Study overview Psychology

Source: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/bachelor/programmes/psychology/study-programme/ Parent: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/bachelor/programmes/psychology/

Our Bachelor’s in Psychology takes three years. Once you graduate, you may call yourself Bachelor of Science.

Modules Psychology

During this three-year Bachelor's in Psychology, you will follow twelve modules: four modules per year. Each module covers a theme and brings together all the main aspects of your studies: theory and practice, research and solution design, self-study and teamwork. Are you going for the Dutch track of this study programme? Then part of your study will be in Dutch, for example the tutorials and projects. Lectures will mostly be taught in English.

Overview modules

Year 1EC
Module 1 | Psychology & Intervention design15

In the first module, you will learn all about what psychology is and how you can solve (societal) problems systematically using behavioural change. You will dig into substantive topics, such as perception, learning, memory, thinking and emotions. You will also learn what steps to take when setting up a research project. For your team project you can choose between two options: a project centring on improving safe behaviour on the Internet or one on stimulating environment-friendly behaviour among a target group of your choice. In doing so, you will also develop your project management and academic writing skills. Reflecting on your own work, with a view to improving your academic and team performance, is also part of the process. - Module 2 | Social behaviour15

The focus in the second module is on social behaviour. Social behaviour deals with the effects of social environment on individual behaviour, and with how social behaviour develops in children/young people. You will get familiar with key social psychology theories regarding social perception (the way people perceive themselves, others and groups); social influences (conformity, group processes, attitudes and influencing behaviour); and social relationships (altruism, aggression and attraction between people). Using group theories, you will describe and analyse how your team functions and what your own role is in the team. You will also learn how to statistically describe and analyse your research data, and how to search for and process academic literature. Your team project consists of designing an intervention aimed at reducing aggressive behaviour in sports, at home or at work. - Module 3 | Cognition & Development15

The third module deals with cognition and development. You will first learn how the nervous system works and what the biological basis of behaviour is. You will study cognitive functions, such as memory, language, attention, and the motor system, and how each one develops. In this period, you will also continue studying statistical techniques in psychology. The project in module 3 is more technological: you get to redesign a device in order to make it more user-friendly, for example, a printer, a coffee machine or the UT’s scheduling software. For this, you draw on the knowledge you have acquired about human cognitive skills. - Module 4 | The individual15

The central theme in the last module of your first year is the individual. This module is all about studying people holistically, or as a whole. This can involve looking at differences between people, character traits and life stories. You will explore topics from personality psychology, clinical psychology and test theory. You will also get familiar with the basics of interviewing people, various ways of collecting and analysing data, and developing and conducting psychological tests. In your project, you will develop a test that measures personality traits. - Year 2EC
Module 5 | Elective module15

For module 5 you can choose one of the three modules offered:

Health Psychology & Applied Technology\ Health and wellbeing are crucial to everyone. How do people deal with acute and chronic conditions? And how can you motivate people to adopt a healthy lifestyle? This module offers an introduction to the theory and practice of health psychology. The focus is on the innovative use of applied technology in various healthcare environments. For example, you will learn how to apply technology to motivate and support people in realising their goals. In the team project you will design and evaluate an online intervention for patients dealing with a chronic somatic disease.

Psychology in Learning & Instruction\ You will investigate what psychology means for education. You will do this by taking on the roles of student, lecturer, researcher and designer, alternately, in theoretical and practical tasks. This will give you vital insight into ways in which people learn, and help you understand how instruction can improve the learning process. You will also learn to take account of differences between people (age, cognitive development and motivation) and common learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. As a part of this module, you will prepare a brief instruction for your fellow students and you will research the learning activities and learning results of lessons set up by your fellow students. You will then use these theoretical and practical experiences in the project, which consists of designing an interactive learning environment and/or reading materials.

Psychology of Safety\ Protecting the general public and infrastructure against disasters, terrorism, war and crime is vital in almost any society. This module focuses on understanding the psychological and socio-psychological dynamics of safety issues – mainly in the fields of risk, conflict and abnormal behaviour. The goal is that you learn to understand the dynamics of safety issues in order to develop effective interventions. This module will give you new insight into psychological processes, equipping you to influence individual responses to risks and safety issues. You will familiarise yourself with the role of underlying group processes and mass behaviour in the safety domain and with interventions aimed at increasing safety in society. The team project is about diagnosing and analysing both physical and social safety aspects and coming up with effective interventions. - Module 6 | Elective module15

For module 6 you can choose one of the two modules offered:

Mental health (clinical psychology)\ Psychology traditionally looks at psychological health from the perspective of the medical model and its focus on symptoms and disorders. In this module, we complement this outlook with two other approaches. The first is a ‘Positive Psychology’ approach that looks at psychological health from the perspective of people’s strengths. Strengths are positive features, such as wellbeing, talents and resilience. The second is a person-centred approach that focuses on the experience of people themselves. In this module, you will cover the diagnostic process and carry out a narrative interview. Together with your project group, you will integrate the knowledge and skills that you have gained individually. In the team project you will deal with a patient on the basis of a case study. Together with your team, you will provide a substantiated recommendation on how to use the approaches discussed in this module (complaint and strength, disorder and experience).

