Overview
Key facts:
- What makes life worth living? People have always been driven by the pursuit of happiness and hope for the future. While this may seem to be an idealistic notion at first, it has found its place in positive psychology.
- For much of the 20th century, “What is wrong with people” has guided the thinking of many psychologists, dominating countless scientific studies and rooting the field in pathology. Founded over a decade ago by University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman, positive psychology instead asks “what is right with people”. Human strengths, such as courage, future-mindedness, optimism, and interpersonal skills act as buffers against mental illness. Positive Psychology, therefore, is devoted to understanding and learning how to build these positive qualities in order to improve people’s well-being and help to promote the “good life”.
- On an individual level, positive psychology at the Maastricht University - Center for European Studies embraces the capacity for love, courage, interpersonal skills, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom. In our times such virtues are often looked at with scepticism. But before dismissing positive psychology as “soft” one needs to know that it is firmly rooted in hard science, and an evidence-based approach underpins the entire programme. Upon completion students will be able to design and judge a positive psychological research project and will have gained first-hand experience with various positive psychology intervention techniques.
Programme Structure
The programme is an intensive three-week course and an immersive learning experience.
Students are required to:
- Do a set of readings prior to coming to the Netherlands;
- Submit a final paper, which is due three weeks after the end of the programme.
The following is included in the programme:
- An introduction to get to know the university and the city of Maastricht. This introduction includes CES services (such as 24/7 emergency assistance) and a tour of Maastricht and the surrounding area;
- Two weekend trips, which include visits to institutions, museums, and local cultural experiences that complement and contextualise what is learned in the classroom.
Key information
Duration
- Full-time
- 21 days
Start dates & application deadlines
- Starting
- Apply before
-
Language
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Credits
The Positive Psychology programme is a unique experience, following one of the hottest topics in psychology today. The total workload for January Programmes is 36 class hours, during which time students earn 7.5 ECTS.
Delivered
Disciplines
Social Work Psychology Sociology View 15 other Short Courses in Sociology in NetherlandsAcademic requirements
We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.
English requirements
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Student insurance
Make sure to cover your health, travel, and stay while studying abroad. Even global coverages can miss important items, so make sure your student insurance ticks all the following:
- Additional medical costs (i.e. dental)
- Repatriation, if something happens to you or your family
- Liability
- Home contents and baggage
- Accidents
- Legal aid
We partnered with Aon to provide you with the best affordable student insurance, for a carefree experience away from home.
Get your student insurance nowStarting from €0.53/day, free cancellation any time.
Remember, countries and universities may have specific insurance requirements. To learn more about how student insurance work at Maastricht University and/or in Netherlands, please visit Student Insurance Portal.
Other requirements
General requirements
- Official transcript
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 (or recommendation about educational development)
- Letter of recommendation from teacher or study abroad advisor
- Motivation letter
- 1 Colour passport picture (digital, in jpeg format)
- Scan or a clear copy of your passport (information page with photo and any other pages with stamps etc)
- English proficiency B2
Acceptance to the open enrolment programmes is competitive and early application is recommended. While most students participating in our open enrolment programmes are undergraduates at the junior or senior level, applications by motivated students at the sophomore and/or freshman level with a good GPA will be considered too.
Tuition Fee
-
International
3325 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 3325 EUR for the full programme during 21 days. -
EU/EEA
3325 EUR/fullTuition FeeBased on the tuition of 3325 EUR for the full programme during 21 days.
The tuition fee includes your course, course materials, field trips, extensive introduction and all CES services. There are additional costs for housing.
Living costs for Maastricht
The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.