Neural networks have a wide range of applications. In Leiden, psychologists use them to build robot brains, whereas archaeologists use them to hunt for prehistoric graves.

The international bachelor's programme in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology covers three years, allowing you to establish a firm foundation and specialise in topics that you find interesting.

The specialisations Art History and Museum Studies both engage in critical perspectives and in current practices and the development of a professional network. The specialisation Art History puts emphasis on the analysis of art works within a museal and curatorial context. Our courses, taught by art…

The specialisation Museum Studies focuses on the art museum and places it in an artistic, cultural, social and political context. Our courses, taught by art historians and museum experts, reflect on the latest academic debates and the latest insights from the working field.

Lecture, CHiLL series

Since January 2026, Alex Geurds has been the new Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology. His start was calmer than many expected, but behind that calm lies a period of exploration, listening, and strategic forward thinking.

On February 18th Dr Gerrit Dusseldorp gave a talk about the Umhlatuzana Rock shelter in Kloof (South Africa). This site has preserved some of the earliest traces of Modern Humans and helps us understand how people in deep prehistory lived, survived and adapted. The talk was streamed by Arise creative…

Cosmopolis seeks to explore the transnational and cultural dimensions of intra-Eurasian encounters through Dutch sources.

During the two-year History Research Master's programme you will learn from inspired academics and learn how to conduct high quality research.

Inaugural lecture

This project incorporates spatiality into the discussion of medieval demography, allowing for a more nuanced view on medieval town populations. It establishes a maximum population count for towns for periods prior to 1400 and provides a means to compare the ranking of towns using size and density instead…

Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is dedicated to ground-breaking and interdisciplinary research dealing with the relations between culture and society.

Thursday 21 November 2024

This interdisciplinary project applies data science techniques to qualitatively and quantitatively visualize the interaction between the University and the city of Leiden (Town&Gown) from 1575 onwards. One of the possible angles for follow-up research is diversity, especially from the international…

The pre-master's is a bridging programme for students who have applied for the MA Arts and Culture, but who, according to the Board of Admissions, still have deficiencies in their educational background. Once you have completed the pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the relevant specialization…

The APL (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia) is published once a year and showcases the increasingly diversity of research conducted at the Faculty of Archaeology. The APL currently forms a showcase for the faculty as a whole in which all employees can publish their research. By alternatingly publishing…

Silk Road Virtual Museum - A virtual museum of the art and culture of the regions that lay on the trade routes between Europe and Asia, popularly known as the ‘Silk Road’.

Water, Urbanism, and Sustainability in Roman Ostia

The Faculty of Archaeology

How does global change across time and space lead to convergence and loss of variation or increasing diversity and conflict?

Read on these pages all about the history of Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands. The Academia Lugduna Batava was founded in 1575 and its motto is: Libertatis Praesidium ('Bastion of Freedom').

Our East Asia experts work across various disciplines on global issues such as migration, heritage, and colonialism.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

The pre-master's is a bridging programme for students who have applied for the MA Arts and Culture, but who, according to the Board of Admissions, still have deficiencies in their educational background. Once you have completed the pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the relevant specialization…

An interdisciplinary and innovative research group combining History, underwater archaeology, GIS and wood provenancing methods.

In the BA African Studies you will gain in-depth knowledge of Africa and the specific theme of your choice. At the same time, you will develop valuable academic and digital competences, as well as personal skills.

This project investigates how sign languages change and spread over time, and how this is influenced by their transmission history.

Book by Dr. Mariana Françozo resulting from her research into the collection of count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, governor of the Dutch colony in Northeastern Brazil between 1637 and 1644.

A platform to research memory and culture in the Muslim world. This programme explores the ways modern memory studies methodologies can be applied to pre-modern Muslim societies to reveal the uses of the past and senses of tradition in diverse contexts of Muslim thought.

In developing cooperation with Indonesia, Leiden University focuses on projects that benefit culture, nature, society and economy, in Indonesia as well as in the Netherlands.

The Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden is the leading academic institute for Archaeology in the Netherlands, and one of the largest in the world. The Faculty is an international front-runner, in the top ten of the QS World University Ranking, at subject level.

Leiden University and China import partner.

What is our place in the Universe? How did stars, planets, and galaxies form? Could life exist beyond Earth? The minor Our Universe invites you on a journey through space, time, and society. You will explore the scientific story of modern astronomy, the origins of life, and the role of the cosmos in…

Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present.

This book presents an introductory survey of the major themes, thinkers and texts, philosophical genres and profound insights of the Chinese philosophical tradition. Its coverage ranges from the foundational history of Chinese thought in the 6th–5th centuries BCE up to the present day.

From summer and winter schools to online workshops, explore, connect, and grow as a researcher.

Before you apply for your master’s programme, please make sure you check our application deadlines.

Lecture

Webinar with Q&A

Do you want to go for a full academic programme? In that case, the next step after obtaining your bachelor’s is a master’s degree (MSc or MA) at a Dutch or international university. You will find that the Science for Sustainable Societies bachelor’s programme qualifies you for many master’s programm…