Are you inspired to conduct high-quality innovative research with a strong focus on mental and physical health? And do you aspire to work alongside world-renowned researchers who are absolute leaders in their field? Join our research master!
Mental and physical health and the reciprocal relationship between these two form the basis of the programme. The central idea is that psychological, biological and social aspects all play a role in any physical or mental condition. The CPE programme trains students to solve current health issues by applying innovative research designs and statistical techniques while making use of state-of-the-art facilities in a truly multidisciplinary setting. There is a strong focus on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of physical and mental health conditions, taking clinical, public health, and psychosocial factors into consideration. Our students work with existing large databases or collect their own data among people with or without a chronic disease, across the whole age range.
There are four research departments involved within CPE: epidemiology, public health, health psychology and psychiatry. Top researchers from these four departments teach the courses, giving students the opportunity to fully acquaint themselves with different fields of research. In the second semester, students will get to choose in which department they would like to conduct their research for their master thesis project, becoming part of the department’s research group. Students will learn to design their own PhD project as part of the programme, which makes them well-qualified to attain a PhD position anywhere in the world. The best students will be offered the opportunity to continue with a PhD at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).
We pride ourselves on the fact that there is a lot of personal attention for our students. The programme is built in a way that strongly encourages students to focus on their individual development as a researcher, in a unique and multidisciplinary setting. Because CPE is a small-scale selective programme, every student is known by their name and has ample opportunity for interactions and discussions with the teaching staff.
The programme also offers a track called Health Systems and Prevention. This track bridges the research focus of CPE with that of health systems, health policy and prevention. HSP Track students follow the basic CPE programme, but with a focus on health systems and prevention. This focus is mainly incorporated in the Master Thesis project, which for HSP students also includes an internship at a non-academic (Health) organization, the elective courses and the research meetings.
So, do you imagine yourself becoming part of our research community? Apply now!
Read moreThe quality of the master is unmatched, and this is the perfect course for enthusiastic and motivated students, who want to be challenged and encouraged to reach the next step in their professional careers!
I am so happy that I chose the research MSc in Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology at the University of Groningen, and could not recommend it highly enough!
My experience
From day one, the CPE office and staff welcome students with open arms, providing genuine assistance and guidance – which is highly encouraging as an international student who is new to the city and the university! The small-scale nature of the course allows you to develop great friendships with classmates while working together, while being taught by (and working alongside) some of the best minds in academia! The quality of the master is unmatched, and this is the perfect course for enthusiastic and motivated students, who want to be challenged and encouraged to reach the next step in their professional careers!
Research project
My research focused on the association between diet and respiratory health outcomes – which I conducted while embedded within the department of Epidemiology at the UMCG. Within the department, I got the opportunity to work alongside other MSc students, PhD candidates, as well as professors – all of whom show interest in your work, and make a genuine effort to help you in any way they can.
Preparing for your future
I undertook this MSc in the hopes of increasing my career prospects for the future. The CPE programme offers a ‘fast-track’ opportunity to compete for PhD positions as part of the course, but also encourages students to explore opportunities outside of academia. As a graduate of the MSc, I have recently accepted an offer to join a professional Data & AI graduate programme within the tech industry – an opportunity I was well-prepared for as a result of both the technical (research methods and statistics) and practical (communication, presentation) skills I learned as part of the CPE programme!
Read moreWithin this programme, top researchers and experts within their fields are teaching the courses. As the cohorts are small, the courses are very interactive.
Mental and physical health have a reciprocal relationship and thus influence each other.
Often, the related disciplines do not sufficiently collaborate to acknowledge this reciprocal relationship. I wanted to acknowledge this relationship and that many different aspects, such as social, psychological, and medical aspects, play a significant role in physical and mental conditions. Because of this, I applied for the Research Master in Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology as it acknowledges these relationships and highly emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach among disciplines within research.
Within this programme, top researchers and experts within their fields are teaching the courses. As the cohorts are small, the courses are very interactive. As the Research Master students of the Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology Research Masters come from different academic backgrounds related to Health Sciences, discussions always include many different perspectives, which widens the perspective.
Another unique aspect of the Research Master is that the students pick their Master Theses topics and supervisors - not vice versa. Within interviews, the students interview the potential supervisor to check whether they are a good match.
Within the Master Thesis projects, which make a big part of the whole programme, students can learn in-depth about medical and mental conditions, data collection, storage and processing, and advanced statistics. Within my Master Thesis project, in which I compared the prevalence of Functional Disorders across ages, I learned an advanced statistical method I had always been interested in learning.
The Research Master ideally prepared me for my future career in research as it provided me with the necessary knowledge and taught me the relevant research skills. I found a PhD position within the department I wrote my Master Thesis, and I am excited to continue my research journey in Groningen!
Read moreWhat I find the most fascinating about the CPE programme is that we all came from different educational and cultural backgrounds and met together in the same place, with the same goal which is to tackle health issues in a multidisciplinary approach.
As a Burmese student, the transition from Burmese education system to Dutch was very tough for me in the beginning but throughout these 2 years, the CPE programme helped me grow both academically and personally, I must say.
The CPE programme itself is multidisciplinary in nature and it enabled me to view and solve health problems in multidisciplinary perspectives and sharpened my critical thinking skills. I got a chance to work together with senior researchers who are the top researchers in their field. What I find the most fascinating about the CPE programme is that we all came from different educational and cultural backgrounds and met together in the same place and with the same goal, which is to tackle health issues in a multidisciplinary approach. We, CPE students, are freely allowed to design our own projects for the master thesis project and PhD proposal and our supervisors are very supportive and attentive. Most importantly, the CPE programme trained me to be ready for real world research experiences. Overall, I had wonderful and unforgettable experiences working together with my fellow CPE students and supervisors.
