Testimonials

Ilse van de Groep - student Social and Health Psychology (Research)

"I have always been interested in how people think, behave, feel, and interact with each other. What I like about the Social and Health Psychology (Research) programme is the possibility to examine these processes from multiple perspectives, which allows me to gain an advanced understanding of these issues. Another aspect of this Master's programme is to work through the very interesting material together with a group of motivated students, supported by lecturers that are experts in their respective fields.

My favourite courses in the first year were Behavioural regulation II: Thought & Cognition, Multivariate statistics in practice and Integrative practicum I and II, because I enjoyed the combination of theorising, methodologies and statistics, programming, writing and presenting.

Social and Health Psychology (Research) gives me the opportunity to actively participate in ongoing research and I will get actual experience with all steps involved in doing research. My own research training at the Social and Organisational Psychology department of Utrecht University focused on the ability to experience ourselves as the cause of our actions. A sense of agency is essential for our sense of self and social interactions, but also for feelings of responsibility and guilt.

I decided to write my thesis on the same subject and after finishing the Master’s programme, I would like to continue studying this phenomenon in a PhD project. I believe that the acquired knowledge and skills prepared me for an academic career, but are also beneficial for various jobs outside the academic world."