In short: |
FPN offers various elective courses in period 1, 2 and 3 of the third year. Around May, you can find the course descriptions online. Please note: We will not offer Brain Science courses as electives for three years, after which we will re-evaluate. The Brain Science programme is new and it will take all our attention to monitor this new programme properly. - Most electives have a study load of 6 ECTS. - You can take two elective courses in period 1 and 2, max. one course in period 3. |
Orientation
From mid May, the course descriptions for the upcoming year are available in the UM Course Finder. In total, you need 24 ECTS. Obtain these 24 ECTS by cleverly distributing work load across electives (see table below). Most electives are 6 ECTS. Many students choose to take two electives in period 1 and two electives in period 2, which results in the required 24 ECTS. This way, they can use period 3 to write the thesis. See also 'Electives, Study load: combining electives and the thesis'.
FPN electives | |||
FPN electives | Electives in period 1 | Electives in period 2 | Electives in period 3 |
Max number of electives***: | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Duration: | 7 or 8 weeks | 7 or 8 weeks | 3 weeks |
Meetings per week: | max. 2 per course | max. 2 per course | max. 3 per course |
*** This is the maximum for the required 24 ECTS. But you can add up to three extra FPN electives spread across the 3 periods (see additional electives page)
FPN electives 2024-2025
see the information videos on https://www.askpsy.nl/electives-bachelor/timeline-and-deadlines for more details.You can find the descriptions of the course on the following site, under 'electives':
https://curriculum.maastrichtuniversity.nl/education/bachelor/bachelor-psychology/courses-curriculum
Application steps
Look at the available electives
The "Elective Preferences registration form" will ask you how many electives you want to take and what your preferred electives are.
You will also have to select the same number of alternatives, just in case your preferred electives are full.
For example: if you want to do 4 FPN electives, you also have to submit four alternatives.
Submit your preferences (and alternatives)
Mid-July the results of the allocation (which student is registered for which electives) will be posted on the deadlines page.
Please note:
- Some courses have a maximum number of participants, so you may not be allocated to your prefered choice.
- If you wish to take electives totaling more than 24 ECTS, these additional electives will only be assigned if there is sufficient course capacity available.
- For privacy reasons we can only publish student ID numbers (without names). Therefore, check carefully whether you use the right ID otherwise your request will be incorrectly processed.
Timeline and deadlines
Check here the general timeline and deadlines on electives in 2024-2025.Attendance obligation for tutorial group meetings
The regular attendance obligation applies.
Assessment
The assessment method varies per courses. Most electives conclude with written exam or a short writing assignment, sometimes combined with oral presentations that will be marked. In addition to each test there will be one resit opportunity for each elective course within an academic year. Booking for written exams (and resits) will be done by the Education Office.
Grades obtained for FPN electives are not used in the calculation of the GPA. This also applies to non-FPN students.
Tutorials and exams of elective courses are in English. Coordinators may allow students to answer exam questions in Dutch. See the course manual or ask the course coordinator about the language allowed for answering exam questions.
What happens if you fail the assessment?
Resit/reassessment arrangements apply to students who in the first instance have not passed the assessment2. Keep in mind that elective courses might not be offered the following year, or might change. Therefore it might not be possible to resit the test in a later academic year. More specifically, the student who fails a written test will get one chance per academic year to resit that test. Resits are usually scheduled in January (for electives of period 1) and April (for electives of periods 2 and 3).
The student who fails a writing assignment (individual paper) will also get one chance per academic year to rewrite the relevant paper. However, in order to rewrite a paper, the relevant paper should have been turned in before the deadline and a serious attempt should have been made (meaning that criteria regarding topic/content and number of words/pages should have been fulfilled).
A course exam is passed when a grade of 6.0 or higher has been obtained3. Insufficient grades for electives cannot be compensated or used as compensation.
FAQ and Contact
Questions about FPN Electives
I submitted the "Elective Preferences registration form" as soon as it became available, does that mean I get my preferred courses?
'First come, first serve' does not apply. Thus, as long as you submit before the deadline it's fine.
Why does the overview of electives on askPSY and in the preference form does not match the curriculum overview on the UM website (the UM web catalogue)?
The UM website shows the curriculum of the running year, whereas askPSY shows the overview of next year. The course offer may differ across years.
Can I change my preferences for FPN electives?
Yes, and it is easy if it is before the submission deadline: just submit a new "Elective Preferences registration form", we will only use your latest submission. After the submission deadline, this is not possible.
Do I get a copy of the submitted form?
Yes, within a few minutes of submitting, you should get an email with a copy of your submission.
How are preferences allocated?
Your preferences are taken into account as much as possible. For many electives we have a higher demand than offer. For each of those electives, registrations will be randomly allocated to all students who had the highest preference for that specific course. So, everyone has an equal chance to get into the electives of their preference. Note that such randomization does NOT apply to the Clinical Psychology Package and PSY3379-Internship.
I missed the submission deadline, what should I do?
Requests for late registrations should be send asap to the Education Office. You have a high chance that your preference cannot be taken into consideration, given that allocation of the electives immediately starts after the deadline.
Who should I contact for questions regarding registration, schedules, etc?
Contact the Education Office.
I am a non-FPN student who wants to enroll in an elective
Please find how to enroll as subsidiary studenthere. This page also specifies for which courses you cannot apply.
If you are an UM student, you can apply via special course request (see the UM minor site for instructions).
Please keep in mind that FPN psychology courses in year 3 have limited capacity and individual courses need to be approved by the exam committee of both faculties. Enrolling in the psychology minor rather than individual courses is highly recommended.
As non-FPN student, you can NOT enroll in such courses via the preference form.
How do I register for a resit for an FPN elective?
Contact the Education Office
Can I take more than four elective courses?
This is based on capacity (many electives have a maximum number of registrations) but is in principle possible. You can specify your interest in extra electives in the FPN electives form.
Can I use ECTS obtained from another study in my elective programme?
Please send a request to the board of examiners, detailing the course(s) for which you obtained the ECTS and motivate how you want to use them in your elective programme
What do I have to do if I cannot take part in my assigned elective?
Please notify the Education Office as soon as possible so that another student can take your place. Ask for a referral to the Academic Advisors if you need support.
I have a question about a specific course (e.g. PSY3379 internship, or clinical psychology package)
Contact the coordinator of that specific course (details can be found in the UM course finder's course description).
Where can I find more information on the exam regulations?
Read the EER of your bachelor programme carefully for more details.
Other questions? see 'FAQ and Contact' page or the FAQs on the specific elective options pages.