Why this programme

Throughout this master, experienced professors will teach you all about psychology at work, based on their own scientific research. You will be taught about three important topics in organisational psychology: attitudes and emotions in organisations, groups at work, and personnel selection. These theoretical courses will be accompanied by practical courses, during which you can apply all of your newly gained knowledge. For example, you will not only learn how you can select the best candidate for a job based on scientific resources, you will also get an opportunity to create and administer your own selection procedure. Additionally, you will be taught one course which goes into statistics, to prepare you for your thesis. You will write your thesis under the supervision of one of the professors and can decide on a topic yourself. During this time, you will get a lot of autonomy in how you would like to shape your term. For instance, you can decide to do an internship on the side or to go more in depth with regard to research methods.

For me, this master was truly valuable because you will get a lot of autonomy with respect to how you shape your study. In addition, you will get outstanding support from teachers and will work in small groups. Therefore, you will always get the personal assistance you need and always know what to expect. By diving into the course material during the tutorial groups, which are part of problem-based learning, you will be able to share ideas with fellow students and prepare for the exams together. What I find especially exceptional about this organisational psychology master is that it does not only go into what can go wrong in companies, but mainly focusses on what you can do as an organisational psychologist to create a good working environment. During this master, you will surely gain all the knowledge you will need to kick-off your career in organisational psychology. Therefore, I would definitely recommend the Positive Organisational Psychology master to everyone!

Before I started this master, I followed the bachelor's degree in Sociology and pre-master in Psychology at the University of Groningen. I eventually opted for Work & Organisational Psychology, because this specialisation appealed to me the most. In addition, it was nice that the emphasis was on positive organisational psychology with topics such as engagement and flow.

In my opinion, Erasmus University Rotterdam is the only university in the Netherlands where the focus in each block is on one specific organisational psychology theme, rather than on several themes at the same time. In addition, I think it's a plus that the education is organised on a small scale and that, in addition to the lectures, you get to work actively with the subject matter. For example, you receive problem-based education (PBL), which means that you discuss the material in a small group during the lectures. This allows you to go deeper into the subject matter and ask questions if you do not understand something or if you want clarification. In addition, you also get to work with the material in a practical way. For example, you carry out research, learn how to act as a mediator and practice developing and carrying out a selection procedure. Another plus is the possibility of combining a practical internship with the master thesis. This is interesting and also useful to find out what kind of profession you would like to practice. Furthermore, Erasmus University Rotterdam has a good reputation both nationally and internationally and has inspiring professors of whom you can learn a lot. During the master you will be supervised by lecturers with a very thorough knowledge of their field. In addition, there is plenty of room for individual contact and guidance, including during the writing of your thesis.

During the master you will also have a lot of contact with fellow students. During the lectures, you will help each other to understand the subject matter better by, among other things, answering each other's questions and discussing the subject matter together. In addition, you will regularly work together on assignments or role-plays. Outside the workshops and assignments I found the threshold very low to make contact with fellow students, many of them are open to a chat or help. I also liked the fact that students who were already familiar with PBL helped new students, for example by giving them tips on the best way to deal with things.

Finally, I would like to say that if you haven't done a bachelor's degree in Psychology, you shouldn't let yourself be stopped. Even though I did not have a bachelor's degree in Psychology, I came along well with the lessons. In addition, I didn't feel that I was lagging behind my fellow students.

If you like this master, if you have any questions or if you are not sure yet about your choice, I advise you to visit open days and contact students or alumni, for example through UniBuddy.

With an especially modern approach, this master offers a challenging and intriguing programme. You will gain insights into state-of-the-art research, develop important 21st century skills and meet many ambitious and open-minded people. It has been an inspiring and exciting year which really helped me to form ideas for my future career!