Depression has traditionally been linked to increased inflammation. Innovative research by psychologist Eiko Fried refutes this popular assumption. He shows that specific depression symptoms such as sleeping problems explain this relationship. Publication in Psychological Medicine .

Leiden University has appointed a commission to investigate whether there are any grounds for allegations of antisemitism within the Faculty of Law. The commission, which has already begun its investigation, comprises three members and is chaired by Professor G.J.M. Corstens, former President of the…

Following the fall of the fourth Rutte cabinet, Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Dilan Yesilgöz addressed the Dutch media about the ‘influx’ of family reunification applications by asylum permit holders. In her view, it would put enormous pressure on Dutch society and could jeopardise security.…

On behalf of its students and staff, the Executive Board of Leiden University would like to express our condolences to all those affected by last Friday’s earthquake in Morocco. We would also like to offer support to all students and staff who have family or friends in the area. In the meantime, several…

Jos F. Brosschot has been appointed as a professor by special appointment on the chair ‘psychophysiological mechanisms of stress in daily life’. This chair has been created by the Foundation for Research into Psychosocial Stress.

News from Food Citizens? Winter School alumnae

Finds uncovered in the east of Germany show that Neanderthals stored and preserved vast amounts of meat and/or temporarily aggregated in larger groups to exploit the spoils

Within the space of a few months, the Heritage Quest citizen science project, whereby volunteers scan elevation maps of the Veluwe area for burial mounds and other prehistoric remains, has already led to groundbreaking new insights. Hundreds of burial mounds have been found, as have a huge number of…

Researchers from Leiden University, KU Leuven and Paris II compared the French legislative proposal with the Dutch Civil Code. They published their findings in the Revue internationale de droit comparé (RIDC). Some recommendations have been adopted by Jean-Jacques Urvoas, the Minister of Justice.

In Indonesië zijn studenten massaal in opstand gekomen tegen de regering, die vlak voordat er straks een nieuw parlement aantreedt, nog snel een aantal nieuwe wetten wil doorvoeren.

A broad package of measures has been launched to deepen and expand the EU-Switzerland relationship. Christa Tobler was interviewed by both Süddeutsche Zeitung and ARD/Deutschlandfunk about these developments.

Between the early thirteenth and early sixteenth centuries CE, the Sultanate of Cairo affected the balances of power elites across and beyond the regions of Egypt, Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. Modern historiography has for a long time been determined by the idea of this sultanate as a highly…

Annelot van Esbroeck-Weevers, PhD student at the Molecular Physiology research group at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, headed by Dr. Mario van der Stelt, has been awarded the Best Oral Communication Prize at the 8th European Workshop on Cannabinoid Research, held from 31 August to 2 September 2017…

Call for Papers: Yearbook for Dutch Book History 33 (2026). Deadline 1 April 2025.

On Friday 16 December the Research Traineeship Programme of the Faculty of Humanities opened officially.

Following ASEAN Customs Transit System pilots in Cambodia, Lao, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) system has now been formally launched for general use.

In 2020, many of our staff and students have again won prestigious prizes and been awarded important research subsidies.

From Monday 19 July onwards, eighteen children between the ages of 10 and 12 are learning the programming language Hedy. In the Snellius building of Leiden University they will be taught the first principles of programming this week.

This page provides updates on the protest today at the Academy Building and Hortus botanicus in Leiden.

The Leiden University Excellence Scholarships Programme (LExS) provides scholarships for excellent international students from outside the EU/EEA who come to Leiden to follow a master’s programme. The first eighty LExS scholarships have been awarded for this academic year.

Three researchers at LUCL have been awarded a VENI-grant by NWO.

As from 1 February Adriaan Bedner is the new KITLV professor (bij special appointment) of Law and Society in Indonesia at the Van Vollenhoven Institute (VVI), Leiden University.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which is carrying out the investigation into the MH17 disaster has identified four suspects who have been brought in connection with bringing down the aircraft. The four are to be prosecuted and as a result have been placed on international wanted lists.

Monika Baár is among the 17 scientists who have been invited to participate in the 6th edition of the European Parliament's MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme which takes place in Brussels between 28 and 30 November, 2017.

Concrete pillars without a roof, windows without glass, storeys without walls. It’s clearly evident that the South Cluster is being dismantled. Take a look at the photos!

Starting 1 September, three new Programme Directors will begin at FWN. Daan van der Es, Reinout van Weeren, and Amineh Ghorbani will each be responsible for a master's programme in our faculty.

