That is when the first students who are starting the renewed bachelor’s of Psychology in September will graduate. What is new, is that third-year students can choose from three areas of specialisations: ‘Brain, Behaviour and Cognition’, ‘Clinical Psychology’ and ‘Transdisciplinary Psychology’. Those who take the clinical route, have immediate access to the master’s of Mental Health.
It used to be that these students first had to complete the master’s of Psychology before being admitted. Because of this accelerated route, FPN expects that the number of registrations for the master’s programme will rise. With a limit of 120 students, FPN thinks that the workload for staff members will remain acceptable and there will be sufficient work placement places available.
Pre-master’s programme
The plan also has consequences for the pre-master’s programme of Mental Health. The introduction of a numerus fixus means that a selection will have to take place. The law states that students doing the pre-master’s can no longer be automatically admitted to the master’s programme. The pre-master’s will therefore be discontinued, students from universities of applied sciences who want to continue their studies at university level, can from then on sign up for the pre-master’s of Psychology. The plan will be put before the Executive Board mid-April.
History
The Maastricht bachelor’s programme of Psychology was initially intended for students who were not planning a future as a therapist. The “more clinical content of the programme should at all cost be avoided,” Observant recorded in 1992, in the words of Louis Boon, who was one of the initiators of the programme. This was so as not to poach on the territory of other (existing) Psychology programmes.
Is introducing a clinical route in the third year of the bachelor’s programme breaking with the past? It isn’t. Vice dean of education Petra Hurks points out that this has already been possible for many years to do a national post-master’s programme to become a health care psychologist after one of the more clinically orientated Maastricht master’s.
The setup of the Maastricht bachelor’s programme is still a broad one, the option to choose a field of specialisation is introduced to meet the needs of students who want to be able to choose more of the subjects that they can take.