Deepen your understanding of human behaviour to design effective solutions to societal problems.
To understand human behaviour means to understand the world. So, in tackling today’s challenges – from health crises to criminality to rapid advances in digital technologies – an in-depth psychological understanding of human cognition and behaviour is indispensable.
What does it take for people to trust new technologies? How can you promote healthy lifestyles, and take care of mental health and well-being, in times of rising anxiety, depression and burnout rates? What causes (and prevents) criminal behaviour and what’s the best way to negotiate conflicts? And how do people process information and can you support their learning processes? These are just a few of the many, versatile questions you might deal with during the Master’s in Psychology at the University of Twente.
In this one-year, English-taught Master’s, you will gain insights into various fields of psychology in order to design effective interventions to influence human behaviour. You will be ready to tackle complex present-day and future problems, by combining theoretical knowledge with a hands-on approach. Moreover, the field of psychology is placed in the technological context of our 21st-century society. You will build your expertise within one of the five specialisations.
Start date
You can start your studies in September or February. If a Pre-Master’s is required, you can start this in either September or February as well, and once completed you can continue with the Master’s programme.
Study psychology in the context of technological change
New technologies give rise to new questions about human behaviour. How does surveillance technology affect our perception of risk? How can apps help prevent obesity, or assist children with learning difficulties? And how do we understand human errors in the age of artificial intelligence? This Master’s places psychology in the contemporary context of technological change. Technology is strongly embedded in the programme in several ways: psychology can be used to improve (new) technologies, technology can be studied as a context that influences human behaviour, or technology can be understood as a means to measure behaviour or to create interventions. Combining your knowledge of human cognition and behaviour with technological insights will give you an advantage in today’s job market.
Choose a specialisation
As a student, you will develop your own expertise by choosing one of the five specialisations. Your choice determines which courses you will follow and the type of research you will engage in during your master’s thesis. You can choose one of the following five specialisations:
Conflict, Risk & Safety
Why do people commit crimes? How do civilians perceive and estimate risks of, for example, flooding, fire or a disease? What is the best way to deal with social conflicts and safety incidents? And how can technology contribute to this? The specialisation in Conflict, Risk & Safety teaches you all about threats to citizens’ physical, psychological, and social safety and will help you to develop interventions to counter these.
1 yearFull-timeEnglish
Educational Psychology
How can you ensure great education, knowing that not everyone learns in the same way? In the specialisation in Educational Psychology, you will study learning from an in-depth psychological perspective. Whereas educational science programmes generally focus more on learning environments as a whole, this specialisation zooms in on the individual as a learner. The key is to understand the (mental) learning processes and (differences in) individual learning needs to make education more adaptive.
1 yearFull-timeEnglish
Health Psychology & Technology
How can you promote healthier lifestyles on the one hand and support people coping with diseases on the other? And what role can technology play in this? That is the exact focus of the specialisation in Health Psychology & Technology. You will study the relationship between health, mind and behaviour and explore opportunities provided by technological innovations.
1 yearFull-timeEnglish
Human Factors & Engineering Psychology
New technologies or products can be perfectly engineered, but if people fail to interact with them, then what’s the use? This is exactly where the specialisation in Human Factors & Engineering Psychology comes in. You will gain an understanding of human cognition and behaviour, in order to design, improve and adapt products, processes and systems to complement human behaviour and capabilities.
1 yearFull-timeEnglish
Positive Clinical Psychology & Technology
Are you interested in becoming a licensed psychologist in mental healthcare? The specialisation in Positive Clinical Psychology & Technology will teach you how to promote and protect mental health and well-being in today’s digitalised society. It covers the traditional field of clinical psychology to understand and treat mental disorders and adds the angle of positive psychology as well as the role of technology. How does today’s digital society impact mental health, but also: what role can new technologies play in the diagnosis, treatment, and research of mental health and well-being?
1 yearFull-timeEnglish
Please note: As of the academic year 2022-2023, the specialisation in Positive Clinical Psychology & Technology will use a selection procedure.
Career perspectives
Graduating the Master’s in Psychology at the University of Twente gives you great job opportunities in many different fields. Students usually find jobs shortly after graduation, most of them within three months!
Job experience of a graduate
To give you an idea of your future job, student Martyna Dremo visited alumnus Randy Bloeme. Randy is Environmental Psychologist at Inbo Urban Strategy. He followed the specialisation in Conflict, Risk & Safety.
What your future job looks like, highly depends on the specialisation you will choose. One specialisation might equip you to become a psychologist in mental healthcare, whereas another specialisation prepares you for a role as an adviser, policy maker or researcher. You can fulfil such positions in all kinds of other sectors, including the government, public health and healthcare or education, but also within the industry. We even have graduates working as teachers within higher education or as usability specialists at all kinds of (high tech) companies. Your career opportunities are very broad!
Programme overview
Related programmes
Below you find a list of educational programmes which are (closely) related to Psychology.