Human factors & Engineering Psychology\ Psychologists are the people who know the human mind best. That is why their help is urgently needed in designing socio-technical systems that are safe, efficient and user-friendly for humans. This module will prepare you for a career as a Human Factors specialist. First, you will get familiar with the overall ideas and principles of Human Factors and Engineering Psychology, such as cognitive engineering, human-computer interaction, intelligent systems and web design. Then you will explore the four domains in which Human Factors play a crucial role: cognitive engineering, cognitive workload, vigilance and card sorting. You will get to know basic design principles, including, for example, the role of user requirements and the project phases in system development. This module also contains a programming class, in which you will learn to programme your own interactive prototypes and psychological experiments. - Module 7 | Research methods & Research project15

In this module, you will learn how to properly set up, carry out and report on academic psychological research. Think, for example, about research on how you can improve people’s psychological health with the help of mobile interventions. In this module’s research project, you will build on the foundation you laid during the first year in (basic) research methods and techniques. This will help you prepare for your graduation project (Bachelor’s thesis) in the third year. - Module 8 | Psychological & Professional skills15

In the Psychological & Professional Skills module, communication skills are central. For example, you will learn how to conduct conversations as a psychologist, how to interview and how to present. During this module you will also begin to explore the job market, looking at job opportunities for psychologists and developing your own interests. Both modules 7 and 8 are spread throughout the entire second semester. - Year 3EC
Modules 9&10 | Electives15

For the electives you have several options:

You can use this half-year to broaden your degree and/or to deepen it with Psychology subjects that appeal to you.

You can expand your knowledge in a completely different field, such as Business Administration, Communication or the Physics of Sports;

You can take classes abroad. - Module 11 | History, ethics & philosophy of psychology15

In this module, you will focus on reflective topics, such as the history of psychology and philosophy of science and psychology. You will also explore the ethics of practising psychology, and the problems psychologists face in their profession. - Module 12 | Bachelor's assignment15

You will complete the Bachelor’s programme with a Bachelor’s thesis in one of the Psychology application domains in which the University of Twente operates. In your graduation project, you will tackle a problem scientifically. You will conduct literature research, develop a plan for your own research, collect and analyse data yourself and report on your study in the form of an article. You could research, for example, Positive Psychology interventions for addictions. Or the psychological problems faced by the partners of cancer patients. Another option is to study how people come to lie or mislead others, or to design a simulation-based training for medical procedures. You will carry out your Bachelor’s project independently under the guidance of a UT supervisor.

Both modules 11 and 12 are spread throughout the entire second semester.

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First time at university

When you are a first-year student, you experience many new things. Here we start explaining at least a few of them.

You complete modules

During your three-year bachelor's programme, you will take 12 modules (4 modules per year). Each module, you will address a theme that is hot in society, business or industry. This theme will bring together all the components of your study: theory and practice, research, designing solutions, self-study and teamwork.

A fixed part of every module is the team project, in which you and your teammates apply the knowledge you have acquired to a current challenge and design a workable solution. This learning method is part of the Twente Education Model (TOM): an innovative approach to studying that you will only find at the University of Twente.

Study points - how do they work?

Student workload at Dutch universities is expressed in EC, also named ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), which is widely used throughout the European Union. In the Netherlands, each credit represents 28 hours of work. You need to acquire 60 credits each year.

Your programme assigns fixed numbers of hours to each assignment, project report or exam. In the first year, you need to get at least 45 out of 60 points to be able to continue to the second year.

Did you get 45 EC or more? Then you can enter the second year

Our goal is to get you to the right place as quickly as possible, which is why we apply the principle of a binding recommendation. All first-year students receive this at the end of the year. You will receive positive advice if you have achieved 45 or more of the 60 EC in the first year. Additionally, specific requirements can apply to certain modules/courses. Negative advice is binding and means that you have to quit the programme. Do personal circumstances such as illness or problems interfere with your study performance? Student Affairs Coaching & Counselling (SACC) will help you further.