Why this programme?
If you choose to specialise in Neuropsychology, you'll study normal and deviant behaviour in relation to brain structure and function. You'll particularly focus on congenital, acquired and degenerative brain dysfunctions, and their related neuropsychiatric disorders. The neuropharmacological mechanisms that underlie behaviour in health and disease will also be highlighted in the programme. By combining in-depth courses that provide theoretical knowledge with courses on advanced methodological and diagnostic skills, you'll obtain all the training you need to pursue a clinical or scientific career in this highly challenging domain.
Programme outline
The programme has four compulsory courses that cover the basic neurobiological and cognitive affective mechanisms underlying the behaviour of healthy subjects and patients with neurological or psychiatric diseases:
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Brain Functioning: focuses on understanding how the brain is organised to support cognitive functions, including the paradigms and neuroimaging methods we use to study this
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Neurobehavioural functioning: covers normal and abnormal life span development of (neuro)behavioural functions.
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Optimising brain and behaviour: addresses the way the brain continuously changes in terms of function and structure (i.e., plasticity).
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Methods of assessment: focuses on the different approaches to measure brain-behaviour relationships, including their psychometric properties.
In addition to the core courses, you'll also get practical training focused on neuropsychological diagnostic skills and you'll be familiarised with psychological research methods. You'll receive training in designing and applying diagnostic and experimental instruments as well as in assessment procedures for analysing, interpreting and reporting on the data (obtained, for example, from simulation patients or experiments). During the second semester, you'll complete a research internship or a research and a clinical internship and write your master's thesis.
Linking up with ongoing research
The themes of the Neuropsychology specialisation are closely linked to research of our staff. They include:
- Cognitive-behavioural dysfunction: looking at the assessment and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as attention deficits, functional deficits, neurotrauma, schizophrenia and dementia.
- Cognitive-behavioural effects of drugs and related psychoactive substances: examining 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; the effects of drugs and medicines on driving performance; and the effects of medicines on improving cognitive performance.
- Neurodegenerative or age-related cognitive affective changes: exploring cognitive aging, testing models of neurodegenerative diseases and markers for neurocognitive dysfunction.
- Genes, stress and behaviour: investigating genetic brain vulnerability for stress and stress-related cognitive-affective disorders.
This close link between education and research offers you many opportunities to participate in ongoing research. You will also have access to various instruments to measure behaviour (observational environments, questionnaires and neuropsychological tests) as well as brain imaging techniques (EEG/ERP and fMRI). This provides you with the opportunity to develop both clinically and scientifically relevant skills.
Teaching staff
Check out the research profiles of our teaching staff by clicking on their names:
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Tjeerd Boonstra
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Conny Quaedflieg
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Sven Stapert
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Caroline van Heugten
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Kim Kuypers
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Anke Sambeth
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Eef Theunissen
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Sonja Kotz
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Michael Schwartze
Internship & thesis
Research internship
The research internship gives you the opportunity to participate in the ongoing research of the faculty’s academic staff or to work with external academic or clinical institutions. You will design and pursue your own research question, which will be the foundation of your master's thesis.
You can choose the subject of your research internship from a wide variety of topics that fit within your chosen specialisation. The internship can be done in the Netherlands or abroad.
Clinical internship (addition to standard programme)
You also have the option to do a clinical internship in addition to the normal programme, which will give you the clinical experience needed to meet the requirements for a professional clinical training programme in the Netherlands (obtainment of BAPD).
Problem-Based Learning
As with many Maastricht University programmes, Neuropsychology is taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In small tutorial groups, you'll seek solutions to ‘problems’ taken from real-world situations. Instructors act as facilitators, giving help as it’s needed. This allows you to build independence and develop problem-solving skills that you’ll need in the field. This active, dynamic and collaborative learning method has one of the highest knowledge retention rates of any instructional method.
International classroom
From day one of the programme, you’ll be challenged with differing viewpoints and experiences as you interact with staff and students from all over Europe and the world. Your preconceptions and worldview will be enhanced by this interaction, bringing you closer to the programme’s goal of teaching students not only facts and concepts but also international accessibility and understanding. Roughly 49% of the students in this master’s programme come from outside the Netherlands. Such diversity creates an international atmosphere that is strengthened by the international orientation of the programme.
PREMIUM honours programme
PREMIUM is our Honours programme for high-performing master’s students. If selected, you will work in an interdisciplinary team on a project for a real client from the public or private sector (e.g. Cisco, DHL, EcoAct). Along with guidance from a project mentor, you will receive individual coaching focused on your personal and professional development. You will also attend several workshops and events designed to cultivate valuable knowledge and skills, as well as build a network that provides you with the best preparation possible for the job market.
Are you up for the PREMIUM challenge?
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