Maastricht University - Center for European Studies

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a unique feature of the education provided at Maastricht. This educational system focuses on guiding students to become independent and enterprising problem-solvers. To achieve this goal, teaching must extend beyond the traditional individual studying and attending lectures. Students work in small groups on concrete problems from the field. As a team, they analyze problems, attempt to understand the underlying theories, and learn to apply knowledge to recognizable, realistic situations. To perform well in this educational system, it is vital for students to have knowledge of the background and central elements of this system. During this course, students learn and practice the skills needed to be successful in tutorial group meetings. First-year students familiarize themselves with Problem-Based Learning and communication skills essential for learning in groups. One session will be completely devoted to teambuilding.

Corresponding practicals for Skills I are: Introduction UM Systems and Library Introduction.

This course is a focused study of the European luxury industry with an emphasis on current and developing trends and issues. Topics covered include business strategy, marketing, retailing, management, branding, and public relations of luxury companies in the fashion, food and beverage, and automobile sectors.  Through readings, analyzing current case studies of real-life companies, discussions, viewing media, luxury retail professional visits in Maastricht, and a possible field trip, students examine how the luxury industry maintains its aspirational image with consumers even as it sells entry-level products such as sunglasses and accessories to a mainstream audience.

This course is for people with no prior knowledge of Dutch. Once you've completed this course you will be able to: present yourself; ask for and provide personal details; talk about daily activities; talk about your hobbies; talk about your family; and get around in a shops.

This course provides an overview of evolutionary theory and its applications within, predominantly, social psychology. Evolutionary psychologists view most human behaviors as the products of evolved psychological adaptations –or solutions– to recurring problems in the ancestral environment. Evolutionary psychology offers many insightful explanations for social behavior, such as interpersonal attraction, prejudice, and healthy (and unhealthy) behaviors. Moreover, emotions are considered to have evolved in humans because they are functional and ultimately enhance your chances for survival and reproduction – for example, fear makes you avoid certain life-threatening situations, and jealousy makes you protect your relationship. The course covers recent developments within the field of evolutionary social psychology. Students investigate what causes the differences between the two sexes (sexual selection), how (pro-)social behavior can be explained by evolutionary theory, and how we are to some extent still governed by “hard-wired” motives, like a drive for social status and reputation.

Ecophysiology is the study of physiological adaptations of organisms in relation to the environments in which they live. It has become an increasingly important science, because an understanding of the relationship between organism and environment is essential in order to predict the effects of man-made environmental change. The physiology of an organism incorporates many of its most important adaptations to the environment in which it lives. This course considers the variety of environmental pressures imposed on organismal physiology. It examines the often ingenious solutions that evolve in response to these pressures, and how different organisms and groups of organisms have evolved different physiological means of dealing with the same problem. The course focuses both on the abiotic environment (e.g. issues related to climate, gas exchange) and the biotic environment (e.g. how digestive physiology is adapted to plant toxins). Towards the end of the course, students look at Conservation Physiology, one of the practical applications of ecophysiology. There is a particular focus on the physiological adaptations of animals. Although BIO2004 General Zoology is not a prerequisite for this course, the course is recommended before taking Ecophysiology.

This module elaborates on the psychological consequences of brain damage and dysfunction; several neurological and neuropsychological diseases are discussed. The main objective is the reciprocal relation between (dis)functioning of the brain, cognitions, emotions, and behavior. Looking at patients not only provides information about dysfunctioning, but also informs the students about the normal functions of the brain. The approach is multidisciplinary covering both biomedical and psychological aspects of neuropsychological functioning. The following topics are covered: neuroanatomy of the brain (central nervous system), functions of several brain areas/circuits, neuropsychological disorders after brain damage, causes of neuropsychological disorders, diagnosis of neuropsychological disorders, treatment of neuropsychological disorders, theoretical models concerning brain functioning, biomedical, neurological and psychosocial factors associated with neuropsychological disorders.

Global Intercultural Management explores different aspects of intercultural management, including teams, leadership, Human Resource Management, values, culture, and negotiations. The units are designed to develop student's abilities to compare and analyze the reasons for fundamental differences, in intercultural management and governance practices that exist amongst key organizations and societies around the world. Studies focus on comparative analysis of combinations of cultures (societies and public and private governance) across Nations, corporations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs). These fundamental understandings are essential to successfully shaping policies and decisions for executives and managers in a much globalized world. Students are challenged to explore and explain intercultural issues that influence and impact global management. Students have the opportunity to develop a deeper knowledge about how culture shapes management practices in international organizations. Academic inquiry is explored through the examination of the following units: The Global Challenge Unit; Culture and Intercultural Management Unit; Organizational Culture –Global Interaction Unit; Values and Culture: Impact and Influence Unit; Intercultural Communication and Cultural Competence Unit; Leadership Foundation and Styles– Effective Multicultural Teams Unit; International Management – HR Strategies Unit; Role of the Global Manager.

This course provides students interested in Forensic Psychology and Law with an introduction to topics typical for this field. Examples of such topics are paraphilic disorders, substance use disorder, child abuse, the fallibility of eyewitness memory, lie detection, and alcohol-related amnesia. In each tutorial, research articles and case material descriptions related to a theme are studied and discussed. The examination consists of writing a paper about a topic related to the field of Forensic Psychology or Psychology and Law and active participation during the tutorials through giving presentations and actively discussing the reading materials.

An exploration of vertebrate evolution and paleobiology, with emphasis on the anatomical and physiological transformations that occurred at the evolutionary originations of major vertebrate groups.  The structure and function of both extant and extinct taxa are explored, as documented by modern fauna and the fossil record. Topics studied include locomotion and the origin of fins and limbs, the transition from water to land, dinosaur physiology, the origin of flight, and mammalian reproduction.