What is it like to study Urban Studies in The Hague? Sonia Dobkowska, second year student, describes what a typical day looks like for her.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of the Faculty of Humanities with the Ivane Javakhishvili State University (TSU) in Tbilisi.

Leiden University values participation: the participation organs are the ears and eyes of the university. They identify issues of concern among staff and students and help advise and decide on the future of our organisation. Something for you? Then stand as a candidate! This year, elections will…

In the Pioneers of Leiden University series we talk to past and present students who were the first in their family to go to university. In this fourth instalment: alumnus and philosopher of law Ali Kösedag (1992): ‘Philosophising about equality before the law in the Netherlands at an early-morning…

The Leiden Science Young Talent Award is awarded yearly to a student who completed their bachelor’s degree with an excellent thesis.

Is there a place for machine translation engines like Google Translate within the Faculty of Humanities? Associate professor Lettie Dorst’s new educational website aims to help students and teachers find an answer to this question. ‘The use of AI tools, such as Bing and ChatGPT, shouldn’t be seen as…

The Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities regularly offers events and workshops related to all aspects of digital humanities. Events are aimed at connecting scholars from across Leiden's Faculties with a research interest in all digital aspects of their chosen subject area.

As University historian, Pieter Slaman researches the University’s past, but he’s equally interested in its present. ‘It’s useful to be familiar with issues from the past. Not to be rooted in the past because some developments from history are things you definitely don’t want to repeat.’

Hao Liu moved from China to Leiden to do her PhD trajectory at the Institute for Philosophy. What is it like to do a PhD so far from home?

The Dutch cabinet wants to stop organisations from using zzp’ers (self-employed professionals) for work that is deemed to be embedded in the organisation. The only exception would be when a person explicitly meets certain criteria for entrepreneurs.

‘We’ve come because our granddaughter started studying archaeology here this year. But I’m really interested in archaeology too.’ The Open Day at the Faculty of Archaeology on 12 October was a field day for archaeology fans: workshops, lectures, activities for children and a pub quiz that covered the…

Brand-new professor Gerard van Westen works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and drug development. For the new chair in Artificial Intelligence and Medicinal Chemistry, he uses computer models to make drug development more efficient. Our ultimate goal is a virtual human which allows you…

As we think it is important for you to choose a programme that truly suits you, matching is a compulsory part of your application.

The new book, ‘Njord in de Oorlog’ (Njord during the War), describes how the Leiden student rowing club was affected by the Second World War in a detailed series of personal stories. On Monday 16 November, Njord president Rosalie ten Wolde presented the first copy to Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker.

The main objective of the Telders Competition is to challenge students to excel in international law, consequently testing their creativity and powers of persuasion orally and in writing in a friendly competition.

A day filled with sunshine and prospective students. On Saturday 2 March, Leiden University's faculties welcomed around 6,000 prospective students and 4,000 parents. Throughout this sunny day, they heard all about what it's like to study at Leiden University. Here's an impression of the event at Leiden…

During the summer, staff of the Faculty of Archaeology congregate in all parts of the world, initiating or joining fieldwork projects. Read some of their stories here!

The Dutch State is set to challenge The Hague Court of Appeal's ruling that the Netherlands must stop exporting arms to Israel at the Supreme Court. The government believes that foreign policy falls within the political domain and not within the judiciary. Geerten Boogaard, Professor of Constitutional…

Satellites belonging to American space company SpaceX recently came very close to a Chinese space station. Experts are calling for traffic management rules in space.

Ten Leiden researchers have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant, of up to 280,000 euros, will enable them to elaborate their ideas over a period of three years.

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands have for the first time detected dimethyl ether in a planet-forming disc. With nine atoms, this is the largest molecule identified in such a disc to date. It is also a precursor…

Herman Boerhaave (1668 - 1738) is generally known to have been a dedicated doctor and chemist. However, the significant role he played in botany is less well documented, according to Margreet Wesseling. So she decided to write about about Boerhaave the botanist to mark the 350th anniversary of his birth…

Pope Francis has appointed astronomer Ewine van Dishoeck to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. She joins an illustrious list of Nobel Prize winners, such as Ernest Rutherford, Max Planck, Niels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger. What is her view on this? An interview with our professor of Molecular astrop…

The master’s specialisation Artificial Intelligence offers future-oriented topics in computer science with a focus on machine learning, optimization algorithms, and decision support techniques.

Following its foundation in 1575, Leiden University was quick to incorporate Roman goddess Minerva in its coat of arms. This explains why Rembrandt’s Minerva from 1635 can be seen on the façade of the Academy Building, which has been in use by the University since 1581. This is where, in the Senate…

Do political knowledge and democratic values encourage young people to participate in politics or not? Political Scientist Leila Demarest had a closer look at adolescents’ participation intentions in Nigeria and shared her findings with The Conversation.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of the Faculty of Sciences with one partner in Ukraine.

Conversation

The discussion on employability of higher education graduates has been around for several years, with more emphasis in the 21st century. Yet, universities are still challenged in the pursuit of providing work-ready graduates who can meet industry expectations.

The transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic is a major biological and cultural threshold in the construction of our common humanity. Technological and behavioral changes happened simultaneously to a major climatic cooling, forcing human populations to develop new strategies for the exploitation…

What is it like to study at the Humanities Faculty of Leiden University? Soon-to-be students experienced a day at university during the Experience Day 2017 and found out what studying really is about.

Leonard Blussé, emeritus Professor in the History of European and Asian relations, will receive the prestigious Japanese Academic Fukuoka Prize. Blussé receives the prize for creating a new academic field: 'The Maritime History of early modern East/Southeast Asia'. He will receive the Prize in September…

Do you have a project that will benefit from analytical skills or knowledge of science and business? Do you want to tap into talented graduate students and test-drive potential employees? Are you looking for temporary management support? Do you want to offer motivated science students the opportunity…

Find out all about our bachelor's programmes and studying at Leiden University at the Bachelor's Open Day on Saturday 7 March 2026 in Leiden and The Hague. There will be live talk shows about the bachelor programmes, campus tours and information markets where you can find out more about our programmes.…

Find out all about our bachelor's programmes and studying at Leiden University at the Bachelor's Open Day on Saturday 7 March 2026 in Leiden and The Hague. There will be live talk shows about the bachelor programmes, campus tours and information markets where you can find out more about our programmes.…

You can now register for SIP2021. Due to corona, this year's edition will take place online. Closely read the conditions of registration and register using the link below.

From Los Angeles to Tokyo, Urban Sociolinguistics is a sociolinguistic study of twelve urban settings around the world.

Ook Polen wil het recht op een tijdelijk afschaffing op asiel, zo maakte premier Tusk onlangs bekend. Hoe groot zijn de kansen in Brussel en vormt dit een optie voor Nederland? Mark Klaassen, universitair docent Immigratierecht, spreekt over de kwestie in het Algemeen Dagblad.

Philosophy alumna Naomi Rebekka Boekwijt returns to Leiden University on 20 June to present her latest novel Stemmen (Voices) in Plexus. ‘I wanted to show that things could be done differently in psychiatric care.’

Lecture

For the first time, it was shown in living cells how the bacterium E. coli regulates genes that help it survive in a new environment. Biochemist Fatema Zahra Rashid managed to do this using a technique she fine-tuned. Her research into changes in 3-dimensional chromosome structure offers clues for ways…

Criticism from doctors in the Netherlands about the policy to combat coronavirus is becoming louder. A letter raising their concerns was signed by one thousand doctors. It calls for a new debate on the current measures to deal with the crisis which were recently tightened. Supporters of the letter believe…

Children’s clothes are full of cute, fun and cool animals. Researcher Michiel Hooykaas investigated which animals were most prevalent, to see how cultural product can influence the knowledge of biodiversity.

Education is more than just knowledge transfer: students also develop numerous important skills. But which skills are addressed in which courses? And how can we help students train these skills? The Science Skills team is actively engaging with teachers to answer these questions for all courses. Want…

A bacterium hiding from the immune system and picking up bits of DNA from its environment. The result: gaining new traits, such as better protection against antibiotics. Fortunately, we have not found such a damning scenario yet. However, PhD student Renée Kapteijn did find the first clues, which…

Research at the Catalysis and Surface Chemistry group is comprised of the following research themes:

Peter Burger is a university lecturer at the master in Journalism and New Media and co-founder of Nieuwscheckers. He now teaches the course Factchecken at Leiden University. He also supervises theses and internships and conducts research into the trustworthiness of news and messages on social media.

Do you want to know more about what it feels like to study psychology in Leiden? The International Bachelor in Psychology offers various information activities you can attend.