Why I chose this Research Master’s

I came across the Research Master’s programme in Child Development and Education while searching for higher education opportunities following my undergraduate degree in psychology. At the time I was working as teaching assistant in special needs schools in the U.K. and I was very keen to continue exploring the field of child development and education. At the same time, I was also looking for a new challenge, and doing a research masters in the Netherlands seemed like a great opportunity to explore a different learning style and environment and a new culture. The fact that  only a small group of students was accepted reassured me that the learning could be tailored to my needs and that I would receive the challenge I was looking for. In addition, I felt that the range of courses it offered really matched my interests.

Small scale and personal programme

I was pleasantly surprised that all classes were in seminar format ... something I really missed during my undergraduate days of lectures with 200 students in the room! Following classes in a small group meant that topics could be debated and discussed, thus facilitating understanding and learning. Alongside the core statistics courses, I learnt about bio-ecological models, developmental and parenting problems, learning and socio-emotional disorders in educational contexts during my first year, and developmental psychopathology and child and adolescent development during my second year.  In fact, the programme was flexible enough to allow me to follow courses that interested me from the Research Masters in Psychology. I really enjoyed the statistics courses too; indeed, one of the main things I got out of the research master is the fact that I enjoy statistics, while previously I didn’t think I did. I owe this largely to the enthusiasm and dedication of the teachers, who made the learning accessible and enjoyable. They were also always available to answer queries and doubts.

My research projects

I highly value the fact that this research master gives the students the opportunity of working on two research projects. I think this really helped me develop confidence in using what I learnt during the taught courses. It also allowed me to further pursue my interests. For my first thesis I joined the research activities at the baby lab at the UvA, and I looked at the relation between positive shyness and social anxiety in toddlers. I learnt to code visual observations and I developed confidence in working independently on a project, as well as contributing to the planning and setting up of future research activities at the lab.

For my second thesis, I decided to look a bit ‘further afield’ and contacted researchers at another university in Amsterdam (VU), where I was given the possibility of contributing to the analyses of data from a multicentre randomised controlled trial. The study examined the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural intervention for children with chronic illness and their families, and I specifically looked at the moderators of the effectiveness, i.e. disease, child and parent characteristics that made the intervention more or less effective. I found the task of working with supervisors from different universities both a challenge (it was quite difficult to set up appointments given the different schedules/workplaces) and a blessing, as it helped me develop interpersonal and negotiation skills that are crucial in the workplace.

Overall, my experience of the research masters was an extremely rewarding one, one that gave me not only useful skills for life, but also good memories and great friends!

Finding a job after graduating

I am very interested in research, but I would also like to develop applied clinical skills. Therefore, after completing the Research Master’s and taking a few months off to travel, I decided to look for a job that would allow me to work in a clinical setting. I was eventually offered a research assistant position within the English National Health Service.

I currently work in two in-patient units for adolescents with severe psychiatric problems, such as anorexia nervosa, depression and schizophrenia. As part of my work, I collect routine outcome measures, I analyse and report data, and I help set up new research projects. The Research Master’s programme gave me the skills and knowledge to do this confidently on a daily basis.