statistics

Statistics is a key issue in the master Psychology at Maastricht University and a good knowledge of statistics is essential.

The document 'Statistics and Methodology checklist' that needs to be filled in will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal under the task 'Prove proficiency in statistics'. On this form, you have to indicate the topics you studied in your statistics and methods courses. Applicants must be familiar with the majority of topics mentioned in the checklist.

Students with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from a Dutch university do not need to complete and upload the checklist.

Relevant bachelor’s degree

The bachelor's degree must be substantially relevant to the master's specialisation of your choice. For example, if you have a bachelor's degree in International Business you may - under certain conditions - be admissible to the master's programme specialisation Work and Organisational Psychology but not to the specialisation Cognitive Neuroscience.

Motivation letter

You are requested to fill in the motivation letter form that will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal under the task 'Upload motivation letter'. In this letter you specify why you want to follow the master’s programme in Psychology and the specialisation of your choice. You must explain how you fulfil the admission requirements for this master's programme and how your background fits with the specialisation of your choice.

You only have to upload a motivation letter if you follow, or have followed, a bachelor’s programme other than Psychology.

The statistics topics can be found in the following book: Andy Field, Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (4th edition).

Pre-master

In case you do not meet the abovementioned admission requirements, you may qualify for admission to the pre-master Psychologie programme at FPN.

Click here for more information about the pre-master Psychologie.

Applicants who received their previous education in a non-EU/EEA country (handling fee)

Applicants for this study programme who received their previous education in a non-EU/EEA country will have to pay a handling fee. More information on this handling fee and how to arrange this payment can be found on the handling fee page.

Documents required for application process

During the application process for this study programme you will need to complete a number of tasks for which you will often have to upload documents. The list below gives you an insight into what documents you will (and might) need to prepare.

Note: all documents must be uploaded before the application deadline (see ‘Important deadlines for application’ on this page).

Required documents for application to this study programme

A recent passport picture*
The passport picture must satisfy certain requirements. You can find these requirements in the task description 'Upload portrait picture' in the MyApplication portal.
A copy of your valid passport or your EU/EEA identity card*
Make a copy of the page with your personal details. Save this copy as ‘passport copy’ and not as ‘passport picture’.
A copy of your most recent grades transcript
A copy of your bachelor’s diploma
If you have not graduated yet, you can upload the official grades transcript of your bachelor's programme.
Curriculum vitae
Statistics and Methodology checklist
The form will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal.
Students with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from a Dutch university do not need to upload the checklist.
Academic background form
The form will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal.
Students with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from a Dutch university do not need upload the Academic background form.
Document(s) that demonstrate your proficiency in English
Answer the questions concerning language requirements under ‘Language requirements for English-language master’s programmes’ on this webpage to find out if you need to provide additional documentation. The outcome of your answers will indicate which document(s) you can use to prove your proficiency.
A motivation letter
The form will be offered to you in the MyApplication portal.
Only student with a bachelor’s degree other than Psychology need to upload a motivation letter.

^{*As a UM student it is not necessary to upload this document in the MyApplication portal. Unless your passport is not valid on 1 September 2025; in that case you do have to upload a copy of your passport.}

Please note: Make sure to upload the documents in the MyApplication portal in PDF or Word-format on time and before the application deadline.

Do not upload Zip files, we cannnot open these files.

All documents must be in English.

Only complete applications will be taken into consideration. Note that after the deadline there is no possibility anymore to revise your application. Therefore we recommend to start your application on time.

How do we assess your application?

When you want to apply or are applying to this study programme, it is useful to know how we assess your application. You can find more information about this in this section.

The Board of Admissions decides whether you qualify for admission based on the application requirements and the documents you have submitted. They will carefully review your application and decide if you have sufficient background in psychology, statistics, research methods, and academic writing, and if your bachelor's degree fits the specialisation you have chosen. Once the Board of Admissions has made a decision on your qualification for admission, you will be informed about this by email within a month after completing your application.