Brain and Cognition

As a master student, I can understand the amount of consideration that goes into choosing the right degree to pursue, especially as an international student. I was in the same position. Having completed the Brain and Cognition Master at EUR, I can confidently say I made the right choice. 

The year-long programme really fuelled my passion for cognitive science. It pushed me to introspect and streamline my interests within the field by giving me an exposure to various subfields within the broad domain of cognitive science. What I love most about this programme is it’s wholistic nature, where theory and practice go hand-in-hand. The theoretical courses within the programme pushed me to critically review literature, think outside the box and contribute to fruitful moderated discussions in class. On the other hand, the practical courses taught me how ideas are measured and quantified scientifically. The programme gives you the foundational understanding and ability of all the skills you would need to pursue a career in cognitive science, and you can get as creative as you want with where and how you choose to apply those skills. Individual reflection has always been valued by every member of the B&C faculty. 

Currently, I am working at a start-up that develops virtual reality software for psychotherapy, offering interactive and immersive virtual reality scenarios to treat various psychological disorders. In the future, I intend on pursuing a career in technology, where I can use insights from cognitive and behavioural science to optimize organizational processes and outcomes. Before pursuing this master, my career goals seemed far-fetched. But after this experience, I am confident that I can really translate my acquired knowledge into anything I want. 

It also helps that the EUR campus is amazing, and Rotterdam is a wonderful city to live in. There is always something to do when you don’t have your head buried in books—both inside and outside the campus. The people are very friendly, and the environment is overall welcoming. I would recommend this programme to anyone who holds interest in the field of Brain & Cognition. 

My name is Phuong Nguyen, but I also go by Chloe. After finishing my Bachelor’s in Psychology and International Business in the United States, I decided to pursue further in the branch of Cognitive Psychology. I fell in love with the learning about how we perceive the world, how we form memory and (kind of) lose it. 

After spending more than four years in Chicago’s freezing weather, I wanted a change in the academic setting so I started looking for programs in other countries. I chose Rotterdam after considering all the aspects: program curriculum, school reputation, the city and the country. And I must say it was one of the best decisions I have made! 

Overall, the current curriculum has allowed me to practice self-discipline. Most of the time we’ll have to read at home and be prepared to contribute to the class’s discussion. The Problem-based learning approach has helped improve my ability to focus, listen, and answer in a fast-paced yet tolerant setting. The small-sized class is also a plus for we have more attention and time from our professors in both lectures and the group meetings.

I am planning to get a job here in the near future, either in academic or industry is fine with me because I think I can adapt quite well. At the same time, I am trying to learn Dutch to increase my chances of landing a job where it requires some knowledge of the language. Rotterdam and Holland in general is such a lively place that offers so many opportunities so I am sure there will always be something for you here. 

I honestly think that this program can offer you something as long as you have an interest in learning about the human mind and behaviours. It provides broad understanding of the current topics in Cognitive Psychology. At the same time, it allows you to use your own time to dig deeper into your topic of interest, whether it is more Neuroscience-based, Linguistic, or applied psychology in other fields such as education or business. The vast campus is a bonus where you can literally do everything onsite: study spaces, supermarket, food court, gym, and the dormitory (it’s limited in availability so you gotta be faster than others to get this one ;)). All in all, I am grateful to have the opportunity to be here and I hope you will also make a decision that you will be happy about later.

As a Master’s student in Brain and Cognition I learned about the biological fundament of the mind, the cognitive processes involved in language usage and how we mentally represent and categorize our environment. In short, this study programme provided me with an understanding of what it means to be a human being, including all our perfections and imperfections.

I chose Brain and Cognition because this field of research is most exciting to me. The domain of human cognition is largely an undervalued / area of research, it contains some mystery. I describe myself as a thinker and like to immerse myself in the process of finding solutions. The study programme focuses on the scientific background of theoretical concepts. This means: how do researchers obtain their results?

Instead of passively absorbing knowledge, I was encouraged to be critical and think of possibilities to find the right answers.

The study programme provided me with the great opportunity to choose my own research thesis topic. As I am a music enthusiast and musician, I wanted to know more about the cognitive processes and underlying biological principles that are connected to with music processing. I asked Jan van Strien, Professor in Biological and Cognitive Psychology, to be my supervisor. My research focused on the electrophysiological response of the brain to unexpected musical events in familiar music. I devised an EEG experiment: subjects listened to familiar music fragments that were slightly manipulated while their brain activity was being recorded. Some chords in the music fragments were somewhat altered in pitch. Interestingly enough, these manipulations were associated with very distinct brain responses. 

Currently, I hold a position as PhD Candidate on a project about cognitive and linguistic aspects of social media usage. For me personally, the Master’s programme Brain and Cognition has turned out to be a great choice, it has provided me with a strong fundament to start a scientific career.

De master Brein & Cognitie aan de Erasmus Universiteit heb ik met erg veel plezier gevolgd. De Problem-Based Learning aanpak zorgt ervoor dat je veel in contact komt met de medestudenten van je master en de verschillende professoren. De brein en cognitie master leunt, in ieder geval in mijn jaar, meer naar de cognitieve kant waarbij de achterliggende brein mechanismen worden meegenomen.

Als je van onderwijs verwacht dat je pagina’s aan informatie moet internaliseren waarna de onderwijzer eens gaat kijken of je in een multiple gok tentamen kan reproduceren, ben je bij deze master aan het verkeerde adres. Het is een master met de assumptie dat je onderzoeker wordt. Hierdoor worden je de vaardigheden bijgebracht die essentieel zijn als academicus. Zoals kritisch de literatuur lezen en bespreken; staat de auteur in zijn recht om de claims te maken aan de hand van het onderzoek? Of twee concurrerende theorieën kritisch evalueren om te achterhalen waar de zwakke punten liggen en wat ervoor nodig zou zijn om tot een consensus te komen. Uiteindelijk zet je een gedragsexperiment op en leer je hoe je de code schrijft om de data die hieruit komt te analyseren. 

Bijna elk blok vraagt van jou om een of meerdere van deze aspecten toe te passen op de literatuur van desbetreffend onderwerp in de vorm van een paper. Tijdens de master maak je hierdoor grote stappen in het wetenschappelijk schrijven. Daarnaast zorgt het vele schrijven voor oefen- en feedbackmomenten, wat ondersteunt bij het uiteindelijke schrijven van je thesis.

De verantwoordelijkheid en de keuze van welke informatie jij internaliseert, ligt dus meer bij jezelf. Aangezien je een master gaat doen zou dat geen probleem moeten zijn. Daarnaast geeft het je wat beweegruimte om je persoonlijke interesses wat meer te volgen binnen de onderwerpen. 

Deze master geeft je vrijheid en verantwoordelijkheid én je leert de essentiële skills om academicus te worden. Mede hierdoor heb ik mijn masterperiode in Rotterdam met een goed gevoel kunnen voltooien.