IOPS Curriculum (Courses & Conferences)
Below you can find a general overview of our courses, including a general description. Please note that some courses are given biennially and that the months stated are indicative only (due to circumstances, a course may be organized in another month)
In our Course Agenda you will find the current scheduled courses and, when available, specific information on dates and programs.
Educational plan
This overview can assist prospective IOPS students to draw up their education plan.
The curriculum part of the requirements consists (updated 2025-2026*):
– 2 EC mandatory course “What is Psychometrics?”
– 8 EC elective courses (see for an overview IOPS courses below)
It is allowed to follow relevant elective courses outside IOPS up to a maximum of 2 EC.
Please contact secretariaat@iops.nl. See also Requirements for the IOPS Certificate.
Registration & Costs
You can register for all courses with the IOPS secretariat at secretariaat@iops.nl
Courses are free of charge for IOPS members. Affiliated members or other externals might have to pay a fee. The fee can differ for each course and can be requested with the IOPS secretariat. Regular IOPS members have priority when courses are full.
SMIP courses
We have a standing collaboration with our German partner SMiP. This collaboration includes mutually opening courses. SMiP courses count for 0,8 ECTS/day, up to a maximum of 5 ECTS electives for the IOPS certificate.
The SMiP Summer School takes place every odd year at the University of Mannheim, Germany. We offer a reduced participation fee for current IOPS members and will prioritize their workshop preferences over external participants’ preferences.
For all information, see our SMiP webpage.
Utrecht Summer School Courses
The Utrecht Summer School offers a variety of courses, including two that are particularly relevant to IOPS students and part of the IOPS curriculum: A Gentle Introduction to Bayesian Estimation and Survey Design. In addition to these, other courses Methodology & Statistics – relevant to psychometrics and sociometrics – are also available to IOPS students.
Please note:
– IOPS-members can take one course for free per year
– this only applies to the courses Methodology & Statistics.
If you are interested in a specific course, we recommend reaching out to the course coordinator to confirm its relevance to your studies. To find and register for a course, please go to the Methodology & Statistics website (Utrecht Summerschool).
Other courses suitable for master level students
If you have an interest in courses related to Psychometrics and Statistics and are not currently a member of IOPS, please find this list of courses offered by other universities that you may find interesting and may be eligible to attend.
Overview IOPS courses*
| #EC | Mand/Elect | Even years | Odd years | ||
| January | Meta-analysis (TiU) | 1 | Elective | 2027, 2029… | |
| January | Statistical Learning (LU) | 2 | Elective | 2026, 2028… | |
| March/April | SMiP Courses** (SMiP) | 0,8/day | Elective | 2026 | 2027 |
| June | IOPS Summer Conference (2026 – SMiP/RUG) | n/a | 2026, 2028… | 2027, 2029… | |
| June/July | SMiP Summer School Courses (SMiP) | 0,8/day | Elective | 2027, 2029… | |
| July | A Gentle Introduction to Bayesian Estimation (UU) | 1,5 | Elective | Not available in 2026 | 2027, 2029… |
| August | Advanced Survey Design (UU) | 1,5 | Elective | 2027, 2029… | |
| September | What is Psychometrics? (UvA) | 2 | Mandatory | 2026, 2028… | 2027, 2029… |
| October | Bayesian Item Response Modeling (UT) | 2 | Elective | 2026, 2028… | |
| October | Statistical Natural Language Processing (TiU) | 1 | Elective | 2027, 2029… | |
| October | Optimization & Numerical Methods (KU Leuven) | 2 | Elective | 2026, 2028… | 2027, 2029… |
| November | The Use of Data in Decision-Making, incl. Standardized Psychological Tests (RUG) | 2 | Elective | 2026, 2028… | |
| November | Mixture Models (VU) | 2 | Elective | 2027, 2029… | |
| December | IOPS Winter Conference (2026 – To be announced) | n/a | 2026, 2028… | 2027, 2029… |
*) The (mandatory) course ‘Statistical Consulting to Behavioral Scientists‘ is no longer available. Please check the new guideline on mandatory & elective courses above in the paragraph ‘Educational Plan’.
**) See also the SMiP webpage for details on the courses. Please register by sending an e-mail to Annette Förster.