The Netherlands is an open country and should remain so. This is what the rectores magnifici of the Dutch universities write in an opinion piece. Because academic training that does not provide enough of an international perspective lacks quality and relevance to the job market and society.

Lecture, COGLOSS x GLOBALISE Webinar

The proposal made by the Dutch Benefits Agency (part of the Ministry of Finance) to issue one-off compensation payments of €5,000 in the wake of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal is causing a stir among the affected parents, lawyers and academics. Ymre Schuurmans, Professor of Administrative Law,…

On Wednesday 11 December 2019, Marieke Liem, Associate Professor, appeared as a guest on the NPO Radio 1 podcast. The central topic of the podcast was risk perception among the Dutch population.

On 23 September the Dutch Embassy in Rome organised a round table on “Migration in times of the Coronavirus”, in cooperation with MoltiVolti, an NGO from Palermo which works in the field of integration of migrants and asylum seekers in Italy.

Several media outlets made mention of an accord on the proposal for a 'verplichte arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering' (mandatory occupational disability insurance) for ZZP'ers (self-employed persons), which is part of the 'pensioenakkoord' (Dutch agreement on pension reform).

Three Dutch universities: Leiden, Groningen and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have joined forces this year to organize a first ever Pre-doctoral programme in Indonesia for future and potential Indonesian PhD candidates at Dutch universities.

Environmental organisation Greenpeace wants to see a drastic reduction in nitrogen deposition on the Netherlands’ most vulnerable nature conservation areas. This would extend beyond the nitrogen targets that the Dutch government is currently striving to meet. Rogier Kegge, Assistant Professor of Constitutional…

Historians and experts in American studies from Leiden University are holding an online international conference about the arrival of the Pilgrims in America and the consequences for the indigenous societies. We asked four questions to two of its organisers, American Studies expert Joke Kardux and historian…

Pui Chi Lai (35) has a lot on her plate, being a study adviser and coordinator of studies for two bachelor's programmes and two master's programmes. Alongside her job, however, she does not sit still and follows a PhD trajectory at the University of Macau.

Starting January 18, the online exhibition Images of the Indonesian War of Independence, 1945-1949 can be viewed via the UBL website. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) and Leiden University Libraries…

Professor Ariadne Schmidt and Associate Professor Arie van Steensel (University of Groningen) have produced A Companion to Medieval and Early Modern Leiden, the first English-language history of Leiden. Mayor Peter Heijkoop received the first copy.

Ward Hoskens started ten years ago as an intern at one of Leiden's most iconic buildings: the Pieterskerk. Now he is doing his PhD on the question of how the function of this 'church that is no longer a church' changed over recent centuries.

Citizens underestimate their role, but they really can make a difference, says legal specialist Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen. Combatting injustice is still the mission of this former National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children. She will deliver the Cleveringa lecture…

Dutch citizens are not opposed to additional earnings and financial gifts for people on welfare, but believe it is important that there should also be an obligation to look for a job. This was the outcome of a research project on the opinions of Dutch people regarding the implementation of welfare p…

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to Leiden researchers.

The central aim is to systematically study differences in gendered crime patterns in the records of different types of courts in various Dutch cities in the early modern period.

It recently became clear that the Dutch Ministry of Health would rather pay a penalty than share information about the controversial face mask deal with former CDA party activist Sywert van Lienden. Dutch news site Nieuwsuur reports that this is no exception. In recent years newspaper De Volkskrant…

Lecture, China Seminar

Prof. Ottervanger, professor emeritus of European Law and Dutch Competition Law has analysed 36 final court judgments concerning decisions by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) in competition cases. The report was part of the review of the ACM that was conducted by the Dutch Ministry…

Master studies History, Classics, Russian Studies and Dutch Studies have received the label ‘top programme’ in the Keuzegids Masters of March 2018. The study guide bases its results on the opinion of students (through the National Student Survey) and experts (NVAO).

Following the announcement of the second economic aid package by Dutch Ministers Eric Wiebes, Wopke Hoekstra and Wouter Koolmees, Arco Timmermans discussed the content of the government's second economic package on the Dutch radio programme BNR Lobbypanel.

The new Dutch cabinet aims to reduce the number of asylum seeks coming to the Netherlands by introducing a number of asylum policy measures. Dr Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor of Immigration Law, discusses this in Dutch daily newspaper 'de Telegraaf'.

Fishermen in the United Kingdom recently protested about the adverse effects of Brexit on their trade. It would be naive to think that covert feelings of being under threat do not exist among the Dutch population. Citizens who feel threatened become defensive, a situation that could lead to a Nexit.

In Dutch nature, plant species that depend on pollination by insects are disappearing. Environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan shows this after analysing 87 years of measurements from more than 365,000 locations. Several national and international media reported on the study results. Below is an overview…

Lecture, Annual Leiden Terra Incognita Lecture

Rijpma was invited by the 'Netherlands Education Support Office' of the Dutch Organisation for the Internationalization of Education (Nuffic) to speak in Russia within the framework of their Dutch Science Talks.

Researchers from Leiden University have investigated the living conditions of Dutch fighters in Syria. Their report is central to a panel discussion on Tuesday, 24 May.

This book published by Oxford University Press discusses religion and trade in world history.

References to nature and the environment in the Caribbean literary and the contemporary age of globalization.

The bi-annual interactive seminars of the Platform for Postcolonial Readings are all about sharing our enthusiasm about our field of research and our eagerness to learn more about its theoretical intricacies. Our seminars, although informal, adopt a well-defined format. Each meeting is organized around…

This is a Special Issue of the peer-reviewed journal 'Social Sciences and Missions', which provides a forum for exploration of the social and political influence of Christian missions worldwide.

How do documentary moving images and fictional narratives involve and evolve each other?

The Modern and Contemporary Cluster is the largest within LUCAS and home to more than 100 staff members and PhD candidates.

A selection of news from Leiden University.

This interdisciplinary project explores the promise and perils of human rights as a suitable framework for addressing the challenges posed by the governance of digital platforms.

Leiden was European City of Science in 2022: for a year Leiden was the capital of European science. Leiden University was a proud partner of Leiden2022.

Could an emergent Cinema of Un-Belonging discover forms of narrative time relevant to the long-term, inter-generational fractures caused by forced traumatic dispersion?

Time, Agency and Memory in Ancient Mexico.

The Faculty of Archaeology

This research investigates the changing landscape and land use in two case studies of the coastal villages of St. Kitts and the Kalinago Territory of Dominica. By integrating human and ecological aspects of agrarian landscapes, this research analyzes how land degradation or land change impacts cultural…

North, Middle and South America together constitute the single largest area in World Archaeology that is taught as a single focus. It is also the only major world area that saw societies develop from hunter-gatherers to early empires entirely independent from developments in Eurasia & Africa. It is,…

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

Memoria de un Paisaje Sagrado

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.

Where did the new generation of antislavery activists get their inspiration to organize in large-scale pressure groups?

How did early modern people find out about new knowledge? And did that make them more willing to accept innovation? In the coming years, we will study how and to what effect, new knowledge anchored among the wider public in the early modern Low Countries.

This project combines and reconsiders all the available evidence of the Scheurrak SO1, and use new archival databases and modern archaeological techniques to shed new light on the material culture of the Baltic grain trade and the Holland shipbuilding industry at the turn of the sixteenth century.

Leiden University has a longstanding and dynamic partnership with institutions in Indonesia. The collaboration is rooted in a shared commitment to advancing knowledge and science through collaborative research, education, and equitable knowledge exchange. The partnership reflects a relationship of mutual…