Maastricht University, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience

Master Psychology: Health and Social Psychology

Maastricht, Netherlands

DURATION

1 Years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Request application deadline *

EARLIEST START DATE

Sep 2025

TUITION FEES

EUR 32,000 / per year **

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

* for non EU/EER and 1 June for EU/EER students

** institutional fees top; low - EUR 13,000 per year; high - EUR 25,000 per year | statutory fees: EUR 2.601 per year

Key Summary

About: The Master in Psychology: Health and Social Psychology focuses on the interplay between psychological processes and health-related behaviors. The program equips students with skills to analyze social influences on health and apply psychological principles to improve well-being.

Career Outcomes: Graduates can pursue careers in various settings, including healthcare, community organizations, and policy-making. Potential roles may include health psychologist, social researcher, and consultant in health initiatives.

Introduction

In the specialisation in Health and Social Psychology, you'll study behavior and behavioral change using methods from clinical and social psychology. The main focus is on understanding how people’s personalities, cognitions, and social environment influence their health and social functioning.

Curriculum

Programme outline

During the first semester, you will take several courses that will familiarise you with health and social psychology, such as Bad habits; Manipulation; Self-control regulation, and Planning behavior-change programmes. You'll also take a number of professional skills training. During the second semester, you will complete a research internship and write your thesis.

Research internship & thesis

The research internship gives you the opportunity to participate in the ongoing research of the faculty’s academic staff or to work with external academic or clinical 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 internship from a wide variety of topics, for example: eating disorders; sexual health; obesity; social norms; self-control; addictive behaviors; stigmatization and discrimination; learning theories; intervention development and planned behavior change.

Clinical internship (addition to standard programme)

You also have the option to do a clinical internship in addition to the normal programme, which will give you the clinical experience needed to meet the requirements for a professional clinical training programme in the Netherlands (obtainment of BAPD).

Problem-Based Learning

This programme is taught using Problem-Based Learning (PBL). In small tutorial groups of 10 to 12 students, you'll 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 day one 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 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. Roughly 80% of the students in this master’s programme come from outside the Netherlands. Such diversity creates an international atmosphere that is strengthened by the international orientation of the programme.