Your future

Students start their career in Neuropsychology at Maastricht University and then spread out all over the world.

On this digital map you can find out more about the career paths of some of our alumni

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• First job after obtaining the master's degree: Ph.D. student at the Department of Psychology, General and Experimental Psychology, of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (Germany).
• Current job: LMU post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Psychology of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (Germany).

The RM in cognitive and clinical neuroscience, specialization in neuropsychology, was a challenging yet gratifying experience that allowed me to grow academically. Courses, assignments, and classmates, all helped me widen my scope of scientific knowledge much more than I expected. This master’s program gave me an extremely valuable and solid grounding in the state of the art in neuroscience research as well as acquisition and analysis methods. The international experience and the student-centered teaching are also great assets of this program. I am thankful for all that.

• Graduated: 2017
• First job after NP: PhD researcher in the Doctoral School of Biomedical Sciences in KU Leuven, Belgium. My thesis is titled “Visuoperceptual profiling and game-based therapy in children with cerebral visual impairment”, under the supervision of Professor Els Ortibus and Professor Johan Wagemans.
• Currently: From January 2022, I will begin a postdoc in the same group, with the goal of testing the effectiveness of the therapy we developed in a large multi-centred randomized controlled trial.

Numerous words are synonymous when thinking of my experience in Maastricht University; international atmosphere, transforming, and intellectually stimulating. The programme was intimate and the PBL format provided an optimal learning environment. The courses were delivered by top professors, which placed us at the forefront of knowledge. The professors are well connected worldwide, which helped me during the job search. The combination of research and clinical courses provided me with an advantage when applying for clinically-oriented research positions. The PhD position in KU Leuven required numerous competencies, such as drive, commitment, organization, independence, efficient team work, all of which Maastricht University laid the basis of.

• Currently: PhD student at the Department of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium (“Gut-Brain Axis”)

I look back very fondly of my time at Maastricht University. The workload during the Research Master was often intense, but it prepared me very well for the research career that I knew I wanted to pursue. I specifically enjoyed the close interaction we had with the professors and course coordinators. I can still vividly remember that one of the professors suggested me to have a look at a specific topic that he thought might be interesting to me. Indeed, it was! So, I did my research internship on this topic at KU Leuven, and this opportunity helped me to secure my dream PhD position at the same lab!

• Graduated: 2020
• First job after RM: Research Assistant at Translational Molecular Imaging Lab at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden
• Currently: Preparing for a PhD in Medical Sciences, while conducting research at Karolinska on neuroinflammatory markers in Alzheimer’s disease.

I am eternally grateful for my time at Maastricht University. The bachelor and master changed my perspective on the importance of psychological wellbeing and brain health. It of course also spiked my fascination about neurobiology, which led me to pursue the current neuroscientist career. Until today I still tell my friends and family about the positive impact on my life that my studies provided me with.

The Research Master in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience was particularly exciting. The close contact with professors, research internship opportunities abroad, individually tailored electives, the diversity of courses ranging from neuropsychology to fundamental neuroscience in a lab… All those factors created a unique master’s programme of a very high quality. I feel proud and fulfilled while talking about this master’s programme. I wish sometimes that I could still revisit some of the courses or lectures due to their exciting topics. It would be a pleasure to visit Maastricht again and to recall all the amazing memories.

My name is Laura Stankevičiūtė, I am a PhD student in a memory clinic/research institute for cognitively unimpaired adults and patients at the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, at BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Centre, Spain.
But I would like to take several steps back and tell my journey in a nutshell of becoming who I am and what I am doing.

