Why Douwe chose Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience

Studying at Maastricht University (UM) is a personalised, life enriching experience that prepares you for the future, both professionally and personally. Our bachelor’s and master’s programmes are designed for students who have an intrinsic curiosity in human behaviour and health. Students ‘who want to go the extra mile’ on a professional and/or personal level. What’s your extra mile?

Douwe, 22, is from the Netherlands and came to Maastricht for the master’s programme in Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience. “I have a Liberal Arts & Sciences bachelor’s degree from University College Roosevelt in Middelburg, with a very broad profile. I’m one of the few students in my current group with a non-medical background.”

Douwe’s extra mile in health: “Answer philosophical questions with the knowledge from biological psychology to better understand who we are as humans.”

 “In this programme you focus on the biological processes of the brain, how the brain functions. How does the brain process the information it receives through the ability to hear and see, for example. During my bachelor’s I did an introductory course in cognitive science and was immediately intrigued. I’m interested in control mechanisms in our brain, the things we do consciously and subconsciously, even when you know they are bad for you. What signals trigger behaviour?

I chose this programme at Maastricht University, because it is small-scale and because of the Problem-Based Learning method. I prefer this interactive way of learning. I am also very glad I got accepted with my non-medical background.

My goal is to either conduct research into how our brain processes information, or develop programmes to improve people’s well-being. Even though everything is very well-organised in this country, depression is quite common, especially among young people. Feeling happy is a complex process which involves a lot of processes in your brain. I would like to develop effective campaigns to help people live a happier life, using my interdisciplinary background.”