Applied Cognitive Psychology Leiden University

Overview

In this specialisation you will develop all the practical and intellectual skills necessary to apply psychological knowledge to real-life problems in working environments and organisations.
In this one-year programme the emphasis is on translating theory into practice. Areas covered include cognitive enhancement and cognitive ergonomics.

The knowledge you acquire can be used for optimising the cognitive capabilities of people of all ages, for giving advice on the optimal circumstances for performance and learning and for study of the effects of drugs on human performance, as well as for developing accident-prevention programmes or user-friendly tools and interfaces as well as for improving decision-making processes.

What you will learn

You develop all the practical and intellectual skills necessary to apply psychological knowledge to real-life problems in working environments and organisations.
You can use the knowledge you acquire in this programme in the following areas:

Cognitive Enhancement
*Optimising the cognitive capabilities of people of all ages
*Advice on the optimal circumstances for performance and learning
*Studying the effects of drugs on human performance

Cognitive Ergonomics
*Developing accident-prevention programmes, e.g. safety research in industry and traffic
*Developing user-friendly tools and interfaces
*Improving decision-making processes: psychology and law, including the topics of eyewitness memory, false confessions and jury decision-making

The main emphasis is on translating theory into practice. The aim of this master's specialisation is to provide you with a maximum of hands-on experience starting on the very first day.

Career prospects

The skills you acquire in this specialisation are the basis of careers in a wide range of academic, government, industrial and organisational settings. The improvement of human functioning in a complex technological environment is the key issue here. Your skills are also a good basis for research assistantships and PhD projects in applied areas.

The following list, although not exhaustive, presents some examples of career opportunities:
*Adviser on optimising training programmes for medical skills, driving skills, and flying
*Consultant on occupational efficiency
*Safety and accident-prevention manager in oil and offshore industries, e.g. SHELL, in traffic and road safety design, e.g. governmental agencies, SWOV or in aviation and transport, e.g. NLR, KLM/AirFrance.
*Policy-maker and policy adviser, e.g., various governmental organisations, education, police departments
*Medical and judicial decision-making expert, e.g. hospitals, insurance companies, forensic and penitentiary institutions
*IT systems and software consultant, e.g. Oracle and all other IT companies
*Security adviser, e.g., government, financial institutions.
*Cognitive engineer in industry, e.g., product design and control of operating environments in production process, food and advertisement industries
*Cognitive engineer in health care and care of the elderly, e.g., hospit…

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.