Overview specialisation | Educational Psychology

Learn to understand individual learning processes in order to design adaptive (technology-enhanced) learning tools and materials.

How can you ensure great education, knowing that not everyone learns in the same way? For example, how do you make sure that a gifted student stays challenged and motivated? Or the other way around: what is the best way to support students who have more problems with learning? And how can you enable students with different levels and interests to work together in a group? Within the specialisation in Educational Psychology, you will study learning from an in-depth psychological perspective. The key is to understand the (mental) learning processes and (differences in) individual learning needs in order to make education more adaptive.

What to expect?

Whereas educational science programmes generally focus on learning environments as a whole, the specialisation in Educational Psychology within the Master’s in Psychology focuses on the individual learner in an educational context. You will gain an in-depth understanding of cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioural aspects of learning, including competence, personality traits, well-being, and self-esteem. With this expertise, you can support teachers and educational institutions by providing tools and teaching strategies tailored to the individual learning needs of students—whether a six-year-old pupil, a university student, or an employee in a professional setting.

This specialisation also addresses contemporary challenges in education. You will study how innovative educational approaches, such as game-based learning, educational apps, or blended learning, can enhance motivation and learning outcomes, helping to implement effective teaching strategies in diverse educational contexts.

Examples of courses you will follow:

Adaptivity in Learning and Instruction explores how learner characteristics influence the design of adaptive learning environments and differentiated educational practices.
Positive Education focuses on student well-being and motivation, emphasising engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.
Learning and Instruction examines what makes instructional materials effective and how psychological theories explain the ways people learn and process information.

What will you learn?

As a graduate of this Master's and this specialisation, you have acquired specific, scientific knowledge, skills and values, which you can put to good use in your future job.

After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- have a thorough understanding of psychological theories of learning and the role of technological innovations in learning;
- have contemporary knowledge on instructional design principles for various objectives, diverse audiences, and different contexts;
- have expert knowledge on prevalent ways to assess learner characteristics and how to attend to differences.
After successfully finishing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- can (re)design instructional materials for various objectives, diverse audiences, and different contexts;
- are able to investigate the quality of existing learning materials and formulate relevant guidelines for optimisation and implementation of these materials;
- can create interventions to optimise learning experiences for diverse audiences and in different contexts.
After completing this Master’s specialisation, you:
- have developed a substantiated, context-dependent approach for designing learning materials;
- value differences in learner characteristics and consider this in developing and investigating learning contexts and materials;
- maintain a critical attitude towards the design of (technological) innovations in the learning context.

Other master’s and specialisations

Is this specialisation not exactly what you are looking for? Maybe one of the other specialisations suits you better. Or find out more about these other Master’s:

Master’s in Educational Science & Technology

Courses & Research