Course offer

Exchange students can freely choose from the course units available to them and according to their level of studies. If the exchange student is in their 3rd year at the time of the exchange, they can select 1st-year, 2nd-year and 3rd-year courses from their study field. If the exchange student is in their 2nd year of study at the time of the exchange, they can only select 1st-year and 2nd-year courses.

Explanation course type abbreviations in Ocasys:

Elective PS = Psychology

Elective PA = Pedagogical and Educational Sciences

Elective SO = Sociology

1, 2, or 3 = study year

Students should take into account that they might have to fulfill prerequisites for certain course units. Information on prerequisites can be found in the course description by clicking on the course title in Ocasys.

Additional requirements for Master/Graduate level courses:

If you are a Bachelor/Undergraduate level student at the time of the exchange, you are not allowed to follow Master level courses. Unfortunately, no exceptions can be made.

Master/Graduate level courses can only be followed by students from a university with whom we have an agreement stating that we accept Master/Graduate students. The student needs to have completed a Bachelor's degree and needs to have sufficient background knowledge.

An academic year consists of two semesters. Each semester is divided into two blocks (a + b). Each block finishes with an exam period.

A normal workload corresponds to 15 ECTS per block/ 30 ECTS per semester/ 60 ECTS per year. 15 ECTS per block corresponds to 40 hours of work per week (incl. self-study). Students often underestimate the workload and should therefore not opt for more than 15 ECTS per block (exceptions may only be granted in urgent cases).

Courses given at other faculties that are open to exchange students can also be found in the online course catalogue ‘Ocasys’. Courses are usually labelled as ‘course units for exchange students’. Degree or exchange students that are enrolled at the relevant faculty where the course is given have priority over exchange students from other faculties. There is no guarantee an exchange student from the Faculty BSS can be placed in a course given at another faculty!

The International Office always has to ask the relevant faculty for permission. Students who are interested in a course given at another faculty and who fulfill the relevant 'prerequisites' as stated in Ocasys are asked to add the course to their course selection form so we can make a request to the exchange office of the relevant faculty.

Keep in mind that BSS exchange students have to select the majority of their course units at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences! This means that if the students is planning on following 6 courses during their exchange, 4 of them have to be selected at our faculty.

Dutch studies

A popular programme among exchange students is the "Dutch Studies Program" which is offered at the Faculty of Arts. This programme includes courses in Dutch Literature and History, within a European perspective.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences does not offer any language courses.

At the UG Language Centre you can take language courses in various languages (Dutch, English, German, Spanish etc.) at various levels. These courses are not part of the regular curriculum and will not count towards your studyprogram/transcript of records. These courses can also be subject to charges! For more information and application, contact the Language Centre.

Want to learn Dutch and get introduced to Holland?

• Learn to speak, write and understand basic Dutch, with this free Dutch language course (MOOC)

• Learn Dutch online via Duolingo

• If you want to learn basic sentences that can be helpful when living and working in the Netherlands, you can download the Free Dutch Survival Kit from the RUG Language Centre

Students with little or no prior knowledge in Psychology are advised to select courses from the minor 'Psychology in Society'.

The 'Challenging Youth' contains all Bachelor-level courses in the field of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences that are open to exchange students. Our English-language elective programme aims to acquaint students with the contribution that the Pedagogical Sciences make to analyses of and interventions in issues that may arise in child-rearing, collectivised in the notion of ‘challenging youth’. This process of familiarisation is done by presenting students with a dual set of perspectives on challenging youth. On the one hand, historical, theoretical, intercultural and socio-scientific conceptual resources—including for example gender and ethnicity—are deployed to show students a highly diverse and transnationally recognisable area of pedagogical care. On the other hand, typically Dutch forms of orthopedagogisch or special needs responses are introduced that address problems by actively intervening in the national system of education, schooling and youth care.

This course package contains all Bachelor-level courses in the field of Sociology that are open to exchange students. Challenging Society is a faculty-wide combination package which was designed to complement the course offer for exchange students whose major is Sociology. Students learn how to analyse the interplay between individuals and their social environment from a Behavioural and Social Science perspective. Drawing on knowledge from Educational Science, Social Psychology, and Sociology, this combination of courses offers an interdisciplinary approach to the topic of Challenging Society.

In exceptional cases - and only if meeting the specific entry requirements (= prerequisites) -, exchange students can be admitted to BSS courses that are not labelled as 'course units for exchange students'. Students who are interested in a BSS course that is not labelled as 'course units for exchange students' and who fulfill the 'prerequisites' for this course as stated in Ocasys, may add such course to their course selection form so we can make a request to the lecturer.
Note: If it is explicitly stated under 'remarks' that a course is not open to external (or exchange) students, then there is no possibility to follow the course.

--> Courses of the Research Master are not available to exchange students!

--> Capita Selecta coureses are not available to exchange students

Bachelor/Undergraduate level exchange students

If you are a Bachelor/Undergraduate level student at the time of the exchange, you are not allowed to follow Master level courses. Unfortunately, no exceptions can be made.

Master/Graduate level exchange students

If you are a Master/Graduate level student at the time of the exchange, you are allowed to follow Master level courses if you meet the additional requirements

• The student needs to have completed a Bachelor's degree and needs to have sufficient background knowledge
• Master/Graduate level courses can only be followed by students from a university with whom we have an agreement stating that we accept Master/Graduate students
• Students who would like to follow Master/Graduate level course need to have a language proficiency level of at least C1. For more information please visit our languge requirements page.

Note: because of a new policy in 2021-22 that only allows a limited amount of students to enter the Psychology Master degree programmes, we cannot guarantee admission to all of our available Master level courses.

Courses given at other faculties that are open to exchange students can also be found in the online course catalogue ‘Ocasys’. Courses are usually labelled as ‘course units for exchange students’. Degree or exchange students that are enrolled at the relevant faculty where the course is given have priority over exchange students from other faculties. There is no guarantee an exchange student from the Faculty BSS can be placed in a course given at another faculty! The International Office always has to ask the relevant faculty for permission. Students who are interested in a course given at another faculty and who fulfill the relevant 'prerequisites' as stated in Ocasys are asked to add the course to their course selection form so we can make a request to the exchange office of the relevant faculty.

Dutch Studies Program

A popular programme among exchange students is the "Dutch Studies Program" which is offered at the Faculty of Arts. This programme includes courses in Dutch Literature and History, within a European perspective.

Students who need to attend specific course units as a mandatory requirements of their degree programme should take the following into account:
In case the relevant courses they need to follow at the BSS faculty are not open to exchange students or in case the required courses are given at another faculty, students should send an email to the International Office as early as possible before the start of their exchange period. They should explain why they have to follow those courses and give proof that they fulfill the prerequisites (=> according to the information on Ocasys). That way, the International Office can explore possibilities in due time. This will be more difficult at a later point in time since some courses fill up quickly. There is no guarantee an exchange student enrolled in the faculty BSS can be placed in a course given at another faculty or in a BSS course that is not labelled as a course unit for exchange students.