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.

I thoroughly enjoyed studying for the Master's in Brain & Cognition at Erasmus University. The Problem-Based Learning approach ensures that you have a lot of contact with your fellow master's students and the various professors. The Brain & Cognition master's programme, at least in my year, leans more towards the cognitive side, taking into account the underlying brain mechanisms.

If you expect education to involve internalising pages of information, after which the teacher checks whether you can reproduce it in a multiple-choice exam, then this master's programme is not for you. It is a master's programme based on the assumption that you will become a researcher. As a result, you are taught the skills that are essential as an academic. This includes critically reading and discussing literature to determine if the author is justified in making claims based on the research. Or critically evaluating two competing theories to identify their weaknesses and what would be needed to reach a consensus. Ultimately, you will set up a behavioural experiment and learn how to write the code necessary to analyse the resulting data.

Almost every module requires you to apply one or more of these aspects to the literature of the relevant subject in the form of a paper. As a result, you make significant progress in scientific writing during the master's programme. Additionally, the frequent writing provides practice and feedback opportunities, which support the eventual writing of your thesis.

The responsibility and choice of which information you internalise lie more with you. Since you are pursuing a master's degree, this should not be a problem. Moreover, it gives you some flexibility to follow your personal interests within the topics.

This master's programme gives you freedom and responsibility, and you will learn the essential skills to become an academic. This contributed to me completing my master's period in Rotterdam with a positive feeling.

Choosing a master's programme is not always easy or straightforward. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the Brain & Cognition team at ESSB during my Psychology bachelor's specialisation at EUR. Not only did the courses during this specialisation, but also the close collaboration with the dedicated lecturers, allow me to confidently decide to pursue the Brain & Cognition master's at Erasmus University.

This collaboration clearly continued during the master's programme. The small-scale and active study groups ensure plenty of contact with both the lecturers and other (national and international) master's students. This creates a pleasant atmosphere within and outside the study groups.

The content of the master's programme also made a positive impression. Instead of focusing solely on acquiring knowledge, there is a greater emphasis on developing skills to apply this knowledge and forming a critical perspective on the rapidly evolving field within cognitive (neuro)psychology. During the practicals, you gain hands-on experience with skills such as conducting EEG research, programming experiments, and analysing data in R. Additionally, there are many opportunities for your master's thesis at the Erasmus Behavioural Lab, where you can conduct research using eye-tracking, VR, or EEG, among other things.

Beyond campus life, there is plenty to do in the city. Rotterdam is a versatile and modern city with something for everyone; cosy terraces at Witte de With, delicious restaurants scattered throughout the city, beautiful nature in the Park or at Kralingse Plas, and much more. You won't easily get bored in this city!

I am very satisfied with the choice I made. The Brain & Cognition master's at EUR offers me exactly what I was looking for in a master's programme. I am confident that after my master's, I will be ready for the next step, whatever that may be.