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Education Master's and PhD degree programmes Educational Sciences Learning in Interaction
Header image Learning in Interaction
Master - full-time

Learning in Interaction

How do students learn in schools? What role do individual differences play in learning? How can you improve learning environments to help students learn and develop?

Many processes in learning take place through interaction. It is the motor of learning and development, and therefore key to improving education. While we all recognize these interactions in learning, specific skills and knowledge are needed to drive insights and improvements in the educational field.

During this master, you will:
  • learn to take a scientific, evidence-based approach to better examine day-to-day interactions between students, their teachers and learning materials
  • zoom in on the complex processes through which we
    - learn academic subjects
    - develop cognitive and meta-cognitive skills and
    - acquire social competencies
  • combine different theoretical perspectives and didactical problems
  • understand learning processes in context
  • examine the challenges that arise in optimizing learning environments to learners' needs.
Interested? Check out the information events or contact our study advisor.

You can also follow this programme part-time.
Facts & Figures
Degree
MSc in Educational Sciences
Course type
Master
Duration
12 months (60 EC)
Croho code
60099
Language of instruction
English
Start
February, September
Faculty
Behavioural and Social Sciences
Apply now

Why study this programme in Groningen?

The Master Learning in Interaction in Groningen offers

  • solid, research-based insights into what works—and what doesn’t—in learning and education
  • a deep theoretical understanding of how learning occurs—through interaction with others, with artefacts like books, apps, and virtual reality, and through self-reflection
  • working in small groups on your research project guided by a committed staff member
  • close collaboration with staff in their research project
  • the opportunity to apply your academic training in a hands-on internship, where you'll tackle a real-world challenge as an educational scientist.

Programme

The track is designed to provide you with a blend of skills, theoretical background and practical experience required to understand learning processes and to (re)design learning environments.

  • Courses cover diverse evidence-based perspectives on learning processes and key characteristics of learners and context. This will enable you to apply design principles for optimal learning environments.
  • In your research project (research proposal and thesis) you will work in small groups, guided by a staff member.
    Your research will be embedded in the research currently conducted by our researchers, so you can profit from our updated expertise and academic experience.
  • Connecting your academic training to practice is the focus of the internship. Here you will work within an organization (a school, university, publisher of educational materials, etc.) in trying to address a real issue where your expertise as educational scientist is needed.
Semesters
CoursesCourse Catalog >1a1b2a2b
Elective course, for example Educational and Organization and Management (5 EC, optional)

This course discusses how schools can be organized in such a way that the organizational structures, processes, and culture facilitate, support and monitor student and organizational learning. Both characteristics of effective schools and school improvement processes are discussed.
*Methods and Techniques for Evaluation Research (5 EC)

The course offers in-depth knowledge, insights and skills related to quantitative empirical research, with a special focus on (quasi) experimental evaluation research.
Learning in Human Interaction (5 EC)

Focuses on the centrality of human interaction in learning and development. Examines theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence about the most important sources of human interactions in educational settings: the interaction of learners with their teachers, and their interaction with peers.
*Internship (10 EC)

Students apply their expertise as educational scientists to tackle a real question embedded in an educational organization. 5 EC internship: see https://ocasys.rug.nl/current/catalog/course/PAMAOW02 / 10 EC internship see: https://ocasys.rug.nl/current/catalog/course/PAMAOW03

*Master thesis (20 EC)

Students conduct their final research project, from research question to the scientific, written report: the Master's Thesis. Students work in close collaboration with their supervisor, in a thesis projects that is well-embedded in active research lines of our staff members.
Learning in Interaction with Artefacts (5 EC)

Focuses on design principles and roles of learners in interaction with different sorts of artefacts, and on the unique learning opportunities that interaction with artefacts can offer.
Student Diversity in the Inclusive Classroom (5 EC)

This course acts as a framework to the track, from which the limitations of the principle “support meets needs” are analyzed. Relevant themes are the role of teachers and the design of learning environments to support learning given multiple sources of student diversity.
Reflection in & on Learning (5 EC)

How do students learn and how does metacognition influence learning? Metacognition is an important concept in cognitive theory. It consists of two basic processes occurring simultaneously: monitoring your progress as you learn, and making changes and adapting your strategies if you perceive you are not doing so well. The course focuses on the big ideas about metacognition.

Curriculum

Courses marked * are general courses

Study abroad

  • Study abroad is optional

Consult about the possibilities with the programme coordinator.

Entry requirements

Admission requirements

Specific requirementsMore information
previous education

To be considered for admission to the MSc in Educational Sciences/Learning in Interaction, you would need an academic Bachelor's degree which is comparable, in level, to the Dutch (research) university Bachelor. This degree should be in the field of Educational Sciences or in one of the other Social Sciences (Psychology or Sociology).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Our programme deals with the academic study of educational processes, and it is therefore not aimed at directly developing teaching (pedagogical or didactical) skills.
knowledge minimum

The transcripts show evidence of sufficient courses on:

  • General research methods (preferably quantitative AND qualitative)
  • Statistics for the social sciences (basic and inferential)
  • Academic disciplinary knowledge on education, developmental psychology, educational psychology, sociology of education, and adjacent fields.

Previous experience with academic writing (e.g., Bachelor thesis), is desirable, but not an entry requirement.
language test

The official language of the programme is English. Non-native English speakers must provide evidence of satisfactory results for one of the standard tests mentioned below. Official test results must be supplied. Please note, we do not accept Institutional TOEFL results as evidence of English proficiency.

IELTS: overall 6.5; writing 6.5; speaking 6.5 | TOEFL internet-based: overall 90; speaking 22; writing 24 | CAE / CPE: C, B or A | Dutch pre-University diploma (VWO) including English: 5.5 for English |
other admission requirements

If the Board of Admissions doubts whether an applicant possesses content knowledge that matches our entry requirements, the Board of Admissions might request the applicant to submit an assignment and to hold a digital interview to discuss the submitted assignment.

IMPORTANT: International students who need unconditional admission to apply for a scholarship need to apply to the programme at least 2 months previous to the scholarship application deadline.

Transfer options

Transferring from...

Study programmeOrganizationTransition
All Universities of applied sciences

Via a pre-master with a maximum of 60 EC

More information:
  • Students with a related higher professional education (ALO, PABO/PA, hbo-pedagogiek, HKP, HPO, 4-jarige tweedegraads lerarenopleidingen en hbo-psychologie): see https://spo-groningen.nl/
  • For unrelated hbo: see 'written request'
Social WorkAll Universities of applied sciences

Via a pre-master

More information:

Here is the associated exit profile: Youth
Study programmeOrganizationTransition
Pedagogical SciencesUniversity of GroningenNo additional requirements
SociologyUniversity of Groningen

Additional requirements

More information:

The admissions committee assesses whether you are eligible.
Psychology (NL)University of Groningen

Additional requirements

More information:

The admissions committee assesses whether you are eligible.
Study programmeOrganizationTransition
Academic training primary school teacherAll Research universities

Additional requirements

Additional requirements:
  • (motivation-) letter
More information:

NOT ONLY 'Academic training primary school teacher'. PLEASE NOTE: transferring with additional requirements **applies to students with a bachelor's degree in Educational Sciences from a university other than the RUG**

Registration procedure

For the registration procedure please have a look at this page.
For more information about the tracks, please contact the study advisor: studyadvice.peduc rug.nl.

To apply for this programme, first go to Studielink. After you have submitted your details in Studielink, you will receive an e-mail with the information necessary to activate your user account for The Progress Portal.
See the application procedure for some guidance in Progress Portal.

Then, please upload the following documents in The Progress Portal:

  • a copy of the (Bachelor) diploma on the basis of which you ask admission to our programme (both original language and translated in English)
  • a copy of your transcript of courses (both original language and translated in English)
  • a copy of your results for one of the mentioned English tests (except for native speakers)
  • a copy of your passport or ID card

    If you have any doubts about your application, please contact us at: admissionsoffice rug.nl

Application deadlines

Type of studentDeadlineStart course
Dutch students01 June 202501 September 2025
01 December 202501 February 2026
01 June 202601 September 2026
01 December 202601 February 2027
EU/EEA students01 June 202501 September 2025
01 December 202501 February 2026
01 June 202601 September 2026
01 December 202601 February 2027
non-EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025
15 October 202501 February 2026
01 May 202601 September 2026
15 October 202601 February 2027

Admission requirements

Specific requirementsMore information
previous education

To be considered for admission to the MSc in Educational Sciences/Learning in Interaction, you would need an academic Bachelor's degree which is comparable, in level, to the Dutch (research) university Bachelor. This degree should be in the field of Educational Sciences or in one of the other Social Sciences (Psychology or Sociology).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Our programme deals with the academic study of educational processes, and it is therefore not aimed at directly developing teaching (pedagogical or didactical) skills.
knowledge minimum

The transcripts show evidence of sufficient courses on:

  • General research methods (preferably quantitative AND qualitative)
  • Statistics for the social sciences (basic and inferential)
  • Academic disciplinary knowledge on education, developmental psychology, educational psychology, sociology of education, and adjacent fields.

Previous experience with academic writing (e.g., Bachelor thesis), is desirable, but not an entry requirement.
language test

The official language of the programme is English. Non-native English speakers must provide evidence of satisfactory results for one of the standard tests mentioned below. Official test results must be supplied. Please note, we do not accept Institutional TOEFL results as evidence of English proficiency.

IELTS: overall 6.5; writing 6.5; speaking 6.5 | TOEFL internet-based: overall 90; speaking 22; writing 24 | CAE / CPE: C, B or A | Dutch pre-University diploma (VWO) including English: 5.5 for English |
other admission requirements

If the Board of Admissions doubts whether an applicant possesses content knowledge that matches our entry requirements, the Board of Admissions might request the applicant to submit an assignment and to hold a digital interview to discuss the submitted assignment.

IMPORTANT: International students who need unconditional admission to apply for a scholarship need to apply to the programme at least 2 months previous to the scholarship application deadline.

Registration procedure

For the registration procedure please have a look at this page.
For more information about the tracks, please contact the study advisor: studyadvice.peduc rug.nl.

To apply for this programme, first go to Studielink. After you have submitted your details in Studielink, you will receive an e-mail with the information necessary to activate your user account for The Progress Portal.
See the application procedure for some guidance in Progress Portal.

Then, please upload the following documents in The Progress Portal:

  • a copy of the (Bachelor) diploma on the basis of which you ask admission to our programme (both original language and translated in English)
  • a copy of your transcript of courses (both original language and translated in English)
  • a copy of your results for one of the mentioned English tests (except for native speakers)
  • a copy of your passport or ID card

    If you have any doubts about your application, please contact us at: admissionsoffice rug.nl


Application deadlines

Type of studentDeadlineStart course
Dutch students01 June 202501 September 2025
01 December 202501 February 2026
01 June 202601 September 2026
01 December 202601 February 2027
EU/EEA students01 June 202501 September 2025
01 December 202501 February 2026
01 June 202601 September 2026
01 December 202601 February 2027
non-EU/EEA students01 May 202501 September 2025
15 October 202501 February 2026
01 May 202601 September 2026
15 October 202601 February 2027

Tuition fees

NationalityYearFeeProgramme form
EU/EEA2025-2026€ 2601full-time
non-EU/EEA2025-2026€ 21400full-time

Practical information for:

Dutch studentsInternational students

After your studies

Job prospects

In today's rapidly evolving job market, there is a growing demand for experts who understand learning processes and can optimize educational and professional learning environments.

