Types of teaching

The KLI offers a varied teaching program with basic courses, methodology courses, research group meetings, theory-oriented workshops, and joint seminars.

Basic Courses

These basic courses are intended to improve skills in academic publishing and reviewing, and for new Ph.D. student members to get acquainted with the KLI and each other. Ph.D. students of the KLI are obliged to participate in the basic courses.

Methodology and Practical Courses

These courses are given by the KLI faculty who have specialist knowledge of specific methodological and practical techniques or data analysis procedures. The methodology training is an important part of the program. The courses are offered to increase the students’ skills in research methods.Practical courses are also designed to improve the opportunities for students on the labor market. An important responsibility of the KLI, is preparing PhD students for careers inside but also outside the academic world. Courses like Pursuing a Career in or Outside Science, and Physiological Measurements in Social Psychology are specially designed for this objective.

Research Group Meetings

Research meetings are planned for each of the four thematic groups:

1. Social Cognition (SC) - coordinated by prof.dr. Gun Semin (UU), prof.dr. Henk Aarts (UU), prof.dr. Jens Forster (UvA) and dr. Kai Epstude (RuG);
2. Interpersonal Processes (IP) - coordinated by dr. Michael Hafner (UU) and Hans IJzerman (VU);
3. Group and Organizational Processes (G&OP) - coordinated by dr. Wolfgang Steinel (UL) and dr. Lindred Greer (UvA) and
4. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations (GP&IR) - coordinated by dr. Bertjan Doosje (UvA), dr. Martijn van Zomeren (RuG) and dr. Belle Derks (UL).

These research meetings are excellent opportunities for exchanging information and ideas between the faculty and Ph.D. students.

In principle each research group organizes two meetings a year: one is a regular research meeting and for the other meeting a (national or international) expert in the field is invited to organize a workshop.

Ph.D. students are expected to (informally) present their own research once a year in these meetings if possible, and they will receive feedback from KLI faculty and fellow Ph.D. students. Participants can for example practice a presentation they will give at a conference, present research ideas, preliminary data, or discuss a paper they are currently writing and get feedback from colleagues.

All KLI PhD student members are expected to join at least one of the research groups and attend both meetings.

Theory-oriented Workshops

Theory-oriented workshops are given by KLI faculty and other experts in a particular research field. These workshops are field-specific and offer students the opportunity to acquire general knowledge of the field, to study theory and research actively in the field in depth, as well as its theory-derived applications (in some of the courses). International well-known researchers are invited to participate in these workshops by presenting their research and by actively participating in the workshop in which graduate students present their work.

Joint Seminars

In a joint seminar one of the five constituent departments invites a social psychologist of international standing. The invitee will organize a two-day workshop that is open to all KLI Ph.D. students. The organizing department and the KLI share the costs.

KLI Conference

In addition to these courses, every other year the KLI organizes a conference to provide students with a broad overview of the major developments in the fields covered by the KLI. At these two-day conferences internationally known researchers are invited as Keynote Speaker and to actively participate in workshops. During the conferences there is ample opportunity for students to communicate with the researchers and to expand their network.