Graduate School of Psychology and Neuroscience

Our vision

A secure, inclusive, and inspiring environment where PhD candidates thrive both academically and personally.

Our mission

The FPN Graduate School supports PhD candidates throughout their academic journey. We aim to create a structured, supportive, and stimulating environment by focusing on three pillars:

What we do

The FPN Graduate School supports PhD candidates throughout their doctoral journey. 

We work with both internal PhD candidates (employed by the faculty) and external PhD candidates (affiliated with FPN but employed elsewhere). 

Our key aims are to:

1. Educate and train PhD candidates;
2. Monitor the quality of research and supervision;
3. Foster a vibrant and supportive PhD community by:
   1. Organising events, such as the FPN Research Day and an information session for new PhD candidates.
   2. Promoting wellbeing through initiatives like the buddy and mentor programme.
   3. Informing PhD candidates on relevant topics, including events, training, courses, and available support services (e.g. coaching, complaints procedures).
   4. Representing the interests and needs of PhD candidates at both FPN and UM levels.

The PhD journey at FPN

Every PhD candidate at FPN undertakes an individual research project, typically culminating in a series of publications that together form the PhD thesis. Because projects vary widely in methods, topics, supervision, and funding, no two trajectories are the same—yet the end goal remains consistent: developing into an independent, skilled researcher.

At FPN, you're not on this journey alone. The FPN Graduate School helps foster a strong PhD community, where sharing experiences and supporting each other is encouraged. Informal meetups and social events—organised by PhD representatives—offer space to connect with peers across disciplines.

Training and supervision

Each PhD candidate starts their trajectory by developing a Training and Supervision Plan within the first 12 weeks. This plan, created together with the supervisory team, outlines goals, training, and expectations, and is reviewed throughout the PhD process. Your supervisory team—consisting of at least two members—guides you in your development.

Events and community

The FPN Graduate School places strong emphasis on building an active, supportive PhD community.

Social events

The Graduate School organizes social events throughout the year to provide PhD candidates with opportunities to connect and socialize. Recent events are listed on the internal events calendar.

FPN Research Day

Each spring, PhD candidates come together for the annual FPN Research Day—an opportunity to present research, exchange ideas, and connect with fellow PhDs, postdocs, and faculty members in an informal setting.

Maastricht Student Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience (MSJPN)

FPN hosts its own student journal, publishing selected work from bachelor’s and master’s students. PhD candidates are invited to contribute behind the scenes—supporting the editorial process, reviewing submissions, and helping maintain the academic quality of the journal. Contributors are acknowledged in the journal's annual publication, and it's a great way to gain editorial experience.

Ethics review at FPN

All research involving human participants must meet ethical standards and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). At FPN, the Ethics Review Committee Psychology and Neuroscience (ERCPN) reviews research protocols to ensure they meet ethical and privacy requirements.

If your study falls under the Dutch Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO), approval from the Medical Ethics Review Committee (METC) is required instead.

Ethics review is mandatory for all studies initiated by FPN staff and students, and must be completed before data collection begins. Learn more about ethics review at FPN.