The Master in Psychology has always been very research-focused, says programme director Sjir Uitdewilligen. “And although that is still a core component, the thesis and its accompanying research project used to be worth half of the credits of the programme.” This made the process demanding for both students and supervisors. But times have changed: student numbers have risen sharply, the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience now offers more research master’s programmes, and both employers and students have called for a greater emphasis on more practical skills. “We were often told, ‘You train excellent researchers, but what about other career paths?’”
Two options
In recent years, the thesis was reduced and elective courses were added. Now, a more significant change is coming: students will soon have two paths to choose from. Option one is carrying out an “extended research project”, similar to the current thesis. “Students will work closely with a researcher on their study, spending time in the lab or contributing to a paper”, explains Uitdewilligen.
Option two allows students to spend half their time on a “basic research project”, a shorter group project resulting in an individual report (the thesis). The other half is spent on “fieldwork”, tackling a real-world problem either individually or in groups. “This could be an internship, where a student identifies a problem within a company and suggests a solution from a psychological perspective. Or organisations might submit a question for a group of our students to tackle, like a municipality looking to encourage a particular behaviour change among its residents.”
Necessity
At a Faculty Council meeting last November, former Vice-Dean of Education Anke Sambeth noted that the change is partly out of necessity. Unlike the many two-year research master’s programmes offered by the faculty, the one-year Master in Psychology has no intake restriction. With around five hundred students enrolling each year, it is becoming harder to find thesis supervisors for everyone. “Offering the option of a shorter project is simply necessary”, said Sambeth.
Uitdewilligen confirms this, “but students also genuinely want to do more applied research. I expect the new option will be very popular. This also means we’ll need to find enough real-world projects for students to tackle, which will take some serious effort.”