BACHELOR OR MASTER THESES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY?

Due to the increasing aging of society and the improved neuropsychological intervention possibilities for age-associated diseases, there is currently a high demand for psychologists with neuroscientific expertise. The real ratio of neuropsychologists to patients in German clinics is currently still far below the guidelines of the German Pension Insurance Association (VDR: Verband Deutscher Rentenversicherungsträger) of 1:20. There is thus a great potential for development in the neuropsychological field. Indispensable for such work is the knowledge of psychological contents and neurological basics. Since only a few universities have biopsychological or neuropsychological work units, all our graduates in recent years have obtained very good positions within a very short time after graduation.

Biopsychological research in the context of a bachelor, master or diploma thesis combines research and application. The main areas of our research are the development and physiology of functional brain asymmetries, the neuronal basis of decision-making decision behavior and attention and different forms of learning. We use a variety of methods to provide a solid foundation for our findings. We are particularly well versed in electrophysiology (EEG and single cell derivations), diverse behavioral paradigms for humans and animals, histology and imaging techniques (fMRI, DTI). 

In research, the main motivation is curiosity and the thirst for knowledge to understand the neural basis of complex behavior. At the same time, it teaches you how to approach a problem systematically, how to review the literature, how to apply statistical knowledge, and how to integrate your own results with existing knowledge. A bachelor's, master's or diploma thesis in biopsychology therefore offers optimal starting conditions for those of you who would like to work in the expanding field of clinical neuroscience practice. But also those of you who aspire to a university career (e.g. doctorate) can benefit from a bachelor, master or diploma thesis.

Our work at Biopsychology RUB peeked your interest either through this website, a seminar you visited or simply by talking to your professor in one of our courses and you wish to participate in our work through your bachelors or masters thesis?

Then do not hesitate to contact our Head of the Department of Biopsychology Prof. Dr. Drs. h.c. Onur Güntürkün directly via email or if you already know a specific topic you are interested in the person that works on that topic. While we can not guarantee you the possibility of a spot in all of our projects, we are happy to help you find a suitable topic for your thesis at our Department.

Addresses, Emails and phone numbers of our team members can be found here.

Hello,

thank you for your interest in our lab!

In the lab, we study brain asymmetries and cognition. For this to do, we have some people that do animal research and a group of people working with humans. We use behavioral, electrophysiological, molecular, imaging, and anatomical methods. If you have a preference regarding these specializations, please specify this in your application. Please take care that your English is spotless.

To apply for an internship, just send 1) a letter of application and 2) a CV as pdf files per mail to Gesa Berretz (Gesa.Berretz@rub.de). She coordinates internships in our department.

Please make sure to specify in your letter of application:

• Why you would like to work with us
• How long you would like to work with us
• When you would like to work with us
• If you would like to work full time or part time
• If this is a mandatory or voluntary internship
• If you have a preference for human or animal research

Please be aware that we do not provide any internship funding. Due to organizational reasons, voluntary internships cannot be longer than 4 weeks unless you organize external funding, for example by Erasmus. We do not have a fixed amount of internship positions. An internship is possible as soon as a researcher is in need of an intern and has the possibility to supervise him/her during the time you specified. You will receive feedback on whether or not we can offer you an internship within 4 weeks after your application.

If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact Gesa Berretz.

Kind regards,
Onur Güntürkün