On Tuesday 30 September 2025, PhD candidate Kathleen Brown will defend her dissertation 'Deception, Risk, and Evasion: The Politics of Sovereign Debt in Emerging Markets' in Leiden’s Academy Building. Her research sheds light on the hidden world of sovereign debt politics, revealing how governments…

When writing a thesis or paper you must make good use of the insights you have gained during your lectures and studies so far. You should also refer to relevant literature and carry out your own research on the topic.

Preparations

Incoming exchange Erasmus forms, transcripts, grades and credits

Every academic year, the POPcorner offers a wide range of workshops and courses to help you learn to learn. Workshops are available in both Dutch and English.

At the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, we are happy to help you. In many different ways, we offer support and advice. Here you will find an overview of where and who you can contact with your questions.

Are you curious about other disciplines and would you like to develop yourself more broadly alongside your bachelor studies? Discover the Honours College!

To arrange before departure

Studying is already a lot of work, so on this page you'll find the most sought-after information for students in their final year. Do you feel something important is missing? Let us know via the feedback button, and we'll improve it for the next student.

A study association is a good way to combine study-related activities with pleasure. Every faculty has one or more study association.

The university council and faculty councils are democratically elected co-participation bodies that represent both students and staff of the university and its faculties. Co-participation also takes place at departmental level through programme committees.

When writing a thesis or paper you must make good use of the insights you have gained during your lectures and studies so far. You should also refer to relevant literature and carry out your own research on the topic.

You’ve graduated. What’s your next step? Leiden University offers many options for students who have just finished their Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

Every semester, the Writing Lab organises interactive, hands-on (and free!) workshops to help you improve your academic writing skills.

Not all students spend the holiday season with family or friends. That is why the university is organising the fifth edition of the Winter Weeks this year. The goal remains unchanged: to offer both international and Dutch students who stay in Leiden or The Hague during the Christmas break a warm and…

Facility, Organisation

Conference, D&I Event

Hit the brakes! That’s the advice of the Council for Public Health and Society in a recent report. Eight psychologists share their insights on how to slow down and reconnect.

As every academic year, the leadership team of the Young Academy Leiden (YAL) is changing. Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, will be the new Vice-Chair. Annemarie Samuels, Asssociate Professor at Social Sciences, will be the new Chair. The Young Academy Leiden…

When are you (sexually) mature? A KNAW grant will enable associate professor Rafal Matuszewski to organise an interdisciplinary workshop on this question.

Many children have an unhealthy diet and do not get enough exercise. Sanne de Vries wants to help everyone get a healthy start in life.

We are looking for students who are 16 years or older and are studying at a Dutch mbo, hbo or university. Our aim is to gain insight into the needs and perceptions of students regarding stress and burnout. In short, we aim to carefully listen to the students’ needs: how can we help you?

A new study reveals how ancient Chinese farmers managed soil fertility and water resources over thousands of years. By analyzing carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in millet crops, the research provides long-term isotopic evidence of farmland management practices in the Guanzhong Basin—the political…

Edmund Flett, alumnus of the International Relations master's programme, has won the 2023 J.C. Baak Prize for his thesis ‘Settlements now, settlement later. Land swaps, settler relocation, and the viability of the two-state solution in Israel-Palestine’.

Six programmes in the Faculty of Humanities have been awarded the designation 'top programme' by the Keuzegids. These are the bachelor’s in German Language and Culture, Greek and Latin Language and Culture, Latin American Studies, Ancient Near East Studies, Religious Studies and Russian Studies.

Education, Social

A team of researchers based at Leiden has taken over the editorship of the journal Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations. For the first time, the journal will now be based outside the United States. The new Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor Alanna O'Malley…

Andrea Cortellari, a 2020 graduate of the MA program in Middle Eastern Studies at the Leiden Institute for Area Studies, wins the best MA thesis prize by the Society for Turkic, Ottoman, and Turkish Studies.

In Ancient Egypt, prominent families engaged in ancestor worship to maintain their high standing. Renata Schiavo researched this link between religion and power for her PhD. ‘People were afraid that their ancestors would bring misfortune if the family’s prestige declined.’

A ‘world class institute’ with a ‘vibrant atmosphere’, doing research on a continent that is ‘becoming increasingly important’. That is how Annetje Ottow, president of Leiden University’s Executive Board, described the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) on its 75th anniversary celebration on 8 September…

CADS lecturer Sander Hölsgens is one of the initiators of the NWO Smart Culture Project Documenting Complexity (project number CISC.KC.212). This project investigates how and why engaged documentary filmmakers use new technologies in their work. One of the outputs of this project is the series ‘In Whose…

Half the world's population is introverted and comes home drained after an evening of drinks. Their social battery is empty. 'People with autism have a similar experience, but much more intense,' says Boya Li, who researches emotional regulation in children with autism and hearing impairment. Does this…

As of 1 November 2021, Bart Willem Schermer has been appointed as Professor of Privacy and Cybercrime at eLaw – Center for Law and Digital Technologies.

Jelle van Buuren, university lecturer at ISGA, discusses the role that social media played in the storming of the Capitol last Wednesday

‘It was not always accepted, but I just wanted to be a researcher. Now, I am as happy as can be.’ It is one of the quotes from the International Women’s Day presentation for Biology students. Seven women, working as researchers and teachers at the CML, IBL, and Naturalis, shared their experiences with…

The Indonesian government has been trying to enforce marriage and divorce laws for some time. These efforts are encountering resistance from both local communities and the Indonesian Supreme Court. PhD candidate Al Farabi investigated where this resistance comes from.

Recently, the oldest parts of the Leiden University Archives have been preserved and digitised thanks to a grant from Metamorfoze. This makes an important source on the history of Leiden University – and academic life in the Northern Netherlands in a broader sense – widely available.

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

On Tuesday 5 September, the opening of the faculty year took place at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building. Staff and students gathered in the Cleveringa Room to take part in the interactive part of the programme.

LION

The cargo lost at sea as a result of the MSC Zoe disaster should be considered environmental pollution and information about it should be made public. This was the case made by Leiden Law School’s Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP). Following their investigation, the government has finally decided…

Research

Education, Research

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has granted four grants to Leiden humanities scholars. They get to spend this money on research on a topic of their choice, without thematic preconditions.

Cathalijne van der Plas will become Professor of Private International Law (0.4 fte) at Leiden University as of 1 October 2021. She succeeds Prof. Sierd Schaafsma who has become a judge at the Supreme Court as of 1 May 2021.

Facility, ICT, Library, Organisation

Kohei Suzuki, Assistant Professor at Institute of Public Administration, was interviewed by Infobae about loneliness in Japan and the role of government and society.

Professor of cardiology Douwe Atsma (LUMC) looks beyond the traditional boundaries of hospitals and healthcare institutions for solutions to increasing pressure on the current healthcare system.