Psychology & Technology

Degree structure

FIRST AND SECOND YEAR

The core of your study program is the Psychology & Technology bachelor’s degree. In the first year, the program is fixed and there are no electives. You fill out the elective space in the second year.

In the first quartile of the first year (approximately the first two months), you get an introduction to psychology (all of our students really enjoy this!) and we introduce you to the technical specializations (tracks). In this quartile, you make a choice of one of those technical tracks. You begin this specialization right away in quartile two. This consists of a sequence of courses that you mainly take at other departments (depending on the track).

In the first year, you take courses that give you a thorough introduction to all aspects of psychology and research methods. Depending on your choices, you will spend about 50% of the year on psychology courses and 50% on technology courses.

Basic courses and elective space

Depending on your technical track, you will follow basic technical courses that you need as an engineer. These include mathematics, natural sciences, data analytics and technical design. In addition, you will develop professional skills such as collaboration and organization.

Starting in the second year, you will take free electives. A quarter of the bachelor’s program consists of free electives that you choose together with your coach. Electives give you complete freedom to ‘color’ your studies based on your interests and ambitions. Do you want to specialize in one field or would you rather combine several? You can take electives at any department to broaden your knowledge or to deepen your knowledge in a particular direction.

Study load

In the first year, you will have approximately six to eight contact hours per course per week. This will take the form of lectures and tutorials. You will also spend about two days a week working on design and research-oriented assignments, which you will complete in groups. Homework consists of studying the material. After the first year, the number of hours at the university decreases and the number of self-study hours required increases.

Challenge-Based Learning

You will apply the knowledge you gain during your studies in Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) projects. Together with fellow students from various departments, you will work on a complex, challenging case in groups. For example, Psychology & Technology students contributed to a project about removing plaster casts for bone fractures. Currently, the cast is removed with a loud saw that can be very intimidating to children. Even though the saw is entirely safe, it instills fear and panic. Together with an orthopedic pediatrician at Maxima Medisch Centrum, the students researched a new way to safely remove plaster casts, which could be a different type of saw or a different tool altogether.

THIRD YEAR

Bachelor’s final project

The bachelor’s final project is the final track of the Psychology & Technology major. During this individual project, you will work on a technology-related problem. There is a link with the Robotics, ICT and Living specializations here. You formulate a research question and, with the knowledge gained from different disciplines, you collect and analyze data. Ultimately, you try to answer the research question.

The learning objectives of the bachelor’s final project are:

  • formulating a research question that is appropriate to the problem and to the relevant scientific literature.
  • conducting a literature review.
  • applying relevant scientific theories in order to solve a technology-related problem.
  • creating an adequate research design for empirical research.
  • applying the correct methodology.
  • collecting and analyzing data.
  • individually writing a scientific report.
  • reflecting and thinking systematically.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM STRUCTURE?

Please review our education guide for more detailed information on the program structure and the bachelor’s final project. Please note that the education guide is used as a source of information by current students. It contains detailed, practical information which is of interest throughout the program. For high school students, it is useful for additional information about the program and the various courses.

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