The Faculty of Humanities is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse community, where all students and staff are supported, respected, and empowered to do their best work, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, age, religion, or socio-economic background.

The Leiden Faculty of Archaeology is a world renowned academic centre for the study of the past. Our archaeologists and heritage experts are involved in innovative projects all over the world.

The dissociative chemisorption of a molecule on a transition metal surface represents a rate-limiting step in many heterogeneously catalyzed processes, whereby most chemicals are made. In spite of the importance of this reaction, an accurate first principles approach to modeling it does not yet exist.…

An Investigation into the role of copper-alloy craft production in the early medieval economy of northwest Europe.

This collaborative project aims to explore the history of the concept “barbarism” in Europe from the 18th century to the present, with a particular emphasis on the role of literature and art in the concept’s shifting functions.

This research focuses on the (Quantum) Dynamics (QD) of the reactive scattering of H2 from metal surfaces.

To be eligible for Hebrew and Aramaic Studies (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Ancient History (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Linguistics (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for the research MA Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the Present at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Latin American Studies (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Asian Studies (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Leiden University will be recording a brand-new series of podcasts in 2019: Science Shots. Our top scientists will talk about their research in less than 15 minutes. Tip: something to enjoy on the train journey between Leiden and The Hague, our two University cities!

To be eligible for Arts, Literature and Media (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

As far back as 1575, Leiden University researchers have been leaving their mark on the world.

Onlangs verscheen het boek ‘Afgrond zonder vangnet’ van Yra van Dijk, hoogleraar Moderne Nederlandse Literatuur. In haar boek analyseert ze verschillende thema's in het werk van Arnon Grunberg.

Bachelor, Master

Leiden archaeologists investigate how people in the past impacted their environment. Together with scientists, environmental scientists, and humanities experts, they use this information to draw conclusions about the present – and show what we can learn from it for the future.

Since the 16th century, religious concerns have motivated the study of Old English and its speakers. In the 19th century, scholars turned to the study of Old English literature in particular to find traces of pre-Christian, ‘Germanic’ religion, as discussed in Eric G. Stanley’s seminal work The Search…

Here you will find an overview of the Spaces for Active Teaching and Learning already implemented at Leiden University and LUMC. These rooms vary in size, location, material affordances, and technological affordances, and thus vary in the forms of pedagogy they best support. You can use this site as…

The Aesernia Colonial Landscape project investigates ancient settlement patterns and dynamics around modern Isernia in Molise (Italy), the Latin colony of Aesernia (founded 263 BC). It consists of intensive systematic field survey in the territory of the colony, combined with remote sensing and geoprospection…

Do Ethiopian wolves change their diet and foraging strategy in the landscape under different land uses? How land use affect Afro-alpine rodent Communities? How important are Afro-alpine natural resources utilisation for local livelihoods? What is the human perception of conflict in the Afro-alpine a…

Postdocs, or early career researchers, play a crucial role at Leiden University. They make a major contribution to our research. In 2019, Leiden University employed around 400 postdocs across our faculties in Leiden and The Hague, LUMC not included.

The Tappino Area Archaeological Project aims to map and analyze ancient settlement patterns and dynamics in a small valley in Central-Southern Italy, in modern Molise (province of Campobasso). The first sites in the area date to the Bronze Age. In the Iron Age to Classical period, it was reportedly…

The activities of the Europa Institute (also known as the Department of European Law) are supported by ‘Stichting Europees Instituut’. This foundation was the first of its kind in both the Netherlands and Europe as a whole. Established in 1957, its aim was to ‘support and advance the study of scientific…

One way for governments to conduct foreign policy and promote national interests is through direct outreach and communication with the population of a foreign country. This is called public diplomacy. Historians such as Helmer Helmers and William T. Rossiter have shown that printed media were already…

We carry a profound responsibility for our research animals and strive to provide them with the best possible quality of life. In our studies, we make every effort to avoid and minimise discomfort for the animals. Below, you can learn more about how this is put into practice.

The hinterland of important centres like Petra (Southern Jordan) can provide essential information that contribute to the understanding of their rise, expansion and decline.

Students of Leiden University's Master's in Visual Ethnography join a decades-long legacy, producing inspiring films and projects supported by the Metje Postma Fund.

To be eligible for Middle Eastern Studies (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

In their vision trajectory, the Office for the Senior Civil Service (in Dutch: Bureau Algemene Bestuursdienst) communicated its plan to renew its vision on public leadership. Over the course of 2021, the Leiden Leadership Centre contributed as a scientific partner to the substantiation of this visio…

The Old Observatory has a rich history. On this page you will find a short version of the history that took place in the observatory.

This project aims to excavate and date the setting of the east gate of the Roman fortress of Udhruḥ. This will be compared with other Diocletianic military installations from the region. We also hope to retrieve another gate inscription which can shed light on the function and political embedding of…

From 2 to 5 September 2015, Leiden served as the stage for one of the world’s largest linguistics conferences: the Societas Linguistica Europaea (SLE) 2015 Annual Meeting. Marianne Mithun, a professor at University of California, Santa Barbara and outgoing president of the SLE, is not surprised that…

The acquisition and administration of the possessions of the “Teutonic House” in Utrecht, and its dependencies, in the Middle Ages until c.1600.

Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State is a major multidisciplinary research project which aims to re-vision the history of Asia in one of its most significant periods. The project is based at the British Museum, British Library and the School of Oriental and African Studies, and…

On 10 November Guanmian Xu successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

To be eligible for African Studies (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Asian Studies at Leiden University is unparalleled in the Netherlands and combines the very best of Asia-related research in North-West Europe.

the production, use and exchange of bodily accoutrements through the lenses of the microscope

Pushing the boundaries of quantum theories – that’s exactly what the physicists at Leiden University excel at. Researchers in Leiden are launching eight new quantum research projects as part of the Quantum Limits consortium.

To be eligible for Classics (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Colonial and Global History (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Europe 1000-1800 (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Leiden has much to celebrate: first, 450 years of the Relief of Leiden and then 450 years of Leiden University. And that is no coincidence.

To be eligible for Assyriology (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Egyptology (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.