My path to neuroscience started with my BSc in Psychology at the University of Exeter, the UK, where I got interested in the cognitive processes and how the brain disorders change them and our behaviour. That lead me to pursue a Research Masters in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Maastricht with a specialisation in Neuropsychology.
During my 2nd year internship I was working at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in Switzerland, where I conducted my research internship. Specifically, at Leenaards Memory Centre for patients with memory problems and other cognitive ailments related with ageing and neurodegeneration such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, among others. My research was about the role of obstructive sleep apnoea in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment, particularly, its effect on brain morphology and cognitive performance. During my internship not only I was working with my research group, but also I was able to explore the clinical trials using Virtual reality technology for treatment purposes in various neurological disorders that affect cognitive performance, as well as observing and assisting with MRI, PET scans and neuropsychological assessments.
These experiences and passion for neuropsychology and neuroscience encouraged me to continue my path in science by pursuing a PhD. Currently, I am exploring the early diagnostic methods as well risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease. Mainly, I am using neuroimaging and CSF biomarkers to investigate the relationship between sleep quality in ageing and neurodegeneration as well as alternative biomarkers of the disease.
Working in BarcelonaBeta Brain Research Centre I am exposed to the state-of-art research and have an opportunity to participate in international multi-centre research projects such as AMYPAD consortium that is a collaborative research initiative aiming to improve the understanding, diagnosis and management of Alzheimer’s disease through the utilisation of ß-amyloid PET imaging. This and other projects allows to work with the renowned experts in the field from the prestigious institutions such as VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam, University of Koln and also the University of Maastricht.

• Graduated: 2016
• First job after NP: PhD student in the Cognitive Neuroscience department Maastricht University
• Current job: Post-doctoral researcher in the Cognitive Neuroscience department Maastricht University

I was very excited to get into the Neuropsychology Research Master programme in Maastricht because it finally gave me the opportunity to freely obsess over brains. I found them fascinating and got to spend 2 intense and exciting years of my life sharing this fascination with a group of likeminded people. The programme is tough but well worth it. The courses cover both, methodology and statistics as well as more clinical and applied aspects, bringing together neuroscience and psychology. Graduates can opt to go into clinical psychology, neuropsychology, research or combine research with clinical practice. I chose for research and have spent the last 5 years studying dyslexia and looking at brains, of course.

• Graduated: 2019
• First and current job: research assistant, Department of Neurology at University Medicine Greifswald

The Research Master Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience thoroughly prepared me for a career in academia. Additionally, the specialization in neuropsychology gave important clinical insights. I especially enjoyed the opportunity of an extensive internship at the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, where I could experience both academic and clinical work. In my current job as research assistant, I particularly profit from the courses for practical research skills such as academic writing, statistics and neuroscientific research methods. The presentations and discussions in small groups of enthusiastic students with expert teachers were a great experience that taught me a lot!

• Graduated: August 2020
• First and current job: PhD student at University Medical Center Groningen (started September 2020) on Alzheimer’s prevention and biomarkers validation (Departments of Neurology, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine)

“Before: In the selection of a Research Master program, the curriculum offered by Maastricht University was unique in the whole country. It would allow me to acquire both research and clinical skills.

During: The amount of work required by the programme was substantial, nonetheless, exploring such a vastness of topics helped me to understand those that best fitted me for a future job.  All lecturers were available to assist students personally. I only now realize the preciousness of sitting next to such renowned Professors in a small class of ten students. Through Maastricht University I was able to get accepted into top institutions to conduct my internship.

After: I am currently a PhD student validating neuroimaging sequences for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. My work consists of planning my PhD project, collect and analyse neuropsychological data, together with MRI and blood sampling data. Additionally, I could give lectures, supervise students, and attend conferences where I can present my work.”

• Graduated: 2017

I enjoyed my time with the program and I still consider it the best education I had. Learning from renowned researchers, presenting our work to the class, and receiving feedback from peers is phenomenal. The program provided me with strong clinical and research skills in neuropsychology to take on challenges during the internship in the second year and further on. The internship is the most exciting part of the program as I get to research with experts in my interest area. I interned at the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California San Francisco where I examined resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) and social function changes in neurodegeneration. The friends I have met at Maastricht are also one of my long-term friends whom I have kept in touch with to this day. Currently, I continue to work on rs-fc in my Ph.D. program.