Izra ter Weer's mother had studied English Language and Culture in Leiden and was always so enthusiastic about her studies that Izra decided to follow in her footsteps. After completing a Master's degree in Linguistics, she now works as a consultant at strategic consultancy firm Sprenkels and organises…

Starting this semester, Urban Studies students will be able to work on the urban development of the municipality of The Hague. A LUF incentive grant will enable them to put their knowledge into practice even more effectively. At the same time, a study will be started on the optimal use of urban spac…

As of 12 Januari 2026, the FSW faculty building is called Agora. This name was chosen by the FSW community. In ancient Greece, the agora was the heart of the city: a place for meeting, dialogue and the exchange of ideas. This is exactly how we see our faculty building: an open space where knowledge,…

On 4 May, Leiden University remembered the victims of the Second World War from our university community. Alumni, students and present and former staff of the University came together for this Hour of Remembrance.

The Department of History of Art in Oxford has appointed Leiden University professor Caroline van Eck as Slade Professor of Fine Art for the second semester of academic year 2016-2017. As Slade Professor Van Eck will spend a semester in office at Oxford University and deliver eight public lectures and…

This year's RISE Award goes to emeritus professor Jetty Kleijn (LIACS). According to the board of RISE, Kleijn has dedicated herself in the past years to gender equality within LIACS and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. It is the first time since the introduction of the award in 2018…

A study programme all about cities and their issues. Three years ago, the bachelor's programme Urban Studies was a newcomer in The Hague. By now, the first theses are being written. André Gerrits, programme director, talks about the programme’s success: 'The intake of first-years has increased from…

Four bachelor’s students in archaeology have embarked on a month-long field school in Aruba. They will work with Harold Kelly, a local archaeologist at the National archaeological museum of Aruba, and with the research team of Island(er)s at the Helm.

Team Leiden L’expert has won the 12th edition of the NVER Moot Court competition 2019. The moot court is organised each year by the Dutch Association for European Law (NVER) and was held this year at Leiden University.

Last year, LUCSoR welcomed two new Ph.D. students from Iran: Kiyan Foroutan from Ahvaz and Amir Ardalan Emami from Tehran. Kiyan works on a project on the role of the family in medieval and early modern Zoroastrianism in India and Iran (15th-18th centuries). Ardalan works on a much earlier period, the…

Dr. Rosalien van der Poel succeeds Lonneke Regter as Institute Manager of the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA). Together with prof.dr. Henk Borgdorff, scientific director ACPA, she constitutes the board of ACPA since 15 November 2017.

Jongerenpunt070 is a versatile organisation that supports young people in The Hague aged 16 to 27 with a wide range of questions. The main goal? Enhancing self-reliance and improving their future prospects. Senior policy officer Lesly Green, who has been involved with Jongerenpunt070 since 2016, explains…

As a Leiden University’s master’s student in Political Science you conduct independent research and report your findings to fellow academics and, who knows, to a larger audience. Your thesis is a showcase of your academic skills and personal interest, and perhaps even passion. Easier said than done,…

Skype a Scientist is an online platform that matches scientists with classrooms and families around the world. At the start of the corona crisis, PhD candidate Maia Casna got involved with this online platform. Now she holds online sessions to talk about science and her research project during the lockdown.…

From July 25th till August 7th, a team led by Professor Marie Soressi went to France and worked at La Grande Roche de Quinçay, a cave site located in a forested area close to the city of Poitiers. The corona outbreak triggered the need to rethink the organisation of the excavation.

At the LION/Sterrewacht new year’s reception, Scientific Director of Casimir Tjerk Oosterkamp handed out the 2017 Hendrik Casimir Prize to physics students Nashwan Sabti (Leiden) and Nikolas Kavadias (Delft). The Casimir Research School yearly awards the prize to the best MSc students in (Applied) Physics…

Leiden University has a new platform. On 19 September Vice-Rector Hester Bijl officially launched the LGBT+ Network.

The annual Hugo Sinzheimer Moot Court competition took place in Bratislava, Slovakia, from 19 to 21 June 2025. Twelve student teams from various European countries took part in the labour law moot court competition.

Visiting the beating heart of European politics, namely, the European Council in Brussels, is a great opportunity for students. I was lucky to be able to join the visit, organised by the Career Service and Alumni Office last Friday. The primary purpose of the visit was to familiarize us with the work…

Application deadline: October 1, 2021

What started as a student project in the Media Technology program, became a successful internationally operating company offering therapeutic virtual bike rides. Meet alumni Ella Keijzer and Job de Reus, founders and owners of Bike Labyrinth.

On Monday 26 February the terrible news reached us that our gifted former Egyptology student – and former student assistant at the Leids Papyrologisch Instituut – Juan Archidona Ramírez had succumbed to cancer.

Leiden Biology student Bregje Brinkmann received the annual award for being the best BSc-student in 2014 from the “Stichting Professor Dr. K. Bakker-fonds”.

It is the seventh year in a row that the Faculty of Archaeology is placed in the top ten of archaeological institutes worldwide. The QS World University Rankings by Subject looks at criteria like academic reputation and citation ratios.

The Winter Week of Digital Skills will take place in the PJ Veth building from 29 January to 2 February. There will be different workshops where you can improve your digital skills, from dealing with AI and ChatGPT to setting up your own podcast. University lecturer Jelena Prokic explains more.

The academic year of Leiden University's Honours Academy opened on 9 October. The opening ceremony was held in the Hooglandse church in Leiden.

Below is an overview of the highlights of 2019 for our faculty.

The Europa Institute was represented in all four regional finals of this year’s European Law Moot Court!

Online presentations of our regular master’s programmes were held from 11 to 19 May. Would you like to see them again? Check out our full range of programmes below!

Marja Verstelle has received the SURF Education Award 2020. This prize is awarded each year, to five education professionals who have contributed to innovation in education, both within the Netherlands and beyond.

Leiden University has received a positive assessment in the Institutional Quality Assessment audit (ITK). This is the second time that quality assurance at Leiden University has been assessed positively.

On 1 April 2023, Rowie Stolk of the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law started a new appointment for 0.7 FTE at Empirical Legal Studies Leiden (ELS@Leiden). ELS provides a platform that brings together legal scholars and social scientists to collaboratively explore legally relevant…

Prof.dr.ir. Wessel Kraaij is appointed director of the Data Science Research Programme (DSRP) at Leiden University, starting March 1st. He is the successor of prof.dr. Joost Kok, who recently exchanged Leiden for the position of dean in Twente.

During the week of 15 November, Little Amal, the larger-than-life doll visited The Hague. Naturally she received a warm welcome by Leiden University during her visit. Little Amal (art project The Walk) was invited by Amare.

Hastings College of the Law and Leiden Law School have a longstanding exchange programme. Each year students participate in the existing student exchange programmes. Likewise professors from Hastings College of Law have been visiting Leiden Law School and vice versa.

Leiden Biology student Pam Engelberts received the annual award for being the best BSc-student in 2016 from the “Stichting Professor Dr. K. Bakker-fonds”.

President Akio Yuki and his delegation were welcomed to Leiden by Vice-Rector Prof. Rietje van Dam-Mieras, Prof. Ivo Smits, Prof. Kasia Cwiertka and Dr Rogier Busser on Friday 13 May 2011.

Exotic marsh frogs from distant lands are colonising the south-east of the Netherlands. This has been demonstrated by biology students from our faculty. Although the amphibians thrive in our little country, they are harmful to native biodiversity.

During orange juice production only around a half of every orange is turned into juice. Lizah van der Aart and Blair Berger, both MSc-students at the IBL, and Ryan Bogaars from Delft University, received an NWO-scholarship to develop a novel method to extract natural products from orange residue.

Leiden University's 2017 annual report has now been published. This year for the first time the University has also published a separate sustainability report. Leiden University is the first university to produce a separate report on the progress of its sustainability policies.

Leiden University continued to reduce its carbon footprint in 2021 by being more careful with natural resources and making structural reductions to its energy consumption. This is what it says in the Sustainability Report 2021.

The MOOC Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory & Practice was one of the first MOOCs of Leiden University to go live back in September 2013. More than three years have passed and the MOOC has attracted over 100,000 people coming from more than 100 countries.

It took a while, but the new cabinet has now finally been appointed. Four members of Schoof I studied in Leiden. Who are they?

With Dies Natalis (Foundation Day) approaching, our year-long 444th birthday celebrations are coming to an end. We ran numerous activities, from a manhunt to an exhibition, and all our doctoral defences were given a 444 twist. A peek behind the scenes at the creatives and makers who helped make our…

Leiden has been selected as one of ten cities in the European BiodiverCities project. The aim of the project is to increase the quality of life in these cities, for instance by developing a green infrastructure and enhancing biodiversity. The Municipality of Leiden will work together with Naturalis…

A new elective course, 'History of Morocco and the Moroccans in The Netherlands

In November 2017, six status holders attended an introduction training course on Dutch education at ICLON.

As a Leiden University’s master’s student in Political Science you conduct independent research and report your findings to fellow academics and, who knows, to a larger audience. Your thesis is a showcase of your academic skills and personal interest, and perhaps even passion. Easier said than done,…

One perspective, one cell, one outlook on life: what are we all prisoners of? That’s the question Vrij Nederland put to various experts, including Joni Reef, Assistant Professor and Research Fellow at the Department of Criminology.

What better place to look back at 444 years of Leiden University than at the faculty where we actually study our history? To celebrate this special year, a physical timeline about 444 years of Humanities has been crafted in the Lipsius building.