Master Psychology

Whether you can be admitted to a master’s track first of all depends on your previous education. In addition, some master's tracks have specific criteria that must be fulfilled.

Checklist before applying:

1. Check under step 1 whether you satisfy all the admission requirements and criteria.
2. You can apply between 15 January and 1 March/1 May (depending on your chosen track) for the start of the master's degree in September 2025.
3. Make sure you make a well-considered choice, because you can only graduate in one Master’s track. Once you have been placed in a track, you cannot switch to another track before the start or during the master's program.
4. You can apply before you complete your bachelor's degree, but must have obtained your Bachelor’s degree before the start of the master's programme.

Most master’s tracks have more admissible students than available places. A selection procedure, including a selection test, therefore applies. There are also a number of tracks without selection procedures, to which you can be directly admitted.

An overview of available places for each track can be found under the heading ‘master’s tracks: starting dates and available places’ further down on this page.

* These tracks only start in September
** Please note - students from outside the EU/EEA
We strongly advise you to submit your application in good time (more than a month in advance) so that you will have enough time to arrange or extend your visa.

Several weeks after the application deadline, you will be notified whether you qualify for admission to the Master’s track(s) of your choice, whether you need to participate in a selection procedure, and what the next steps in your admission process are.

If you apply for a master’s track with a selection procedure, you will be invited to take a selection test. Please note that in order to be invited to take the test, you will have to provide a sufficiently serious motivation for your track preference in the application form.

Test
The selection test is a general test of your knowledge of topics that are likely to have been covered by general Bachelor’s degree programmes in Psychology. The test will consist of 60 questions, take 90 minutes, and will be administered in English.

Location
The selection test will be held on site in Groningen.

Eligibility for an online test
Students who are working on or have completed a Bachelor’s degree outside the EEA and are still living outside the EEA* will be given the opportunity to take the selection test online. You may also be eligible for an online test if you (temporarily) live outside the EEA for study-related activities that are relevant to your current Bachelor’s degree or your desired Master’s track. The test will then be administered with online surveillance. In both cases, contact the admissions committee via toelatingscommissie.masterpsy@rug.nl.

*Including the United Kingdom and Switzerland, students from these countries must also take the selection test on-site.

Practice test
We would like to give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the content and method of the test. Examples of test questions can be found in Selectietoets - oefenvragen (PDF document).

A practice test will be made available in due course, so that you can also become familiar with the test environment. You will be notified of this via email.

Place allocation
A ranking list will be drawn up for each track based on the selection test and a ballot. This list contains all students who indicated this track as their first choice, supplemented with students who indicated the track as their second choice.

Given the limited validity of the test, a high/low categorization will be used rather than a full ranking based on test scores. Students will be placed in the categories High or Low based on their scores, in such a way that a large majority will fall into the High category. Subsequently, for each track, the students in the High category will be placed on the ranking list for the track in random order via a ballot, after which the students in the Low category will be added to the bottom of the list in random order via a ballot. This will first be done for the students who indicated the track as their first choice, and subsequently (and therefore below them on the ranking list) for the students who indicated the track as their second choice.

In this way, each student is assigned a ranking number on the list for the track(s) of their choice. Students with ranking numbers at or below the maximum number of available places will be offered a place in the track. All others are placed on the waiting list in the ranking order, and will be assigned a place as soon as one becomes available.

Students who fail to secure a place in the track of their choice can try again in a future selection procedure. The results of previous selections will not count in future selection procedures, and the selection test will have to be taken again.

Master’s tracks with selection procedures

Klinische Psychologie, Ontwikkelingspsychologie*, Klinische Neuropsychologie, Clinical Neuropsychology, Clinical Forensic psychology & Victimology*

Master’s tracks without selection procedures

Applied Cognitive Neuroscience, Applied Social Psychology*, Environmental psychology*, Talent Development and Creativity*, Theory and History of Psychology, Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology

* These tracks only start in September
** Please note - students from outside the EU/EEA

We strongly advise you to submit your application in good time (more than a month in advance) so that you will have enough time to arrange or extend your visa.

Your career already starts during your studies. Career Services BSS will help you shape this career. What would you like to specialize in, and what will you be able to do after you graduate? Are you considering a career as a psychologist, manager, lecturer, behavioural scientist, consultant, researcher, HR advisor, or educationalist? Or have you not decided yet and would like some information about possible options or where to start exploring?

Wil je graag iets weten van een ervaringsdeskundige over hoe het is om Psychologie te studeren? Onze studentassistenten voorlichting Psychologie beantwoorden je vragen: voorlichting.psychologie rug.nl.

Heb je inhoudelijke vragen over de opleiding Psychologie, kijk dan op de website, of stel je vraag aan een studieadviseur: studieadvies.psy rug.nl.

Who can I contact if I have questions about:

> registration (general)

Please contact the Department of Student Information & Administration (SIA)

> the content of the Psychology degree programme
Please contact the BSS Student Service Desk and Administration. First, check the current opening hours and telephone availability of the department.
Email: owbalie.gmw rug.nl, tel.: +31 (0)50 363 6301.
If you have a brief question, you can also send an email to the study advisor via studieadvies.psy rug.nl. You can make an appointment with the study advisor via the Student Service Desk.

> admission and selection procedure for the Master’s degree programme in Psychology

Please contact toelatingscommissie.masterpsy rug.nl

> a specific track

Please contact the coordinator of the track: Applied Cognitive Psychology | Applied Social Psychology | Cognitieve Psychologie en Psychofysiologie | Environmental Psychology | Klinische Psychologie | Klinische Neuropsychologie | Ontwikkelingspsychologie | Talent Development and Creativity | Theory and History of Psychology | Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology