The Psychology Bachelor’s programme focuses on three domains:
Brain & Cognition
How does the brain work and what role does it play in our behaviour? This domain focuses on the anatomy of the brain. You study language, learning, memory, perception, and emotions. You also focus on disorders such as strokes and dementia.
Development & Mental Health
What developmental changes do people go through over the course of their lives, from infancy to old age? In this domain you study the cognitive, motor, moral and social-emotional development of humans. You learn how our social context (family, school, work, and culture) influences our wellbeing, and you practice how to recognise and treat psychological disorders in children, adults and the elderly.
Behaviour & Environment
How do groups and cultures influence our thoughts, emotions and behaviours? This domain teaches you everything you need to know about interpersonal relationships, group behaviour, stereotypes and prosocial and antisocial behaviour. You study how people interact with each other and how they influence each other, be it, in families, at sports clubs or at work.
Academic and Professional Skills
Next to the theoretical part, you gain the following skills:
- Research skills: In the first year, you start with a simple question and build a research design for it. In the years that follow, the research methods used become increasingly complex. Statistics and data analysis techniques play an important role in acquiring research skills.
- Academic skills: This is a range of skills that includes the following: academic writing, presenting, and debating, conducting systematic literature searches and critical reading of literature, analysis of scientific paradigms and ethical dilemmas, and providing and processing feedback.
- Professional skills: This includes analysing everyday psychological problems and devising them and looking for relevant, effective solutions and interventions. You learn to practice the following skills: observation, interviewing, diagnostic testing and consulting with colleagues.
Pursue your interests
Most first year courses are compulsory. However, in the second year, you choose two Specialty Courses and the first of your Domain Electives. If you want, these electives can also form the basis of your Profile. In the third year, you are free to compose your own study programme. Overall, the course is comprised of a mixture of Specialisation Electives and Free Electives. These electives can be taken either within or outside the subject of Psychology and can also be taken at another Dutch university or at an international partner university of your choice.
Instruction modes
A short-term learning period that generally covers one (learning) topic.
A form of lecture in which information is presented verbally by one or more lecturers.
Collecting (new) information in order to increase knowledge.
A form of a lecture in which the student works under supervision on learning assignments, usually in a group setting.
A group of people with a particular goal or task that they collectively try to achieve in a results-oriented way.