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• Internships
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• Frequently Asked Questions

Internships

After 8 weeks of course work and preparation at the beginning of year 2, students embark on their internships. During this period (34 weeks in total), the theoretical knowledge and methodological skills obtained throughout the programme are applied in addressing carefully formulated research questions.

Research and clinical internships

There are two types of internships. Students in all specialisations complete a research internship, which entails working out a research proposal, conducting the actual study, and writing a master’s thesis in a form suitable for submission to a scientific journal. In the specialisations Psychopathology (required) and Neuropsychology (optional), students also complete a clinical internship. As part of this shorter (13-week) internship, students conduct a small-scale clinical research project, which forms the basis of the minor’s thesis. The clinical internship, by providing experience in psychodiagnostic and other health care activities, also allows Dutch-speaking students to fulfil entrance requirements for professional clinical training programmes in the Netherlands.

International research experience

The research environment at Maastricht University gives students many opportunities to conduct internships within ongoing research lines, under the supervision of internationally respected experts and with access to excellent facilities. However, given the increasing importance of international research experience in scientific and career development, the programme also stimulates students to pursue challenging internship opportunities outside Maastricht. Faculty members help students locate international research groups via their own extensive networks of colleagues throughout the world. Approximately 40% of our research master’s students thus chooses to conduct an internship at an excellent foreign institution, co-supervised by a UM faculty member. Clinical internships may also be done abroad – an important factor for students who are not fluent in Dutch.

Internships at top universities and institutes

Our research master’s students have conducted their internships at top universities and institutes, including: Harvard Medical School, Stanford, Columbia, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Cambridge, Oxford, University College London, Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel).