Are you interested in international organisations, issues of peace and security, or current changes in global political relations? Would you like to study the causes of terrorism and the resolution of violent conflicts? Develop your scholarship and skills in international affairs in The Hague.

‘Nederland is verworden tot een digitale kolonie en dit is ondermijnend voor onze democratie’ stelt Reijer Passchier, universitair docent staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering en democratische rechtsstaat aan de OU, in een uitzending van NPO-radio1.

As a Leiden University student, you’re part of Una Europa: an alliance of 11 leading research universities. This means access to a vibrant international community with many opportunities to study, gain work experience, and develop your leadership skills.

Are you curious about how science and technology contribute to a sustainable and innovative future? At Leiden University, you’ll explore the world of data, natural laws and living systems. From mathematics to artificial intelligence, from climate challenges to high-tech innovation: you’ll learn to analyse…

Are you curious about how science and technology contribute to a sustainable and innovative future? At Leiden University, you’ll explore the world of data, natural laws and living systems. From mathematics to artificial intelligence, from climate challenges to high-tech innovation: you’ll learn to analyse…

There are currently two projects in Coptic Studies that are supported by the NVIC. Both are directed by Dr. Karel Innemee and both take place in the Wadi Natrun.

Subproject of

Kim Stroet is examining how the interaction between teachers and pupils influences pupils’ motivation. ‘Children need to have the feeling that they are in control of their own learning process.’

Electrolysis is a technique that can be used to convert CO2 into fuels and other useful products. To do this efficiently and on a large scale, however, we need to understand exactly how electrolysis works. Professor Marc Koper is an expert in this field.

To construct catalysts that can produce fuels from CO2 innumerable times, we need to learn much more about how catalysis works. Irene Groot is conducting groundbreaking research into catalysis at the atomic level.

In autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism and diabetes the immune system attacks autologous proteins. Leiden researchers are trying to discover how this comes about.

How has democracy’s decline affected law making processes, enabling powerful stakeholders’ influence while minimalizing the protection of public interest and the environment?

In the large gas clouds between the stars, chemical reactions take place under extreme conditions, giving rise to both small molecules, such as water and common salt, as well as large complex molecules that can serve as the building blocks of life. This is known as astrochemistry and it is something…

What is the neurocognitive structure of human navigation ability? What different types of navigation impairment can be distinguished? How can navigation impairment best be diagnosed and treated? How can tools like serious gaming and virtual reality be used to diagnose and treat navigation impairment…

In countries with complex domestic situations, citizens have little opportunity to exercise influence on governance and policy. Leiden academics research these situations and share their insights with the public, such as in Nigeria for instance. This enables the people and their communities to improve…

People who are arrested on suspicion of preparing an attack are at risk of becoming radicalised either during or after their detention. Whether or not to arrest someone requires careful consideration. At the end of the prison sentence, it is important to provide effective supervision of the reintegration…

Is there extra-terrestrial life out there? It now looks as though we can sketch out an answer to this enduring question. Leiden Observatory is helping to build new instruments to find the most promising exoplanets.

Apps that can precisely identify shards, coins or heel bones: archaeology has embraced artificial intelligence. Alex Brandsen is working on a search engine that scans vast quantities of text from an archaeological viewpoint.

A post-colonial approach to the concept of time in the past and present Maya culture

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.

Leiden researchers study the extent to which Asian citizens can invoke the rights that they have on paper. This knowledge helps them advise the different levels of government and NGOs on how to improve the lot of poor citizens in particular.

Below you can read about studies we have carried out in the past.

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.

Researcher: Hieke Huistra MSc. This PhD-project is directed at the historical and educational import of the Leiden University nineteenth-century pathological collections.

As children learn, develop and acquire more skills, their legal position also changes. Professor of Children’s Rights Ton Liefaard works closely together with Leiden social sciences researchers to shed light on these growing capacities and their implications for our legal system. ‘Our ideas about children’s…

Fieldwork

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.

Research on the morality of life insurance. What issues are raised when insurance companies define responsibility and solidarity? Has insurance changed since the crisis of 2007?

For present purposes, it is important to distinguish between an early period of settlement, about 6800-6200 BC, and a late period, about 6200-5800 BC, at Tell Sabi Abyad.

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.

Large telescopes can look so deep into the Universe that they can also look back billions of years in time. From 2018, the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, will be able to see the period just after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies formed. Astronomers…

Treatment and care for cancer patients is becoming increasingly advanced. For example, surgeons can now perform operations with much greater precision, and therapeutic vaccines are being developed to prompt the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Work is also being done on better early diagnostics,…

Do you want to experiment with new teaching methods, connect education to society, or design a course with a colleague of another discipline? Then the Honours Academy is the right place for you.

To be able to measure small forces or small deviations from Boltzmann, the external vibrations at the resonance frequency must be very low. To achieve this, we have developed a very soft vibration isolation system and combine it with several other measures to reduce vibrations in our dilution refrigerators.…

This long term project in Jordan is at the basis of many specialists’ studies and has several off-shoot projects. The project, with its many approaches, is also a framework for much teaching in Levantine Archaeology at Leiden University, especially concerning fieldwork methods, artefact studies, research…

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

The elderly accept may minor discomforts like stiffer muscles and getting tired more quickly, but they do want to go to their children's birthdays independently. Preventive elderly care helps people with that. The goal is to let people grow old while maintaining their self-reliance and independence…