Do you want to get your stay in Leiden off to the best possible start? Then you cannot afford to miss OWL, Leiden University’s introduction week for international students. In addition to having lots of fun, you’ll make new friendships and start getting to know the University and the city.

With your degree in Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives, you’re more than a specialist in world philosophy. Alongside your subject expertise, you’ve developed a broad set of academic skills that give you a strong start to your career. Graduates often find roles where advising, archiving…

Discover all the Leiden Science teaching talent that was part of this year's lineup.

If you are about to embark on a master’s in Leiden and the city and university are completely new to you, you should seriously consider participating an introduction week.

University building Campus Spui The Hague

As a graduate of the BA English Language and Culture programme you’ll be very knowledgeable about a language that’s spoken all over the world and of a culture that’s influenced many other countries. With your ability to communicate and present yourself in English, you’ll be ideally qualified for a wide…

Our institutes abroad are instrumental for Leiden’s internationalisation activities.

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 9 April 2026 at 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm.

This programme explores Graeco-Roman political, social, and cultural dynamics, focusing on empire development and its societal impact. It shows how imperial rule shaped cultures, religions, and identities, using inscriptions, papyri, coins, and archaeology to highlight perspectives beyond elite sour…

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

A delegation from Xi’an Jiaotong University visited Leiden University on 25–26 March, celebrating ten years of cooperation in education and research, and exploring new opportunities for future collaboration.

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

In 2024, many of our students and staff won great prizes and secured important research grants.

The lecture series 'Humanity in the Automated State' examines how AI and automated systems are transforming government and public administration and what it means to be human within these digitised institutions.

Practise in the Board Room and getting start-ups through difficult times. Students of Harmen Jousma, lecturer in Science Based Business, learn about the art of doing business. Jousma is one of the three nominees for the Leiden Teaching Prize.

Leiden University is 444 years old this year! And we have big plans to celebrate this special birthday in 2019 - together with the people of Leiden and The Hague.

How do you know if your idea has succeeded? The Queen coming to call a year and a half later might just be a clue. This happened to the Leiden student foundation ‘Door Het Geluid’, which promotes student well-being.

The Salt Farm Texel, supported by a number of professors from various Dutch universities, offered a report on saline agriculture to the Minister for Agriculture van Dam on Wednesday 22nd of February. The researchers report that a number of important crops are much more tolerant to salt than assumed…

Around 1:00 p.m., a group of more than one hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the The Hague campus. Participants chanted slogans and put up banners. The vast majority of those taking part left the building after a short time. However, a small group refused to leave. Follow updates in this…

On this page you will find all information about the Bachelor of Security Studies that you need as a first-year student.

The Dies Natalis for alumni on 11 February was an online event. Almost 1,000 alumni tuned in to Bastiaan Rijpkema’s interview with Annetje Ottow, who had then been President of Leiden University’s Executive Board for all of three days. Alumni are part of her portfolio on the Executive Board.

Nationale Week Zonder Vlees is een landelijke campagne en wordt breed gedragen door diverse partners uit de voedselindustrie!⠀

2020 was an eventful year. You can see that in our photos: one and a half metres distance, an empty university, attending ceremonies online and working from home. The image editors have selected the twelve most eye-catching photos of the past year..

On Saturday 7 December, Leiden professor of Observational Astrophysics Ignas Snellen received the Hans Sigrist Prize from the University of Bern. The prize was awarded to him for his groundbreaking research on planets outside our own solar system.

Professor of Science Communication Ionica Smeets will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University. She receives the award because she exemplifies how science communication can bridge the gap between experts and the general public.

Which teacher has the talent to really motivate their students or is able to combine current research in their lectures? These are important qualifications for winning the yearly university wide Teaching Prize. Dr. Karène Sanchez, lecturer French language and culture, is one of the nominees.

On Thursday, November 20, 2025, the Leiden Jewish Studies Network celebrated the launch of the book Still Lives: Jewish Photography in Nazi Germany (The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) co-authored by Ofer Ashkenazi (Jerusalem), Sarah Wobick-Segev (Hamburg), Shira Miron (Basel) and Rebekka Grossmann…

PhD defence

The Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law team regularly publishes in both Dutch and international academic journals and book series.

An overview of the media appearances of scientists working with the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs about terrorist attacks in Europe, their consequences, and more.

Physicist, former D66 party leader and author, mainly of children’s books, Jan Terlouw, gives three to four readings a week. Even at the age of 86 he is tireless in communicating his message: ‘We need to regain trust in one another, and we have to seek fraternity.’

Marius Staring, Associate Professor at the LUMC has been awarded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funding for further development of image processing software Elastix

In Dutch nature, plant species that depend on pollination by insects are disappearing. Environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan shows this after analysing 87 years of measurements from more than 365,000 locations. Several national and international media reported on the study results. Below is an overview…

Professor Hester Bijl will be appointed Rector Magnificus of the Executive Board of Leiden University on 8 February 2021. She will be the first female Rector Magnificus of Leiden University. Bijl has been Vice-Rector Magnificus of the University since 1 November 2016. Carel Stolker, who has served as…

Three new initiatives will provide a more diverse view of Leiden’s academic history, literally and figuratively: a historical study on the background of students and scientists, a new book about the Academy Building, and two new sculptures of female scientists, Ewine van Dishoek, Professor of Molecular…

Met groot plezier heeft de Universiteit Leiden van 1 tot 4 november het X Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Hispanistas del Benelux (AHBx) georganiseerd, met het thema Transhispanismos: contactos y contagios (Transhispanismes: contact en besmetting). De AHBx is een platform in de Benelux dat…

Sinds september 2010 werken Geerten Waling en Anne Heyer in het NWO project ‘The Promise of Organization’.

Tussen de sterren is niet alleen leegte. Er zweven ook stoffen als methanol en koolstofdioxide. Chemische theorieën kunnen nog niet verklaren hoe die zijn ontstaan onder omstandigheden die dat juist onmogelijk zouden moeten maken. Fedor Goumans gaat met een Veni-beurs proberen die vraag te beantwoor…

Various ministries started building nuclear bunkers in the seventies to shield themselves from a possible nuclear attack from the East. One of these nuclear bunkers lies below our new Wijnhaven building. This specific bunker was designed for important figures of government, and was built to function…

Op 30 september 2021 gaat professor Marc Boone (Universiteit Gent) op emeritaat. Op woensdag 8 september vindt er een huldiging plaats en wordt een bundeling van zijn beste stukken, verzameld door zijn leerlingen, voorgesteld.

De voorjaarsvergadering van de Stichting Oudchristelijke Studiën vindt plaats op 7 maart 2020. De ochtendlezing wordt verzorgd door Prof. Gie Vleugels, terwijl Dr. Klazina Staat instaat voor de middaglezing.

De vijfde Dag van de Medioneerlandistiek wordt georganiseerd in Nijmegen door de Radboud Universiteit op vrijdag 24 maart. Het thema luidt: ‘De medioneerlandistiek en de wereld van nu’. Zet de datum alvast in je agenda; nadere informatie volgt. Graag tot dan!

Op 25 maart organiseert het Utrecht Centre for Medieval Studies een online lezing door Angus Stewart, getiteld “The Mongol Invasions of Syria and the Armenians: Changing Perspectives”.

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