Psychology (BSc)
Programme structure
The International Bachelor in Psychology (IBP) offers a broad academic development, with knowledge of several subdisciplines, such as clinical (neuro)psychology, developmental psychology, social and organisational psychology, economic and consumer psychology, cognitive psychology and health psychology.
In order to organize this diversity, you can choose different specialisation courses from your second year. The electives space can be filled with studying abroad, following a minor, or gaining more in-depth knowledge with several electives.
Study programme
Click on the programme to view it at full-screen.
You will find a complete overview of the subjects and their descriptions in the Prospectus.
A few subjects highlighted
Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to Psychology offers a representative and coherent overview of the discipline. ‘Representative’ because it constitutes a first acquaintance with the main currents and themes within psychology including neural, evolutionary, cognitive, social and developmental perspectives on human behavior; ‘coherent’ because it introduces students to the different psychological sub-disciplines emphasizing their common elements.
Introduction to Methodology and Statistics
Topics discussed in this course include: empirical reasoning; deriving a verifiable research idea; selecting data collection methods; determining reliability and validity; using descriptive statistics; standard normal distribution, relationships between variables; experimental control, experimental designs; describing and explaining variance.
Academic Skills Tutorial
In the ‘Academic Skills Tutorial’ course students embark on their academic education. They are taught 3 important skills: how to write an article, how to give a presentation, and how to set up an experiment. In practising these skills considerable attention is paid to argumentation, correct use of language, library use, correct referencing and compiling a bibliography. The ethical aspects of conducting research are also addressed in various contexts.
Interpersonal Professional Skills
This course centres on the psychologist in training as a professional. In order to function adequately as a professional in the field, you need to be aware of your own motivations, your skills (conversational and other) and competencies, your personal effectiveness, your own unique talents and pitfalls, your self-sabotaging patterns, your decision-making process and your reflective skills. It is important to be able to reflect on your own behaviour and the response it evokes in others. Another component of the learning process is learning to reflect on group dynamics, i.e. the context in which a given behaviour occurs.
Perspective on Career Planning
This course consists of three modules. In each module some career related questions are addressed.
1. Career perspectives and orientation on the field of work: In this module, we examine how careers develop. Do they take the form of a straight, continuous line (‘linear’) or do they tend to be more erratic and less predictable (‘non-linear’)? What does the answer to this question imply for my career planning and career orientation? What is the content of the field of work? What will my possibilities be? How can I orientate myself on these possibilities?
2. Self-knowledge: What am I capable of? What do I want? How can I best examine my ambitions and qualities?
3. Expectation of the field of work: What will be expected of me? What is my role in my future field of work? What is ethical behavior? How can I act in an ethical way?
In addition, this course has a mentoring function during the whole academic year.
Bachelor project Psychology
The Bachelor’s thesis is an independently completed scientific paper representing a study load of 15 ECTS. The thesis consists of a report on a study (or partial study) conducted in the context of the Bachelor’s project and involving data collection on the basis of interviews, questionnaires, laboratory experiments and other methods.
In his/her thesis, the student should demonstrate a broad command of the psychological knowledge and skills acquired throughout the bachelor’s programme. Although the research conducted in the context of the Bachelor’s projects is usually designed and carried out in groups, the thesis is written individually.
How will you fill your electives space?
Where you will work after your study, (partly) depends on the direction you choose. The first year of your study, the propedeuse, is determined: you will get an introduction to the field of study. From your second year, you will specialise. You will then have electives space which you can fill with electives, a minor or studying abroad.
You can choose from a series of electives offered by the Institute of Psychology or by other institutes. They allow you to broaden or deepen your study.
You also have the possibility to choose between more than 30 English spoken minors, covering topics from Brain & Cognition; European Union Studies to Advanced Life Science & Technology. In this way, you create your own unique study path that will fit your future perfectly. More information about minors can be found here.
More information about studying abroad can be found here