Organisational structure
The Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) has two main tasks: to organise and carry out education and research. Ultimate responsibility rests with the Dean, who sits on the Faculty Board together with the three Vice-Deans rewards. The Faculty Board is advised by a democratically elected representation body, the Faculty Council.
All staff at FPN belong to one of the faculty’s five departments or the Faculty Office.
Read on about the:
Faculty Board
The main administrative body of FPN is the Faculty Board. The board consists of four members: the Dean (who is also the chair) and three Vice-Deans responsible for research, education, and Recognition and Rewards respectively. The Faculty Board meetings are also attended by the Director, who has an advisory role, the Board Secretary, and a Student Advisor. The Student Advisor is appointed by the Board after being nominated by the Faculty Council’s student members. The Dean and Vice-Deans are appointed by Maastricht University’s Executive Board, usually for four and three years respectively. The student adviser is usually appointed for one year.
The board is responsible for the faculty’s general management, administration, organisation and structure of its education and research.
| Dean | Prof. dr. André Aleman |
| Vice-Dean: Responsible for Research | Prof. dr. Jill Lobbestael |
| Vice-Dean: Responsible for Education | Prof. dr. Rob Ruiter |
| Vice-dean: Responsible for Recognition and Rewards | Prof. dr. Teresa Schuhmann |
| Managing Director | Dr. Cerien Streefland |
| Student Adviser | Guille Llaneza Fernandez |
| Executive Secretary | Sterre Rietbroek LL.M. |
| Secretary Office | +31 43 388 40 08 |
Faculty Council
The Faculty Board is advised by and consults regularly with a democratically elected representation body: the Faculty Council. The council advises the board upon request or of its own accord. It consists of ten members: four elected from the academic staff, one from the support staff , and five from the FPN students.
| Academic staff | Michael Capalbo Marilien Marzolla Anna Sagana Alicia Walkowiak |
| Support staff | Caroline van Loo |
| Student members | Josephine Gerhard Eliante Martha Milan Miljkovic Charlotte Nottet Sofi Tirana |
| Secretary | Marléon Vijgen |
FPN Faculty Council meetings 2026/2027 | 15.30-17.30hrs
- 17 September 2026
- 24 September 2026
- 15 October 2026
- 12 November 2026
10 December 2026
2027
- 14 January 2027
- 21 January 2027
- 18 February 2027
- 18 March 2027
- 15 April 2027
- 13 May 2027
- 10 June 2027
- 1 July 2027
Minutes of passed meetings can be found on the intranet for staff, UMployee.
It’s possible to attend the public part of the Faculty Council meetings, in this case you’ll be present as observer. If you want to join, please send an email to marleon.vijgen@maastrichtuniversity.nl no later than 2 days before the meeting. After approval you’ll receive an invitation with the time and location.
Programme Directors
The Programme Director coordinates and organises the preparation and execution of the study and examination programme of the corresponding programme(s). In this, he or she advises the Faculty Board on the content of programme and examination regulations, and, as board executive and advisor, is closely involved in the quality assurance of the programme.
Educational Programme Committee
The Educational Programme Committees (EPC) provides advice on the amelioration and safe-guarding of the quality of the programmes, including the EER. The committees consists of an equal number of staff and student members. See also: http://www.opleidingscommissies.nl/
EPC bachelor Psychology
| Staff |
|
| Students |
|
| Support | Rosa Schaumann (student) fpn-epc-bachelor@maastrichtuniversity.nl |
EPC bachelor Brain Science
| Staff |
|
| Students |
|
| Support | Rosa Schaumann (student) fpn-epc-brainscience@maastrichtuniversity.nl |
EPC masters
| Staff |
|
| Students |
|
| Support | Julia Tarnawska (student) fpn-epc-masters@maastrichtuniversity.nl |
Research Council
Board of Examiners (BoE)
The Board of Examiners (BoE, in Dutch: Examencommissie) of FPN is an independent committee and is responsible for:
- the quality of exams and assessments;
- granting the diploma’s for the bachelor’s and master’s programmes;
- assessing requests and questions concerning the Education and Examination Regulations (EER) and Rules and Regulations.
For more information about the Board of Examiners, including an overview of the members and the annual report, please visit this page on UMployee. If you want to contact the BoE, please send an email to bofex-fpn@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Faculty Office
FPN Student Council
At FPN, students play a crucial role in shaping policies and advancing academic initiatives. They participate in various committees and hold seats on the Faculty Council. Collectively, these student representatives are known as the Student Council.
The Student Council meets weekly to discuss matters impacting the student body of our faculty. The topics for discussion are typically sourced from the different committees.
Do you have an idea, a complaint, or simply want to provide feedback? Feel free to contact the FPN Student Council on Facebook or via email at studentcouncil-fpn@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Complaints Committee
A Complaints Committee is active at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN). Employees, students and third parties may direct their complaints to the committee concerning affairs the faculty is responsible for. Please visit their webpage for more information.
FPN Test Committee
The FPN Test Committee (TC) is an independent body that advises the Boards of Examiners (BoEs) and Educational Management (such as the Education Director and Programme Directors/Coordinators) on exam quality (including issues related to the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence; GenAI) at their request.
The TC assists course coordinators and examiners in developing and scoring exam questions by providing notes and, upon request, collaborating with them. The members of the TC are always available to answer questions or discuss matters. Additionally, one of the TC's roles is to review the quality of course exams and offer feedback to Course Coordinators.
Members
Esther Keulers
Lars Riecke
Jan Schepers
Margje van de Wiel
Chair
Phil Brull
FPN library committee
The FPN library committee serves as an advisory committee to the faculty board and the university library. This committee meets five times a year and gives advice on the faculty library collection, the (learning) resources needed, the expenditure of the allocated budget and provides comments on how the UM library can best be run according to FPN policies.
- Philippe Verduyn, Chairperson; Work and Social Psychology
- Fren Smulders, Cognitive Neuroscience
- Petra Hurks, Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology
- Dimitri van Ryckeghem, Experimental Clinical Psychology
- Sophie Vanbelle, Methodology and Statistics
- Leonardo Pimpini, STIL
- Rinus Verdonschot, Secretary; UB