Peter Jurgec has been awarded a Rubicon grant to do research at LUCL. His project is entitled The unique sounds of Slovenian. His project aims to provide a complete description of Slovenian phonology and stress systems.

In 2018, the Swiss Federal Government published the draft text of a Swiss-EU agreement intended to adapt the institutional rules of five existing EU Agreements.

Barend Beekhuizen's dissertation has been nominated for the annual AVT/Anéla (Dutch Linguistic Association and Society for Applied Linguistics) dissertation prize!

Professor Bert Meijer has been reappointed as a member of Leiden University’s Board of Governors by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven.

Prof. dr. Lisa Cheng has been nominated for the Regional Chair at the University of Nantes (France).

Since 1 April 2018, a new project on impact has been pursued by CWTS, coordinated by Anne Beaulieu. The project has been the occasion to focus on a number of areas of activity at CWTS and to consider their impact. It has also spurred an institute-wide reflection on the meaning of impact and on the kinds…

Leiden PhD candidate and vet Luc Janssens discovered that a dog found at the start of the last century in a grave dating back 14,000 years had been sick for a long time and had been cared for. He and Thijs van Kolfschoten were interviewed by National Geographic about this discovery.

David Shakouri has been awarded a PhD-position by NWO for the PhDs in the Humanities Programme.

We welcome Paul Sharp as The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's first Honorary Editor.

The plane trees from the forecourt of Cluster North have been moved to the Herta Mohr building (Cluster South). The trees could not remain in their original location because of the forthcoming renovation of Cluster North. They have been moved already in advance of the flowering season. In June, the…

Ingrid Tieken, Professor at the English Department of Leiden University, has been awarded a Vrije Competite grant by NWO.

After a lobby lasting many years, the Dutch government has decided to finance an independent study of the war of decolonisation (1945-1950) in the former Dutch East Indies. This is partly due to the work of Professor of Colonial and Post-Colonial History, Gert Oostindie, Director of the KITLV. ‘The…

If there’s one place at the University where it doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s De Kattekop. This, the University nursery, celebrates its 40th birthday in September. Its history reflects developments at the University. Parents are full of praise for it.

It is sufficiently plausible that the professor from the Faculty of Archaeology exhibited the ‘inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour’ detailed in the advice of the investigating committee. That is is unless the professor provides counter-evidence. This is the conclusion of the Subdistrict Court…

We have been working from home for over 9 weeks. How are the staff members of the Institute for History doing? Andrew Gawthorpe shares his experience below.

Over the past few years, citizen scientists from the Heritage Quest project have scoured the entire Veluwe and Utrechtse Heuvelrug areas for unknown archaeological heritage. One of the results of this research is that the number of known burial mounds in this area has doubled.

Peter Akkermans, Professor of Archaeology of the Middle East, cannot say for certain how much damage the destruction by IS has caused in Palmyra.

The EU has been negotiating a trade deal with Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, for over 25 years. In recent weeks, significant progress has been made. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Mercosur leaders in Asunción, Paraguay, on 17 January to sign the deal.

What makes peace missions succeed or fail? Which new technologies will determine the outcome of wars? In recent decades, insufficient use has been made of knowledge of modern warfare, when this is crucial to European security. This is what Frans Osinga, Professor by Special Appointment of War Studies,…

Many people work less after turning 60 which is not helping the economy. Egbert Jongen, Professor of Economics, will explore with his team how employers and policymakers can help older employees stay healthy and keep working, even after the statutory retirement age.

De nieuwe leerstoel bij de Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid is onderdeel van de samenwerking tussen de Universiteit Leiden en de rechtbank Den Haag.

Sjaak Neefjes, professor of Chemical Immunology at the LUMC, has been awarded a Spinoza prize of 2.5 million euros. His colleague Ton Schumacher, professor of Immunotechnology affiliated with Leiden University, the LUMC and the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek cancer centre, has been awarded the Stevin prize,…

Doctoral Grant for lecturer to research witness protection at the international courts.

Kinderen hebben wereldwijd een betere toegang gekregen tot de rechter. Hoogleraar Kinderrechten Ton Liefaard schrijft dit in het tijdschrift Sociale Vraagstukken. Hij is voorzichtig positief over de resultaten van een VN-protocol voor rechtsbescherming van kinderen, dat tien jaar bestaat.