As a Learning in Interaction graduate, you will be well-equipped to work across various sectors, including education, corporate training, and research, in roles that focus on analyzing learning processes and improving learning experiences. With your expertise in learning and interaction, you’ll be prepared for a career where you can make a real impact on how people learn and grow.

Career services BSS
Where do you want to work after your studies? You can contact Career Services already during your studies. They will help you orientate on your career, develop your skills, apply for jobs and find an internship.

Job examples

  • Educational consultant

    advising schools and institutions on curriculum design, teaching strategies, and learning interventions in all sectors of public and private education, as well as in public and private training.

  • Instructional designer

    Developing educational materials, apps, virtual reality environments and e-learning solutions based on learning sciences for any level of education, from primary- to higher education.

  • Learning & Development Specialist

    Designing and implementing training programs in companies and organizations.

  • Teacher Trainer or Coach

    Supporting educators in improving teaching methods and student engagement for any level of education, from primary- to higher education.

  • Academic or applied researcher

    Conducting studies on learning and development in universities, research institutes, teacher training centres, government education departments, school advisory services, and knowledge and innovation centres in education.

  • PhD student

    at a university

  • Teacher Trainer or Coach

    Supporting educators in improving teaching methods and student engagement for any level of education, from primary- to higher education.

Research

Thesis project

Your master’s thesis projects will be supervised by researchers active in the field: your project will be closely connected to a larger research initiative.

Some examples of thesis topics:
  • Support of beginning teachers
  • Beginning teacher's fulfilment of psychological needs and well-being
  • Addressing ethnic-cultural diversity in Dutch classrooms
  • Effect of a Virtual Reality on Classroom Management Strategies
  • Differences in need-supportive teaching between students with and without special educational needs
  • Culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy of teachers that educate newcomers in the Netherlands
  • Critical thinking in education: State of the art and practical approaches
  • Self-regulated learning and responsibilities for learning in higher education

Research

Our research is conducted within the Groningen Institute for Educational Research (GION). Relevant current research is categorised under the theme Learner, teacher and instruction (web pages in Dutch). Projects in this theme:

‘Assessment of collaborative learning/group work in higher education researches’ researches how to effectively assess collaborative learning in higher education, considering current practices, challenges faced by instructors, and available tools, while balancing individual accountability and teamwork.

‘The effects of different variants of feedback on learning to read and understand philosophical texts’ seeks to improve the difficulty many vwo students have in reading and understanding philosophical texts by designing an online programme and evaluating its effectiveness through experimental research.

‘The development of self-regulated learning among secondary vocational (vmbo) students’ maps the self-regulation development of vmbo students, providing insights for teachers and curriculum improvement to better prepare students for vocational education where self-regulation is key.

‘Everyone at work! Classroom engagement as a collective process’ is a literature review of collective engagement in secondary classrooms, examining its definition, mechanisms of change, and the teacher's role in regulating collective involvement processes.

Emerging talent in learning communities: the role of students explores how, when, and under what conditions ‘talent moments’ emerge in higher education learning communities, aiming to help educators foster interactions that support students' talent development.

Order in the Virtual Reality preschool classroom uses an interactive VR preschool classroom to help prospective teachers practice and refine classroom management strategies, bridging the gap between theory and practice in a safe, immersive environment.

Professionalizing Online/Blended/Hybrid Education searches for new insights into how to professionalise teachers in online/blended/hybrid education, exploring course design, student impact, and effective innovations to support university and higher education in Groningen and beyond.

