Research

Organisation

The Faculty of Humanities is proud to launch its new D&I Calendar for the academic year 2025-2026. This calendar is an effort to build awareness and cultural understanding of important religious holidays and other special observances of the diverse groups within our academic community.

On Easter Monday, the spring holiday that commemorates and celebrates returning life, A.G.H. Anbeek van der Meijden passed away. From 1982 to 2005 he was professor of Modern Dutch Literature at Leiden University. To everyone who knew him—whether personally, professionally, through his teaching, or through…

At the start of the new year, we celebrate the release of a new selection of collection items into the Public Domain. This year, Leiden University Libraries (UBL) is making approximately eight hundred items freely downloadable via Digital Collections.

Researcher Yung Lin received the Young Scholar Award at the annual conference of the European Association for Taiwan Studies (EATS). She obtained her PhD in 2025 on Taiwan’s public diplomacy.

On March 13, Dr. Erik Deul passed away at the age of 67. He leaves behind his wife Wilma, children Caroline and Wouter, and grandchildren Joris, Stach, Viggo, Archie and and a granddaughter expected later this year. Erik served as head of ICT at Leiden Observatory for 35 years, and later also at the…

Harriet Zurndorfer passed away on 18 March 2026 in Leiden.

Facility

Five master's programmes from the Faculty of Humanities scored highly in Keuzegids 2026.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Cuinn van Keulen passed away on 30 March 2026. Cuinn joined the Political Science Bachelor programme in 2023 and was a third-year student specializing in International Relations and Organisations.

CML grants three Stans Awards each year, for the best student thesis, best PhD paper, and best outreach from the past year. The CML staff nominated students and colleagues and this year’s jury Prof. Martina Vijver & Prof. Willie Peijnenburg made the final decision.

Writing a book on the recent history of Leiden University in corona times. For educational and policy historian Pieter Slaman (34), this has meant working in the attic of his parents’ house while they looked after his daughter, along with numerous online conversations and very few, if any, visits to…

Education, Research

Education

Social

Did your colleagues develop an inspiring educational innovation? Or, did you collaborate with teachers and/or support staff to do so? You can nominate them for the Casimir Prize!

Facility

Research

Research

On the university’s birthday, professors teach a class of 10 and 11-year-olds during Meet the Professor. The professors were bombarded with questions.

On 24 January 2026, the Advanced MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) hosted its Annual Reconnect & Gala, bringing together alumni from across the world, current students, and faculty. The event celebrated shared values, connection, and purpose, focusing on ‘The great shifts in international…

Education

Researcher Adam Lichtenheld received the ISA Distinguished Book Award for the best book in the study of international politics of ethnicity, nationalism and migration. The prize was awarded by the International Studies Association.

Facility, Organisation

Vincent van Heuven passed away unexpectedly on Friday 6 February 2026 at the age of 76 at his home in Kûbaard (Friesland), the Netherlands.

On Thursday 15 January 2026, the Meijers Lecture was held and the Meijers Prizes and Van Wersch Springplank Prize presented. Suzan Stoter, Dean of Leiden Law School and portfolio holder for research, introduced the lecture to a full house.

Facility

In the short term, no reorganisation is foreseen within the Faculty of Humanities, nor are any compulsory redundancies expected. Nonetheless, structural changes remain necessary. This is evident from the faculty’s draft budget for 2026 and the accompanying financial multi-year outlook.

Education, ICT

On the occasion of the conferral of an honorary doctorate to children’s rights activist Graça Machel, a fund has been established that will enable two female students from South Africa to come and study in Leiden.

LUC The Hague is recognised as a national Top Programme, reflecting a vibrant learning community where curiosity, academic excellence and global engagement come together.

Leiden University offers one full Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS) to an African candidate interested in the two-year Research Master African Studies programme (ResMA AS); thus non-EEA/non-EFTA* applicants. LExS is a prestigious scholarship and includes a fee waiver up until the statutory…

It’s starting to become a real Dies Natalis tradition: on 8 February professors from Leiden University teach a class at primary schools in the region. This introduces children to academia and teaches them more about conducting research. ‘Had you expected me to be a woman?’

Human resources

For the fifth year in succession, on the foundation day of the university, Leiden professors taught a lesson at primary schools as part of the ‘Meet the Professor’ programme.

It is almost two and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine, but the conflict between the two countries has been going on for much longer. Central to it is the question of what it means to be Ukrainian. Guest researcher Viktoriia Ryhovanova teaches a course on the subject. Last academic year, the…

Education

Organisation

How can we best treat infectious diseases in people with obesity? Hospital pharmacist and PhD researcher Koen van Rhee studied how obesity affects blood levels of two commonly used medicines. He also developed a method for pharmaceutical companies to test new drugs on this patient group.

Facility, Human resources, Social

Joana Cook talks about the Islamist parties increasingly taking power in the last four decades on ABC News.

Social

Education, Organisation, Human resources

Organisation

This initiative is supported by the Leiden University Global Seed Fund (LUGF) 2025, awarded to Santy Kouwagam (VVI) and Irene Hadiprayitno (LIAS) together with Universitas Indonesia.