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What started off as a tiny Master's programme grew so fast that student numbers had to be capped. Carla Ruis, associate professor in Experimental Psychology and one of the programme’s first students, looks back at the programme’s past and forward into the future. She does this with Neuropsychology student Lisa van Vliet and Professor Chris Dijkerman, who was the Master’s Programme Coordinator for 20 years. He has since passed the baton to Anouk Keizer.

The was launched two decades ago with four students. The working language was Dutch, the programme was still called ‘Neuropsychologie’ and Carla Ruis, a student in the first batch, did not have a Bachelor's degree but a first-year diploma ('propedeuse') and a doctoral degree. "I had studied Developmental Psychology in Leiden and done a work placement at LUMC. That’s where I discovered that my passion was neuropsychology. This wasn’t really a big field at the time and there were far fewer programmes on offer. Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ was just starting its Neuropsychology Master's programme at the time, so that’s how I came to study here. Feeling very shy, I made my way to the 17th floor of the Van Unnik building." To her surprise, Carla was given a very special welcome. "I was given a private tour of the entire section.

From 4 to 280 applications

One of her lecturers at the time, Chris Dijkerman, comments as follows: "We started very small, but the Master’s now has about 15 academic staff and we also had almost 300 applications this year. The Master's currently has a cap because we only have places for 65 students. About a quarter of them are international students."

The Master’s structure is largely the same as it was when the programme was first launched, but the content of the courses has changed

From EEG to VR

The neuropsychology field of study is developing rapidly. Chris: "The funny thing is that the Master’s structure is largely the same as it was when the programme was first launched, but the content of the courses has changed." This is partly due to technological developments. "Nowadays, students do tests on tablets and we use virtual reality and other innovative methods as well." A number of specific courses have been added to the Master's programme too.

Diagnostics and treatment

Another big change: the field of neuropsychology has broadened over the years. Carla Ruis: "When I started, the main focus was on diagnostics, but this focus became much broader over the years and now includes the treatment side too." Chris: "Students want to be able to apply the fundamental knowledge they gain in healthcare practice. Although people who work in healthcare are very busy testing and treating patients, we still try to create scope for innovations." Carla: "We test innovations on a healthy population first and then do tests in a clinical setting. We are able to do this because of the strong connection between the degree programme and ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Medical Center Utrecht."

Anouk Keizer is the new Master’s Programme Coordinator

Relieving pain

One example of the translation from theory to practice is Lisa's thesis research. "I’m exploring ways to alleviate chronic pain in Parkinson's patients by affective touch on hairy skin. It works differently to skin without hair, like the inside of your hand."

The future

Early this year, Chris stepped down as the Master’s Coordinator, but he does still coordinate two courses and supervise students. Anouk Keizer is his successor. Carla says that Anouk has a big job on her hands. "The last 20 years have been great, but the future won’t be without its challenges. Work is underway to establish a direct link between the Healthcare degree programme and the Master's programme, and we want neuropsychology to have a clear place in it. A knowledge of our field is indispensable for healthcare psychologists."