Maastricht University – University College Maastricht

The central topic of this course is human thought. The course explores the psychological science of four key complex cognitive processes: reasoning, decision-making, (moral) judgment, and (creative) problem-solving. Reasoning is all about drawing conclusions—connecting ideas with logic and figuring out why we believe what we believe. Judgment helps us weigh possibilities, assess risks, and form opinions about what should be. Decision-making is where thought meets action: given multiple options, which path do we take? Problem-solving is where creativity kicks in—finding smart, original solutions by blending reasoning, judgment, and decision-making. Through seven engaging PBL problems and two skill-focused intermezzi (one sharpening your logic skills and another tackling AI-powered critical thinking and learning), students explore the psychology of human reasoning from both theoretical and hands-on perspectives. Prerequisites SSC1005 Introduction to Psychology or SCI2036 Artificial Intelligence and at least two 2000-level courses. Recommended SSC2062 Foundations of Cogitive Psychology.

This course focuses on cultural difference and identity in an era in which the nation seems to lose its unifying significance in matters of personal identity and group identity formation. It analyzes how globalization influences identity and culture and the ways in which these interact with social differences, gender, ethnicity, religion, and nationality. Students become familiar with theories of globalization and culture such as hybridization, McDonaldization, the clash of civilizations, and concepts such as orientalism, occidentalism, and multiculturalism. Its orientation is both practical and theoretical. 

This course analyses European integration from the late 1940s until today. In a chronological order, it introduces students to themes such as security, economic integration, and enlargement that continue to influence European integration in the present. In parallel, it also provides an overview of the main theories explaining (aspects of) European integration related to these themes, including big theories such as neofunctionalism and neorealism, but also theories dealing with issues such as democratic legitimacy and the EU’s normative power. While firmly based in history, the sessions continuously seeks to also reflect on the relation between past processes and current developments, such as Brexit, or the Rule of law crisis, as they are unfolding. The course closes with a critical discussion on the main challenges European integration is faced with today and the views developed for its future development.

This course introduces basic economic ideas and concepts. Students analyze behavior on markets, outcomes of markets, and different market forms. Game theory is introduced to study situations with strategic interaction such as oligopolistic competition. Comparative advantage is used as an explanation of trade patterns. Macroeconomic indicators, economic fluctuations, and economic policy are reviewed. Monetary systems are covered in tutorials. Through presentations and special debates, tutorials provide the opportunity to apply and reflect on some of the contents of the course. The first part of the course mainly covers microeconomic topics and the second part is devoted to macroeconomics

Prerequisites: standard high school knowledge of basic mathematical concepts such as solving equations, reading and working with graphs, and manipulating inequalities is expected. In economics, no prior knowledge is assumed.

This course focuses on applications of psychology to the legal system. It provides insights and knowledge about typical themes within legal psychology. Such themes range from how reliable eyewitness testimonies in court are to whether criminals have a brain dysfunction making them permanently dangerous to society, to the role of experts in court. The role of psychologists within these themes is to ask questions that have a direct relevance to the legal arena and to conduct research to address these questions. Through working with cases, students become familiarize with various issues in the field in this course, for example police procedures, legal backgrounds, psychological experiments and the disputes that arise when psychology is applied to the law. Moreover, several small exercises in class are provide the opportunity to get a small taste of which tests and procedures are used by academics and professionals working in the field. Drawing from areas of social, cognitive, developmental, clinical, and neuropsychology this course deal with questions such as: Are all criminals competent to stand trial? How reliable are lie-detector tests? What is the role of expert witnesses in court? What are the dangers of bias in expert testimonies? Prerequisite SSC1005 Introduction to Psychology. Recommended SSC1007 Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning and/or an interest in Law. This is a device free course.