Your future

Once you have finished the Psychology master's specialization Conflict, Risk and Safety (PCRS), there is a wide variety of jobs you can pursue. In the graph and the text below, you will find different domains in which it is possible for our students to find a job. To make it more insightful, you can find testimonials of our alumni and specific organizations that are relevant for possible employment. When you click on the logo of the different organizations, you will be guided to their websites, where you can find more information. Moreover, we have collected some experiences of our (former) students (student experiences) to provide you with some more insight on what the master will be like. For additional questions about the PCRS master track, you can contact dr. Steven Watson (s.j.watson@utwente.nl). If you want to be added to our private alumni group on Linkedin, please contact dr. Sven Zebel (s.zebel@utwente.nl).

The different courses of the master track will prepare you for different working fields, as you can read below. In addition to our courses, you are also able to choose from different optional modules and that will benefit your preparation for employment even more. The list of our mandatory and available elective courses can be found here: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/psychology/specialisations/conflict-risk-safety/courses-research/.

Besides the taught courses, your master thesis allows you to perform research while specializing in a topic that matches your interests and future ambitions. Your internship is another great opportunity to explore the working field and to experience either within an external organisation our research group. Lastly, students can apply for the Great Negotiators honours programme, which aims to empower students by establishing negotiation skills in their repertoire to tackle the challenges of today’s world.

Forensic and social work

When you finish the PCRS master, you will have learned about skills and knowledge that are required for working in the forensic and social domain. For example, during the master you will learn about a variety of topics related to (understanding) crime. More specifically, the course Psychology of Crime will provide you with knowledge on social psychological theories regarding crime-related aspects, from determinants of crime to interventions and from investigation to treatment. Moreover, the course Group Dynamics and Interventions will equip you with knowledge of and insight into group processes with the aim to apply this knowledge to e.g. leading or participating in teamwork.

Within the field of forensic and social work, there are countless organizations that are involved with both individuals and groups. For instance, it is possible to work directly with people who are in need of specific care, such as people who struggle with substance abuse. Although you gain knowledge about different target groups during the master, for some specific jobs additional education is necessary. Read here about how Rubian experienced the master and how it prepared her for working within addiction in healthcare. Other job possibilities involve applying your knowledge at a system rather than individual level, for instance managing and advising about refugees in European countries.

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor reclassering      Afbeeldingsresultaat voor tactus verslavingszorg

Safety domain (public and private)

During the PCRS master you learn how to translate theory to practice. Within Group Dynamics and Interventions, for example, you learn how to transfer and implement theoretical knowledge to create a training session for fellow students. The course Psychology of Sustainability focuses on how technology and policies may affect citizens’ sustainable behaviours. Furthermore, you develop skills to advise societal stakeholders to develop useful and impactful interventions.

These skills are very relevant for a career in the safety domain. This working field is very diverse and is represented in both the public and private sector. Various governmental institutions are focused on public safety and are working on advice and policies on a daily basis. You can read about how Leonie experienced the master and her work as an advisor on risk awareness and behavioral change for the Safety Region Noord- en Oost-Gelderland (in the Netherlands). Learn more about working at a municipality, where Jurriaan is currently employed as a policy advisor on safety.

Furthermore, there are numerous companies that are involved with ensuring safety for various sectors. These jobs can require a broad set of skills, such as writing an advisory report or training people in the field. For example, Jana became a social psychologist at a German consultancy for event safety after finishing the PCRS master. Fabian is working as a global safety coordinator at the international company All4Labels.

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor ministerie van veiligheid en justitie   Afbeeldingsresultaat voor gemeente enschede    Afbeeldingsresultaat voor veiligheidsregio twente  

(Applied) science (in academia or elsewhere)

During the courses Psychology and Crime and Psychology of Sustainability, you will gather in-depth knowledge and insight in contemporary (psychological) theories in the conflict, risk and safety field. During the former, you can learn about crime-related aspects such as police interviews, while during the latter you will gain more knowledge about inappropriate leadership in a risk communication context. In addition, this variety will ensure you with a broad orientation of the field. You will learn more about performing and translating research for professional contexts in the course Advanced Research Methods. Not only will you acquire crucial skills for doing research in the conflict, risk and safety field, you will also learn what not to do and how to be critical towards studies in the field of Psychology.

