Maastricht University, Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences

MSc in Human Movement Sciences

Are you passionate about physical activity, aging, health and sports? And would you like to know more about how exercise and nutrition influences health, performance and disease? Then Human Movement Sciences could just be the program for you. It covers all aspects of the relationship between physical activity and health – from patients trying to get better, to individuals just trying to stay fit, to top athletes aiming for the pinnacle of their sport. The program offers a great deal of variety, with courses covering themes as diverse as nutrition, muscle & brain function, energy production and metabolic profiling. Because of this variety of courses and an individual 4-5 month research-driven internship/placement, you can pursue your own interests within the program. Upon graduation, you will be well-prepared to work as a researcher, product developer, exercise scientist or trainer at, for example, a rehabilitation institute or a major sporting club.

Fast facts

• Biological view on relationship between human movement, health and performance
• Choice between two specializations: 'Health and Rehabilitation' and 'Sports and Nutrition'
• Pursue individual interest within course assignments
• 4-5 months research placement
• 1-year full-time or 2-year part-time, taught in English
• Study load 40 hours per week, full-time program: 12-14 hours class, 4-6 hours group work, 20-24 hours independent study; part-time program: half of full-time program (class planned on 1 day)
• Starts in September

Why this program?

On the one hand, exercise and physical activity are means to get or stay healthy. How can we combat health problems using knowledge of the biological and biophysical mechanisms involved in physical activity? On the other hand, physical activity, mobility and performance can also be an aim in itself. How can we help older people to remain mobile and independent? And how can we train athletes to become Olympic champions? As a Human Movement Sciences student, you will learn to apply biological knowledge of cells, tissues, organs and entire organisms to address such questions.

Exercise and physical activity for health and performance
Human beings were designed for daily physical activity. But in the modern world our sedentary lifestyle has led to chronic diseases like obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Governments are increasingly recognizing the importance of physical activity as a public health issue. Understanding the biological basis of health benefits will aid in tackling these problems. This program covers all aspects of the relationship between physical activity, health and performance – from patients trying to get better, to individuals just trying to stay fit, to top athletes aiming for the pinnacle of their sport.

Tailor your degree to your ambitions
The program is versatile, providing a large offering of courses on themes as diverse as nutrition and exercise, muscle and brain function, motion analysis of movement disorders and metabolic profiling. Within the set courses, you will also have plenty of opportunity to concentrate on specific areas of interest.

So whether you would like to become a sports counselor, work as an exercise scientist or even plan to start your own company in exercise promotions after you graduate, the program ensures that you can obtain all the academic knowledge and skills you need to get your career off to a great start.

Key topics of the program
The key topics/themes of the program are:

• healthy living
• biomechanics in health and disease
• exercise physiology in aging and sports
• neuroscience methods in rehabilitation
• sports nutrition
• academic reading, writing and presenting
• designing and performing academic research

Master’s thesis
The second part of the program is devoted to your internship and master’s thesis. During this period, you'll get to do research yourself. In the past, students have written theses on topics as diverse as:

• Assessing aerobic capacity in children with asthma
• Testing serious gaming applications for fall prevention
• 3D motion analysis of athletic performance
• Metabolic profiling in patients with obesity and diabetes
• Testing efficacy of sports nutrition supplements for recovery and performance
• Determining return to sports following rehabilitation after ACL rupture

Human Movement Research at Maastricht University
Research focuses on understanding the biological principles behind human movement and applying this knowledge to develop effective intervention strategies to maintain health in an ageing population. This involves biomechanics, exercise physiology, and neuroscience of human movement.

Spend time abroad
The Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences gives you the opportunity to study abroad in a work placement program. Imagine skiing down a slope in Switzerland, wandering the streets of Cape Town or taking a weekend hike through the Scottish Highlands, all while studying at a top university. The faculty has approximately 130 partner institutions in more than 40 different countries all over the world. Students return having had the experience of a lifetime: traveling the world, meeting new friends, learning about different cultures, and working to complete their studies.

Small groups = big advantages
As with many Maastricht University programs, the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences programs are taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In small tutorial groups of 10 to 12 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.

Our differences are our greatest strength
Maastricht University is focused the development of its International Classroom, a place where our differences become our strengths. From day 1, 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 program’s goal of teaching students not only facts and concepts but also international accessibility and understanding. Roughly 14% of the students in this master’s program come from outside the Netherlands. Such diversity creates an international atmosphere that is strengthened by the international orientation of the program.