Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)

This Research Master’s programme will train you to become a researcher who can contribute to resolving the challenges society currently faces, both within and outside academia.

By following this programme, you will learn to combine research of high methodological quality with a profound knowledge of practice; you will become a qualified scientist who can autonomously, and as part of a team, conduct academic research that is relevant not only to current international academic debates, but also to the professional field of clinical practice, youth care, and education.

Thorough knowledge of practice (whether clinical or non-clinical) is of great value to academic researchers in Education and Child Studies. As a student, you will learn to take the perspective of the academic researcher as well as that of the pedagogical professional and will therefore be able to connect both perspectives. The programme offers you the possibility to specialise in Education and Child Studies research, and (in combination with specific bachelor courses) graduate with a Dutch professional qualification (NVO-registratie) that allows for further advancement in that field.

Transferable skills

The scientific training the programme provides goes beyond specific skills to design and conduct research projects. You will also be trained to take part in the international scientific debate. This includes ethics training, presenting your own research (in writing as well as orally), critically evaluating research papers, and writing grant proposals. This all takes place in the current scientific context; this means, for instance, that we will introduce recent developments, such as pre-registration policies and the open-science perspective.

Supervision

During the Research Master’s programme, you will receive intensive individual supervision, in accordance with the master-apprentice model. You will learn hands-on from more experienced researchers. At the beginning of the programme, you will be allocated a mentor: a senior researcher in the institute of Education and Child Studies. This mentor specialises in a field of your interest and will guide you through your entire learning trajectory and support your personal and professional development. During the programme you will work with other experienced researchers as well, for instance in your Master’s project. Working closely with these researchers gives you the opportunity to both observe how the work is done and to ‘learn by doing’. In addition, you can always turn to the Research Master’s study advisor: Jacquy Bouwer.

Students

The research master is a small-scale programme, with around fifteen students each year. This guarantees intensive interaction between students and staff. Some of the students have an international background. Therefore, the language of instruction and examination is English.

Facilities

The research master’s students have a room of their own: the Rommert Casimir Studio. This room is used intensively, not only for working individually on assignments, but also for working together with other students and engaging in discussions.
Next to the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences the LUBEC is situated, where assessment and treatment of several child and family problems take place in an academic context. Research master’s students who have a clinical interest may apply for internship positions at the LUBEC; note that, to be able to interact with Dutch clients, you need to be proficient in Dutch.