Do you want to learn how to prevent child problems by optimising caregiving? Would you like to advise parents, professional caregivers and policy makers on caregiving-issues? In that case the master’s specialisation Parenting and Child Development is the ideal choice for you!

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

The Classics Master, a specialization of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations program at Leiden University, gives you the opportunity to study the Greek and Roman world with a focus on Greek and Latin language and literature.

How is generative AI changing the way we learn, communicate, and make sense of the world today? As AI tools become part of everyday life, they don’t just produce text but shape meaning, influence trust, and impact how we find and share information. This project explores how people use, experience and…

How can we use data to better understand climate change? Can smart algorithms help drive medical breakthroughs? And how do you design technology that contributes to a more sustainable world? If you are curious about how the world works and how to solve complex problems using science, data, and technology,…

Lecture

How can we use data to better understand climate change? Can smart algorithms help drive medical breakthroughs? And how do you design technology that contributes to a more sustainable world? If you are curious about how the world works and how to solve complex problems using science, data, and technology,…

Students following this programme can choose one specialisation. This can be either with a focus on psychology in everyday life or on its application in mental health care. Each specialisation consists of mandatory courses, electives a master’s thesis and an internship.

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

We are pleased to announce that the ENPAIR Conference 2026 will be hosted and organized by colleagues from the University of Prešov, Slovakia. The conference will take place on 17–18 September 2026 at Galéria Umelka in Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. The conference the will be:

The bachelor's programme in Psychology in Leiden covers the full breadth of psychology. Our bachelor's students have the opportunity to specialise. Our master's students prepare themselves for a career as a ‘scientist - practitioner'. In the one year master's programme the emphasis is on practise; in…

There is greater variety in the size of men’s brains than of women’s. This could help explain why some psychiatric disorders such as ADHD and autism are more prevalent in boys. Leiden brain researcher Lara Wierenga has published an article about this in the international journal Cerebral Cortex.

Higher temperatures are resulting in changes to vegetation and soil in mountain areas throughout the world. An international research team including Leiden ecologist Ellen Cieraad published an article on 25 January in Nature on the disruption to the ecosystem.

PhD defence

Hoping to learn something about the human brain, Leiden researchers are creating a setup to shoot single photons, particles of light, into someone’s eye. ‘The eye is a passageway to the brain.’

The New Scientist magazine has selected two young Leiden scientists for its Top 25 Young Talents in the Netherlands and Flanders: historian Karwan Fatah-Black and neuropsychologist Mariska Kret. Who will be the winner? You can vote for one of them!

How does our brain interpret traces of evidence? Can someone who is suffering from brain damage be held accountable for criminal offences? And should it be possible to adjust a criminal’s behaviour with deep brain stimulation? These questions were addressed during the Public Scientific Day Brein & Recht…

PhD defence

ELS@Leiden research encompasses a wide range of empirical-legal projects carried out within Leiden Law School from the perspective of multiple disciplines and methods. Here you can find the publications of our (former) lab members since the start of the Sector Plan.

The Institute of Psychology is committed to play a prominent role in teaching and research at the national and international level.

Many primary school children suffer from anxiety and their numbers are increasing. Psychologists from the Knowledge Center Anxiety & Stress (KAS) are developing and researching preventive training.

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

Biologists Michelle Spierings and Ryan Bogaars are 2 of the 4 winners of the Leiden heat for the international FameLab competition in talking science during a public presentation.

The curriculum of the master's specialisation School Psychology is in total 60 EC and can be completed within one year. The programme offers a variety of courses and a supervised master's thesis.

In the specialisation Child and Adolescent Psychology , part of the Master in Psychology, you develop practical skills in assessing and managing developmental psychopathology.

Clinical psychologist Bernet Elzinga has been appointed as Professor of a personal chair at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. This professorship will contribute both nationally and internationally to the broader promotion of Leiden University in the field of stress and psychopathology.

The market is flooded with books and classes claiming ‘breathwork’ can help with mental health, sleep and even Covid-19. But are experts convinced? Cognitive psychologist Roderik Gerritsen explains the role of breathing on stress.

Psychologist Daphne Tona is one of the first to investigate a small nucleus in the brain stem 'in vivo' in living volunteers. That nucleus is involved in cognitive function and neurological and psychiatric disorders. With this research Tona is further mapping the brain. PhD defence on September 10.

Three Psychology students will present a poster of their thesis research on Alzheimer’s and dementia at the international conference AAIC Neuroscience Next. ‘I remind myself to recognise - without fear or shame - when I don't know something.’

Is our musicality unique? That’s what the Bird Singalong project aims to find out. And for that, they need the help of feathered friends from all around the world. ‘By researching how parrots learn songs, we also learn more about the origin of our own musicality.’ Do you have a parrot that can sing…

Disruption to the gut flora can affect your mental health. How could this knowledge be used to prevent stress-related disorders? This is what psychologist Laura Steenbergen will investigate with the aid of a project grant from the Leiden University Fund (LUF) and the Gratama Foundation.

How do practice and theory reinforce one another in neuroscience? Professor Birte Forstmann’s inaugural lecture on 2 October will be about building interdisciplinary bridges between cognitive neuroscience and cognitive models. Her approach may lead to brain research with fewer side-effects for patie…

PhD defence

Could ketogenic therapy change the future of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) treatment? Bret Scher sits down with Eline Dekeyster to explore how nutritional ketosis may support individuals with autism and other brain-based conditions.

Decades of evidence suggests that the trillions of microorganisms living in people’s guts, called the microbiome, can influence the brain. And now, new research says they might influence how people feel day-to-day, too. Laura Steenbergen explains.

The brains of adolescents react more responsively to receiving rewards. This can lead to risky behaviour, but, according to Leiden University research, it also has a positive function: it makes learning easier. Publication in Nature Communications.

For decades, academic publishing has followed a familiar script: Conduct research → write a paper → submit to a journal → (wait) → peer review → (revise) → maybe get accepted → finally, publish. Yet, this traditional model is increasingly under scrutiny, as several structural issues have become difficult…

Demonstration experiments are a potentially powerful instrument to improve the micro-macro thinking of students in secondary education. Therefore we want to design a practical and generative approach to assist teachers to develop lessons with a demonstration experiment.

A virtual hand that feels as if it is your own. Feeling happier because a virtual face is smiling with you. Cognitive Psychologist Ke Ma discovered using virtual reality that the way we experience our body is more flexible than we thought. Ma: ‘We can think up some fantastic applications.' PhD defence…

Issue 1

What is the role of memory in contemporary music?

The STRINGS project is mapping development pathways for science, technology and innovation that best address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A consortium of seven universities led by Tommaso Ciarli at SPRU at the University of Sussex and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) have worked…

The research master’s programme in Linguistics at Leiden University combines leading expertise with a flexible programme format.

Do you want to know the best reasons to study at Leiden University or want to know what's it like to live in the student cities Leiden or The Hague? Our students tell you why you have to choose Leiden University to study your bachelor's programme.