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In a world of increasingly rapid technological innovation, we need individuals who understand how people interact with technology. how can we ensure that smartphones, cars and robots are user-friendly and safe?

In this specialisation, you will start answering these questions and develop solutions. This track is chosen by students with an interest in both the human psyche and modern technology. 

At UT, we believe that technical systems must always serve people, not vice versa. You will not build technical systems, but you will develop guidelines for systems using theories from cognitive psychology. So, you might analyze how insight into human cognitive limitations help optimising factories, commercial websites, and transport vehicles. This track will give you vital insight into technology and its integration into society, making you a valuable asset for any forward-thinking company.

Questions of conflict, risk, and safety are everywhere in the modern world. why do people display criminal behaviour, like cybercrime? Why do civilians fail to accurately estimate the risk of flooding, fire, or disease? How can we effectively resolve workplace conflicts?

This specialisation focuses on threats to citizens’ physical, psychological, and social safety. Combining theoretical knowledge with practical application, with an emphasis on new technologies, the programme is organised around three key themes: conflict and crisis management, risk perception and communication, and explaining and dealing with risky, antisocial, and criminal behaviour. You will develop a solid foundation in social psychology, while also embracing clinical, cognitive, and organisational psychologies. You will also learn how to design hands-on, contemporary interventions and advise agencies on assessing risks within their companies. All in all, this specialisation will teach you all you need to know about managing conflict, risk, and safety in the 21st-century. 

New technologies will inevitably change the ways in which we approach healthcare. Can we promote healthier lifestyles through social media or smart apps?  

By studying how our minds, our health, and technology all interact, you will learn to answer these questions. In this dynamic and fast-moving field of study, you will use psychological principles, integrate them with the perspective of stakeholders develop interventions or policy, or conduct research that really matters. UT is at the cutting edge of technological innovations in the health sector, and in the health psychology & technology specialisation, you will study how next-generation, persuasive, technologies can be applied for improving (mental) health, adaptation to disease or health care. You will gain the skills you need to be a health psychology professional in today’s digitalised world of digital society. With the interdisciplinary abilities and the practical proficiency gained, you will build up a strong portfolio to present to employers when you graduate.

People learn throughout their lives: individually, with others, at school or university, at work, and beyond. With new technologies that change all aspects of life, we are constantly looking at how to improve the educational process, pursuing a streamlined 21st-century way of (lifelong) learning.

With this specialisation, you will be equipped to optimise and redesign instructional materials for various objectives, diverse audiences, and different contexts. This specialisation, offered by our Department of Instructional Technology (IST), is one-of-a-kind in the Netherlands: it is the only programme that connects psychological insights on learning with guidelines for the instructional design of lessons, courses, learning arrangements and environments, while giving technology a central place. This course will teach you to conduct problem analyses, design prototypes, and evaluate designs.  After graduating, you will have numerous options open to you as a 21st -century educational psychologist.

From studies on the effects of social media to rising rates of anxiety and depression, it is clear that the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing is a vital need in our modern world.

In this specialisation, you will develop the clinical skills necessary to understand and treat psychological disorders. With an emphasis on the practical, you will learn how to set a clinical diagnosis and write a treatment plan. You will gain proficiency in different conversation techniques, and in the use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in treating clients. In this course, we offer two unique emphases: Positive Clinical Psychology and technology. At the UT, we believe that positive mental health will make people more resilient and productive, lowering the risk of psychological disorders. We also understand the centrality of technology in mental healthcare, and the necessity of understanding its advantages and pitfalls, and potential applications in a clinical setting.  Overall, you will become a strong ‘scientist-practitioner’ – a people-oriented, tech-savvy psychologist, able to help many of those in need.