Staff members Learning in Interaction

prof dr Jan-Willem Strijbos
expertise: technology-enhanced learning; collaborative learning; peer assessment and feedback.

prof dr Alexander Minnaert
expertise: motivational social-emotional, neurological, and (meta)cognitive aspects in development and (gifted) student learning, implementation of educational innovations aiming at development, self-regulated, collaborative learning and inclusion.

dr Jasperina Brouwer
expertise: higher education; workplace learning.

dr Marjolein Deunk
expertise: teacher-child interactions; language and literacy development; early childhood education and care; discourse analysis; cultural diversity in education; differentiation.

dr Danny Kostons
expertise: self-regulated learning, executive functioning, eye-tracking.

dr Mayra Mascareño Lara
expertise: classroom interactions; instructional quality; development in early childhood.

dr Alma Spijkerboer
expertise: developmental psychology, neuropsychology, executive functioning, digital learning environments, self-regulating learning and reading comprehension in secondary education.


Apply nowBrochureEventsContact
Dutch diplomaInternational diploma

Contact

  • Admissions Office bss.msc (for students with a non-Dutch diploma)
  • Dr. Mayra Mascareño (staff member)
    Email: m.n.mascareno.lara rug.nl
    Telephone: +31 (0)50 363 6912
  • Study Advisor Educational Sciences
    Email: studyadvice.peduc rug.nl
Testimonial of docent Danny Kostons
You gain a deep theoretical understanding of how learning works when interacting with other people, artefacts such as books, apps and virtual reality, and in interaction with themselves.with yourself.
– docent Danny Kostons
‘Up till the fourth year of pre-university (VWO), I was a good student who scored eights and nines. Then the ‘second phase’ (transl.: the last two years of HAVO and the three last years of VWO) was introduced, and along with it the so-called study house (Dutch: studiehuis).

The idea was that this would make students learn in a self-regulated way, but as a result, my marks for the science subjects went into a free fall and I passed by the skin of my teeth. My degree in Technical Computer Science ended up being a failure because I had never learned how to learn. That made me so cross. You cannot throw people into the deep end just like that. Before you are able to manage your own learning process, you have to be properly skilled.

There are all kinds of persistent beliefs about learning, for instance that there are different learning styles. In this Master’s track, you will gain sound science-based knowledge about what does and does not work. We focus on all micro-processes inside and outside the classroom. Students gain a deep theoretical understanding of how learning works in interaction with other people, with artefacts such as books, apps and virtual reality, and in interaction with themselves.

I teach Reflection in and on learning: how can individual students self-manage after their studies towards professionalization and lifelong learning?

Our students often end up in international settings. They develop educational materials, apps, virtual reality environments. My tip: look at what kind of research projects there have been within our track over the past two years. That will give you a good idea of what you will likely be working on soon.’

For the master's track Learning in Interaction

Study associations

ODIOM

As a student of the programmes Pedagogical Sciences, Educational Sciences, the AOLB and the Switching Programme of Pedagogy (SPO), you can become a member of ODIOM, the friendly and active study association.
As a member, you benefit from discounts on all required textbooks and receive the newsletter every two weeks. ODIOM has over 800 members and organises a wide range of educational, sporting and social activities every year, such as guest lectures, excursions to pedagogical and educational institutions, the introduction camp for first-year students, trips abroad, get-togethers and parties.
https://www.odiom.nl/
Student profile
You
  • are an educational professional
  • are interested in the analysis and improvement of practices aimed at the promotion of student learning
  • would like to update your academic knowledge and academic and professional skills
Study support

In the programmes of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, there is a strong focus on study advice. There are several study advisors are available. You can contact them as a prospective student, current student, or former student of programmes within the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences.

Study advisors can assist you with questions regarding:
• the content of the programme
• planning and organising your studies
• choices during your study
• registrations
• programme regulations
• taking courses outside your programme
• studying abroad

They are also available for personal support.
Don't hesitate to get in touch or make an appointment with one of the study advisors.

For brief questions, please email: studieadvies.pedok rug.nl
You can make an appointment via the online scheduling system: https://fbss.as.me/schedule/9de94536 ,
or by phone through the Student Service Desk: +31 50 3636301

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