From 1974 on, education in the Maastricht University has been student-centered via problem-, project-, and patient-based learning. Thematic, multidisciplinary educational units focus on organ systems, life stages, pathophysiological principles, and/or chronic disorders. With problem-based learning (PBL) students cooperate in small tutorial groups to achieve their learning objectives. In the latest version of the curriculum a more gradual transition from theoretical learning to clinical training is achieved. Special attention is paid to professional behavior and assessment which is considered as a learning tool. PBL has been forwarded as a modern tool by which common medical problems are vehicle for the study of Physiology. Upon reading and discussion students decide what information they need to understand the basic science underlying the case. Basic sciences are thus learned in context. PBL has been compared with conventional teaching (CT). CT is teacher-centered and leads to a lower motivation to study than in PBL. CT also relies more on rote learning, while PBL promotes active learning, an effect of which is a better retention of knowledge. Because PBL is based upon an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, and uses a problem-solving approach, the applicability, respectively relevance of gathered knowledge is higher than in CT. Since PBL stimulates the management of information gathering it also promotes the professional behavior and life-long learning.