“Very French and very impressive.” Those are the words drs. Isabelle van de Calseyde used to describe the reception at the French embassy residence in The Hague on 2 June 2015. There, she and dr. Sjef Houppermans were presented with an distinction for their remarkable services to the French language…

The CADS Research Cluster People, Power and Diversity aims to further theoretical and methodological debates on the classifications of human difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, age, ability, religion, level of development, time, etc., and the way these classifications organize…

The African Studies Centre Leiden’s Research Programme for 2025-2029 is called ‘African Trajectories: Past Dependencies and New Directions’. Building on its former programme, it extends the recognition of Africa’s pivotal role in world affairs. The continent’s global significance has become increasingly…

How effective is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy in targeting epilepsy-related anxiety?

You can do a degree in Artificial Intelligence at Leiden University, but its role is also increasing in other degree programmes.

The third project, worked on by dr. Rina Knoeff, is a synthesising project directed at studying the Leiden anatomical collections as important parts of ‘public history’. It will use the results of the other projects in order to analyse anatomical collections (their focus, significant silences, audiences,…

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The Faculty of Science adopted an action plan Diversity and Inclusiveness in 2015. In this action plan, the Faculty commits to a number of actions to further improve diversity and inclusion for staff and students, such as more female full professors at the faculty, and encourages initiatives that foster…

Religion, Philosophy, and the Pre-modern World

Rising geopolitical tensions are causing states and national elites to innovate their use of the past for present-day political ends. This is certainly true for the People’s Republic of China, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2024 amid mounting superpower rivalry, ideological tensions with the…

The research project MAXCAP: Maximizing the integration capacity of the European Union: Lessons and prospects for enlargement and beyond starts with a critical analysis of the effects of the 2004-2007 enlargement on stability, democracy and prosperity of candidate countries, on the one hand, and the…

My ERC Starting Grant, funded with €1.5 million for 5 years as part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, is focused on building the early warning system WARN-D to reliably forecast depression in young adults before it occurs. Why depression, and why prediction?

What was the name, the appearance, development and the playing technique of the cello in the Low Countries between 1600 and 1800 and what music was composed for it?

The Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society offers PhD candidates the possibility to enroll in the VVI PhD Track.

Evidence-informed policy-making is crucial for good governance. Yet, despite the abundance of evidence from research and evaluation available to decision-makers, we know little about the actual influence of evidence on government policies. The ‘Power of Evidence’ (PoE) research programme, directed by…

For a long time, the painful history of colonial slavery received too little attention. People whose ancestors lived in slavery are now asking critical questions about how we should address that past. Leiden University researchers study the history of colonialism and slavery and their long-term impact…

To be eligible for Assyriology (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Following your personal interests, you may choose one of three area specialisations. Will you focus on the archaeological history of the European continent? Or do you prefer to dive into the Mediterranean world? Or would you rather study pre-Columbian America? The choice is up to you!

Your tuition fee depends on a number of factors, such as your nationality and your previous Dutch higher-education qualifications.

Human AI is where artificial intelligence and machine learning meet philosophy, cognitive science, and the creative arts. Examples of research questions in this domain are: 'Can an algorithm be creative by human standards?', 'Can creative processes, such as composing music or writing poetry, be modelled?',…

To be eligible for African Studies at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

The central subject of this dissertation is the influence of Fichte’s theory of self-consciousness on Søren Kierkegaard's philosophical notion of the self in the way Kierkegaard describes the self in his philosophy in the writing 'The Sickness unto Death' (1849). The main question this dissertation…

This research hopes to contribute to social awareness of the consequences of colonialism for Indigenous Peoples, to the deconstruction of still existing colonial and discriminatory notions and to a better appreciation of Indigenous art and thought.

The aim of this project is to study what makes an act or form of violence a specifically political reality.

Discussing or giving a lecture about a war situation is no easy task. Nonetheless – or maybe for this very reason – students or lecturers do feel the need to have such a discussion during classes. We share here a number of tips and sources to steer the conversation or lecture in the right direction.

To be eligible for Russian and Eurasian Studies, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Egyptology (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Time, Religion and Sacred Discourses of the Ayuuk People

The central research question focuses on identifying shifts in the urban social network in terms of private, semi-public and public space by means of mapping the spatial distributions of wells and cesspits in the town of Haarlem in the course of the pre-industrial period (1200-1800). Shifts may be indicative…

Mazatec chants and ancient Mesoamerican pictography

In ancient times, the steppe in the hinterland of Petra (Jordan) was transformed into a green oasis. This project tries to shed insights in the agricultural, water management and societal processes resulting in this transformation. This will be accomplished by practicing an interdisciplinary research…

Both good employer practices and good employee practices are open norms. These open norms can lead to uncertainty about what employers should focus on and what rights (and obligations) employees have in that respect. The objective of this study is to give substance to the norm of good employment practices…

Knowledge and culture subproject 2:

Imagine that you have a chronic skin condition, characterized by red patches of itchy, scaly skin. You regularly notice people staring at your skin and sense their reluctance to shake your hand. Or imagine that you have Parkinson's Disease, causing your hands to tremble and making it difficult for you…

The research group ‘Quantum and Society’ explores the boundary between quantum technology and science communication.

This project will construct an inventory of possible conceptions of the resistance of the world to scientists’ claims and theories.

Various coursework and training modules are offered at the level of the LIAS, the Faculty of Humanities, and the University. Some are available to PhD candidates for free, and some charge a fee. All modules offered by the LIAS are available for free, and are announced to all PhD candidates on email…

The purpose of this programme is to join knowledge and insights from linguistics, literary analysis, and rhetoric, for the purpose of developing a set of methods for the stylistic investigation of any type of text in Dutch.

The Data Science Research Programme at Leiden University combines data science with PhD projects in a wide range of disciplines. The programme has been running for over two years, and is producing the first astonishing results. A number of PhD candidates talk about their experiences and research bel…

Between 1798 and 1813 successive regimes attempted to enforce a fundamental geographical and administrative redivision of the Netherlands. The provinces that had been sovereign states within the Republic of the United Netherlands for over two centuries were dissolved and replaced by ‘departments’, subordinate…

The CEES Centre regularly hosts (guest) lectures, roundtables, and film screenings.

The ties between Leiden University and South East Asia, especially Indonesia, have been strong for centuries.

Have you ever stood in front of an abstract artwork and thought: “a monkey could have done that!”. As it turns out, you are wrong.

How did local lifeways and crafting practices persist and develop in the diverse environments of the increasingly interconnected Gulf of Fonseca (AD 400-1521)?

What is the size and composition of the Dutch urban mine? How will the urban mine develop over time, and how can it be used as a source of materials as part of a circular economy?

How did free agents oppose the monopolies held by the VOC and WIC in court?

Course

Within the Graduate School you can conduct your PhD research in a wide range of subjects across the Social and Behavioural Sciences, with five distinct research areas offered by its Institutes.