Economic Psychology
During the Master's track Economic Psychology, you become an expert in economic behavior, consumer psychology and decision making related to marketing, financial behavior, and communication. In this Master's you will learn how companies, non-profits, and governments can use knowledge of economic and psychological reasoning to understand and influence consumer decisions and financial behaviors. Economic Psychology is a track of the MSc in Social Psychology.
Education and COVID-19
All education takes place on campus again, now that the coronavirus measures have been scaled back. Of course, we will always maintain a safe environment for our students and staff. Therefore, a few basic measures still apply. For the latest updates on the COVID-19 situation, see our FAQs for prospective students.
National Student Survey, 2022 | n=15
National Alumni Survey, 2021 | n=13
QS WUR by Subject, 2023 | Times Higher Education Subject Ranking, 2023
Program and courses
Learn to understand and apply psychological and economic insights to understand consumer behavior, financial decision-making, and marketing. This program has a strong practical orientation and aims to bring leading professional expertise into the classroom through soundboard groups with course-related professionals before the start of the academic year, practical assignments derived from an actual business cases, and opportunities for internships. Instead of lectures, you will attend courses in small, highly interactive work groups.
- Tilburg University has been a specialist in Economic Psychology since 1972.
- You will be part of an international classroom with small-scale, interactive education from a team of highly enthousiastic, internationally renowned scholars from dynamic research institutes like TIBER.
- This program is unique in the Netherlands, with its focus on consumer behavior, marketing and financial decision-making and its implications for public finances. It focuses on the critical and valid application of theory in practice, with an emphasis on how economic psychology and consumer psychology can be applied to companies, non-profits, and policy making.
- Challenge yourself by honing your professional skills during an internship (18 ECTS) in an organization chosen by you, or by doing a Double Degree program in Cross-Cultural Economic Psychology with the University of Osnabruck, Germany.
Typical courses are:
- The Psychology of Economics
- Money and Financial Behavior
- Psychology and Marketing
- Consumer Analytics Using Big Data
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Sanne Diepens
Master's student"Learning more about consumer behavior from a psychological perspective was why I chose this program. I gained knowledge in how people make decisions everyday in the context of financial decisions and buying behavior. "
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Quint Zieltjens
Digital Marketing Manager at McDonald’s Netherlands"Contributing a psychological background to the marketing field is a big advantage. Your perspective is the psyche and behavior of people, something that, for example marketing study programs, don’t really focus on."
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Vanessa Rettkowski
Graduate studentVanessa’s master thesis on greed and buying behavior won the Unilever Research Prize 2021. This prize is awarded annually to talented students who graduate on a theme that touches on the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
Career prospects
After completing this Master's program, you can conduct scientific theoretical and practical research in the areas of social and economic psychology. You are able to develop tools and interventions to solve practical problems and study their effectiveness. With these professional and academic skills, you can work in academic level positions in research, communication, marketing, financial services, advertising, or policy and consulting in private, semi-private or governmental organizations.
Example positions of graduates:
- Marketing Advisor
- Marketing Researcher
- Project Manager
- Teacher
- Researcher
- Policy Advisor
- Trainer or Coach
- Consultant
Alumni facts
- 3,6 months on average until first paid job
- 86% is (very) satisfied with the Master's program
- Gross monthly income one year after graduation: € 2,235
Source: National Alumni Survey, 2021 | n = 13
Application and admission
This Master's track starts:
End of August
Best preparatory programs:
Bachelor in (Social) Psychology
Pre-Master's program:
Not available. The following Master's programs do offer pre-Master's programs for students from universities of applied sciences (hbo): Sociology, Human Resource Studies, Organization and Management Studies, Marketing Management, Marketing Analytics, and Communication and Information Sciences.
Tuition fees and scholarships
International students, please find all information about the tuition fees and the scholarships available.
Interested in this Master's track?
More information on this Master's program
Download the brochure with information on program content, admission requirements, career prospects, housing and immigration matters, and student life in Tilburg. Throughout the year you can take part in various types of events: on-campus, abroad or online.
Interested in the MSc Economic Psychology?
Check your eligibility and the deadlines for application
Related Master's programs
Obtain 2 Master degrees and international experience by doing a Double Degree program:
Other related programs: