Why this programme?
In the master’s specialisation in Work and Organisational Psychology, you’ll study human behavior in the context of work and in organizations. The programme combines theoretical knowledge of work and organisational psychology with practical applications that can be implemented in organisations.
Questions we will address include:
- What are the causes of stress and what can be done about it?
- How can jobs ideally be designed?
- What motivates people in their work?
- How does the composition of a team influence its effectiveness?
- How does team climate influence team performance?
- Is there an optimal leadership style?
- What are good HRM practices to recruit, select, train, and retain employees?
- What does the future of work look like?
Programme outline
Core courses of this programme are:
- Work psychology: focuses on job design, occupational health, and work behaviour. You will learn about sources of work stress, how to foster day-to-day recovery from work, why people sometimes behave uncivil at work and how this affects their colleagues. We will also discuss new work arrangements and why working from home might be a blessing and a curse for work-life balance.
- Human resources: addresses HR practices of personnel selection and assessment, training, performance management, continuous professional development, talent management, and career development. The aim is to be able to design and evaluate these practices in line with an evidence-based approach to decision making.
- Organisational Psychology: focuses on strategy, leadership, innovation, teamwork, organisational culture and climate, and change management . In subgroups you will work on case studies, developing research based solutions for a variety of problems organisations may face.
- Human performance: is centred on the question ‘How do people process information during the performance of tasks?’. You will focus on topics such as motivation, interruptions at work, organisational citizenship behaviour and ageing at work.
- The Future of Work: addresses key questions work and organisational psychologists are facing now and in the near future. For instance, how can artificial intelligence (AI) help organisations operate efficiently in the 21st century? How does the introduction of robots change daily work?
In addition to these core courses, you will be offered workshops on research methods and design, analysis and academic writing which will prepare you for conducting your own research as part of the master thesis.
Develop your professional skills
One of the key features of the programme is its focus on skills development. Over an eight-week period starting in January, a series of assignments and workshops will stimulate further development of the primary competences of work and organistional psychologists. You’ll practice skills such as:
- needs analysis
- goal setting
- assessment
- intervention design
- communication
You may work on the assignments in either a simulated or a real-life organisational setting. Afterwards, you'll complete an activity report in which you will reflect on your professional development.
Linking up with ongoing research
The themes of the Work and Organisational Psychology specialisation are closely linked to research of our staff. This close link between education and research offers you many opportunities to participate in ongoing research. Our themes include:
- Recovery and well-being at work
- The role of mindfulness for workplace functioning and well-being
- Inclusive organisations
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Personality at work
- Sustainable employability
- Work and technology
- Occupational neuroscience
- Ethical behaviour at work
Research on work and organisational psychology has two complementary aspects: basic research focused on building new models that help to explain human behaviour at work and research aimed at improving and changing organisations. For basic research, we have a laboratory that enables us to simulate realistic work settings where we can study phenomena that are difficult to investigate in real-life settings, such as the effects of being interrupted at work.
Research project & thesis
The master thesis gives you the opportunity to participate in the ongoing research of the faculty’s academic staff or to work with external academic or research 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 project and master thesis from a wide variety of topics. The research project can be done in the Netherlands or abroad.
Problem-Based Learning
Work and Organisational Psychology is taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In small tutorial groups of up to 13 students, you 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 the first day of the programme, you’ll be challenged with differing viewpoints and experiences as you interact with staff and students from all over 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. The students form the master programme come from a wide variety of countries both within the EU and form outside the EU.
Such diversity creates an international atmosphere that is strengthened by the international orientation of the programme.
Double Degree master's programmes
At the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you have the opportunity to take part in a two-year Double Degree master's programme in collaboration with the University of Seville, Spain or the University of Milan, Italy. After successful completion of the entire two-year programme you’ll receive two official Master’s degrees, one from FPN and one from Seville/Milan.
Double Degree in Work and Organisational Psychology (WOP) with the University of Seville, Spain
This Master in Psychology specialisation offers students from the Maastricht University Bachelor in Psychology the opportunity to do a Double Degree in Work and Organisational Psychology with Seville, Spain. You’ll follow the one-year Master’s in WOP programme in Seville prior to your one-year master’s WOP programme at FPN. The selection takes place during the third year of the Bachelor in Psychology programme at FPN.
More information
Double Degree in Cognitive Sciences and Psychology with the University of Milan, Italy
Students who have been admitted to the one-year master’s in Work and Organisational Psychology (WOP)/Health and Social Psychology (HSP)/Neuropsychology (NP) at FPN have the opportunity to participate in this two-year Double Degree master's programme. You’ll follow the one-year master’s in WOP/HSP/NP at FPN prior to the second year of the two-year master’s programme Cognitive Sciences and Decision Making in Milan. The selection takes place in the first semester of the master’s programme at FPN.
More information
PREMIUM honours programme
Want to gain that extra edge by getting real-world experience during your studies? The PREMIUM honours programme will help you gain the experience and develop the skills employers are looking for. As part of a team of students and under the guidance of our academic staff, you’ll spend about three months working on a real-world assignment for a company, NGO or educational institution. You'll also work on a personal development plan, receive intensive individual coaching and attend master classes and workshops. All of this will take about 250 hours, but it will give you a lifetime of benefits.
Are you up for the PREMIUM challenge?
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