Master's Consumer Studies

About this programme

This MSc programme provides the knowledge and skills to analyse consumers making choices, acquiring products and services, using these products and services and disposing of them. To understand consumers in all their complexity, this program combines insights from psychology, economics, design, and sociology, in an interdisciplinary approach. In-depth academic insights are provided with views of the consumer as an individual, part of a household, and member of society. In addition, the Wageningen collaborations across the agriculture, environment and food domains allows students to learn the skills needed to effectively collaborate in teams with people from diverse backgrounds. \n\nThe first year starts with the course Consumer studies for sustainability: Perspectives and ethics, combining the different social scientific insights and providing the basis for the program. The first year also contains two courses that show the integration of consumer and natural sciences Sensory perception and consumer preferences and Consumer, technology and innovation. Included in the first year is also the Academic Master Cluster, in which teams of 5 to 7 students from different disciplines realize a transdisciplinary academic consulting project for a real company or other stakeholder. Nearing the end of the first year and to preaper for the thesis in the second year, students learn to integrate theoretical insights and to build a conceptual model in the course Advanced consumer studies. Finally there are courses to fill the methodological toolbox with advanced quantitative and/or advanced qualitative methods. By choosing your own electives (18 ECTS), students can deepen and broaden their knowledge in specific topics or areas of interest, for example to prepare for a desired labour market profile. The second year is filled with the master thesis project and an internship with an external company or organisation to prepare for a future job at academic level (either in the Netherlands or abroad).