Within the educational system there is a wide variety of jobs you can pursue after the PCRS master. You could think of becoming a tutor, teacher, junior researcher or a PhD student. To give you an example of a job as a teacher, read about the teaching role Janneke has in the Group Dynamics course. After finishing her PCRS master, Jiska started her PhD on how and why participation in victim-offender mediation (VOM) can lead to a reduced risk of reoffending and is now an assistant professor in the PCRS section. Myrthe decided to combine both research and teaching in her work at Saxion.


  Afbeeldingsresultaat voor windesheim 

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor university of twente  

Next to becoming a researcher at an educational institution, there is the possibility to become a researcher/data scientist in another field. The main difference is its' applied focus, so the initial goal for performing your studies is, for example, to advise others, to create an intervention or to describe a phenomenon. These jobs require skills you have acquired during your PCRS master, like: reviewing the available literature, preparing a research design, gathering data, analyzing data, writing a report about the results and/or presenting the results. Read about Benjamin and his position as data scientist at Vodafone Ireland. Furthermore, you can find more information on consulting in this field, as Roselle chose a research and consultant position at Dialogic.

In PCRS domain:

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor instituut fysieke veiligheid   Afbeeldingsresultaat voor sdr academy

   

In other domains:

 Afbeeldingsresultaat voor dsp groep  Gerelateerde afbeelding 

Human resources

Within the Groups Dynamic course you learn how to train people, boost motivation, and improve group performance. Moreover, you acquire knowledge about the factors that influence people’s motivation to contribute to group goals.

You can imagine that these skills prepare you for positions in the field of Human Resources. In this field, your work is related to all things concerning the employees of a certain organization. The specific employment can vary from recruiting to training and organization development.

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor job coach connect   Afbeeldingsresultaat voor Siebert & Wassink Personeelsadvies    EQIB | The Human Factor 

More potential working domains

Communication

In the Psychology of Sustainability course, you will learn about different theories to understand how policies may effect citizens’ behavior regarding sustainability (positively or negatively). For example, you will focus on governmental communication towards citizens. In the Groups Dynamics and interventions course, you will learn how to adopt different learning styles in training sessions, enabling people to actively use insights from theoretical concepts.

Furthermore, during the master you are very much involved with scientific literature. For instance, the Psychology of Sustainability course requires you to familiarize yourself with research articles in various subdisciplines that are part of or related to psychology. Furthermore, during the Advanced Research Methods course, you learn about what it entails to write and interpret numerous studies within psychology. More specifically, you will be able to judge the quality of studies, perform small experiments with advanced research methods (e.g., eye-tracking) and you will learn how to communicate with non-scientists.

In this way, the master can equip you with a skill set that can be useful in the field of communication. For both communication on a broader level, as well as communication on an individual level you can find interesting positions within the field of psychology.

Even though you learn everything about research (articles), the master does not directly prepare you for becoming a (science) journalist, as more popular forms of writing is usually required for these positions. However, with some additional training in writing, several alumni's have obtained positions in this area. Read about how the master did prepare Marieke for her position as freelance (science) journalist.

SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT

In the master, different aspects of physical and technological safety are discussed. The elective course Behavior & Technology zooms in on explaining and changing behavior using technology, on different levels. It will provide you with useful insights on interdisciplinary collaboration and tackling relevant societal issues. Furthermore, the course Psychology of Sustainability focuses on contributing to a sustainable society to gain the insights needed that are crucial in the development of impactful technological, social, or policy interventions.

As a result, a career in spatial development is a possibility as well. Within this field the focus is on allocating land and water resources for sustainable economic and social development. Moreover, planning of land use can vary from urban and regional planning to national and international levels, where safety is an important factor for all. Especially the social and human-centered knowledge the master provided you with, will be of value in this domain. Have a look at how Randy experienced the master and the work he is currently doing as an environmental psychologist at INBO.

     

Career week 

"Depending on where you are in your studies, you could be thinking in several ways about what to do after you graduate. Perhaps you are still trying to figure out which direction to go, or you are sure of what you want to do but would like to feel more prepared in your search for the right job. Wherever you stand in this orientation: this week aims to help you gain some more insight in what is out there for graduated psychologists and to give some more practical insights in finding your way on the job market." This career week is organized every year. Fore more information, go to the website of Dimensie.

Testimonials

Interested in more testimonials? Have a look at the overview of all the testimonials our alumni have written.