Read about our recent research projects below.

The Developmental Psychology specialisation of the Research Master’s in Psychology offers a strong theoretical background to provide the varied knowledge-base needed for a thorough understanding of emotional and cognitive development across childhood and adolescence.

To get a feeling of how we operate at LED3 when it comes to Early Drug Discovery, please browse through our case studies. When you select a case study you’ll find relevant contacts.

Discover all the Leiden Science teaching talent that was part of this year's lineup.

A comprehensive analysis of the state of play, the design of monitoring mechanisms, and creation of a toolbox of support measures.

In the Master's programme Crisis and Security Management, you will study contemporary security challenges from both local and global points of view, gaining a deep understanding of the ‘wicked problem’ of security and crisis topics in a complex and globalising world.

Participation in the matching module is a compulsory part of the admission and application procedure for all applying students of this programme.

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.

Your time at Leiden is about more than just studying. Some of your best experiences will stem from being a part of our lively and diverse student community, as well as from life in the beautiful city of Leiden.

The research master's specialisation Cognitive Neuroscience consists of five main parts: the general courses, the track-specific courses, the elective courses, a research internship and a thesis.

Your time at Leiden is about more than just studying. Some of your best experiences will stem from being a part of our lively and diverse student community, as well as from life in the beautiful city of Leiden.

Leiden University’s European and International Business Law programme has been successful for more than 20 years. Read more information about the benefits.

If you are about to embark on a master’s in Leiden and the city and university are completely new to you, you should seriously consider participating an introduction week.

Are you interested in taking up an extra challenge during your bachelor’s programme?

The War and Peace Studies track offers you a comprehensive understanding of the historical, theoretical, and practical dimensions of war and peace, while addressing the complex challenges of conflict and peacebuilding in the contemporary world.

In the track Terrorism and Political Violence you will be familiarised with the academic debate regarding these contested concepts.

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

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

Ben de Jong, inlichtingen-deskundige en gastonderzoeker en -docent bij het ISGA aan de Universiteit Leiden, werd geciteerd in een artikel in het Algemeen Dagblad over topografische kaarten die de Russen tijdens de Koude Oorlog gebruikten. De Sovjet-Unie beschikte over een ongelofelijke hoeveelheid…

A new book, Learning to Play: Learning Reinforcement and Games by Aske Plaat is now available.

With the ongoing development of a corona vaccine, intelligence services worldwide are being deployed for international espionage. Willemijn Aerdts, Lecturer Intelligence Services at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, was interviewed by the Dutch BNR News Radio. Aerdts is an expert in the…

With the What's Next? series we hope to inspire current Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc students, show the variety of paths taken after the studies, and bring together alumni. Editions of the series are generally organized around a particular theme by Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc students…

The Asser Institute organised an interdisciplinary conference on ‘Law and ethics of artificial intelligence in the public sector: From principles to practice and policy’ that took place from 10 to 11 March 2022. Melanie Fink presented a paper co-authored with Michèle Finck.

Leiden University is involved in five new NWO Gravitation projects. Two relate to mental disorder and the remaining three to a healthy lifestyle, the combination of human and artificial intelligence, and the special relationship between plants and microbes.

Scientists of the faculty of Governance and Global Affairs research completely different subject, among which terrorism, cybercrime and migration. In the upcoming weeks we will give the floor to several of our very best researchers. In this episode: Constant Hijzen researches secret services.

The mission in Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan was a formative experience for Dutch soldiers in which many lessons were learned. But most of those lessons have already been forgotten.

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, has promoted Dr. Eduard Fosch-Villaronga to Assistant Professor to work on Law and Artificial Intelligence.

The European Commission published new plans on artificial intelligence on 19 February. According to Holger Hoos, professor in Machine Learning at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), Bart Verheij (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) and Jeroen van den Hoven (Technische Universiteit Delft)…

Constant Hijzen, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), spoke about the Law on intelligence and security services in the NRC. In the column ‘Twistgesprek’ (dispute) of the NRC Hijzen has a written conversation with the director of Bits for Freedom, Hans de Zwart,…

Early November the 30th Belgium Netherlands Artificial Intelligence Conference (BNAIC) was organised in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Yesterday, the European Commission presented its long-anticipated proposal for an AI regulation. After the Commission had outlined the European legislation at the start of 2020 in its white paper on artificial intelligence ‘A European approach to excellence and trust’, a concrete proposal for a European…

Brand-new professor Gerard van Westen works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and drug development. For the new chair in Artificial Intelligence and Medicinal Chemistry, he uses computer models to make drug development more efficient. Our ultimate goal is a virtual human which allows you…

Secret services are engaging in increasingly extreme forms of cyber espionage. But nobody talks about this. Dennis Broeders knows why and is trying to have an open conversation about new forms of espionage. As Professor of Global Security and Technology, he will give his inaugural lecture on Friday…

Information obtained from Czech intelligence authorities has shown that politicians from several European countries, including the Netherlands, are involved in a Russian bribery scandal. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, comments on this in Dutch newspaper ‘NRC’.

Nikki Ikani, Assistant Professor Intelligence and Security at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), has recently published her latest monograph 'Crisis and change in European Union foreign policy' with Manchester University Press.

Within 20 years, intelligent machines will play a major role in society. ‘Selfdriving cars will be 90% safer than human-driven cars and will change transportation globally,’ says artificial intelligence scientist Bart Selman of Cornell University. He gave the first Ada Lovelace lecture of the Leiden…

The free AI and Ethics course (in Dutch) is available online to anyone who wants to find out more about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. One of the eight experts featured in the course is Professor Reijer Passchier. ‘Artificial Intelligence is spreading so fast and has such an impact…

Dossier AIVD: that is the name of a new podcast launched by Assistant Professor Constant Hijzen (Intelligence Studies) together with research journalist Wil van der Schans on Tuesday 29 October. Five questions about the NPO Radio 1 podcast produced by Dutch broadcasting cooperation KRO-NCRV.

Quirine Eijkman, terrorism expert at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs, talked about the attack in Manchester.

SAILS started the new year with a new professor. Joost Batenburg will join the SAILS team with his expertise in Imaging and Visualisation. This makes him the second professor appointed for the SAILS programme.

Max van Duijn, Assistant Professor at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), has been awarded a Veni grant for his research into children's empathy. The ability to empathise can be studied by telling stories. This process, known as 'Theory of Mind' or ‘mindreading’, can provide important…

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga and Hadassah Drukarch from eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, recently published the book ‘AI for Healthcare Robotics’, published by CRC Press from Taylor and Francis Group in their AI for Everything Series.

Researchers of eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, published their research in Nature Machine Intelligence. The publication, written by Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Pranav Khanna, Hadassah Drukarch, and Bart Custers, focuses on the legal and regulatory implications of…

With the What's Next? series we hope to inspire current Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc students, show the variety of paths taken after the studies, and bring together alumni. Editions of the series are generally organized around a particular theme by Creative Intelligence & Technology MSc students…

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We kick off with Dr Tuna Kalayci, who joined…

In haar boek ‘Diensten met geheimen’ vertelt Willemijn Aerdts hoe de AIVD en MIVD te werk gaan. En ontkracht ze ook een paar mythes.

The research group Intelligence and Security has been augmented with a team Policing Studies as part of the collaboration agreement with the Dutch National Police. This team is tasked with creating a more academic foundation for the current knowledge surrounding policing studies in the Netherlands,…

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2019, as well as special appointments and royal distinctions.

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2021, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

In the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) we strive to improve health care and the health of people.