The winner of the Leiden University Thesis Prize has made an original and substantial contribution to argumentation theory. This is what Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board and member of the LUF board, said at the online ceremony for the University’s thesis prizes. The winner of the first…

For her research into migration policy under different political regimes, Katharina Natter has been awarded the Gratama Science Prize for young, talented researchers.

Sustainable rose smell that can be produced on a large scale. Tobias Fecker made this into a possibility during his master's thesis, which was a collaboration between the IBL and the TU Delft. He wins the fourth edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award.

Federica Antoniani is the recipient of the very first MA thesis prize awarded by Leiden University’s Europe Hub. She received the prize for her thesis entitled 'Accounting for Accountability: Europol between Protecting Personal Data and Fostering Innovative Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement…

At the Leiden University Thesis Awards ceremony, law student Bettina Schmiedler won third prize for her socio-legal study on corporate social responsibility.

Four lecturers from Leiden University have been awarded Comenius Teaching Fellowships to innovate within their teaching, together with their project teams. They have been awarded one €100,000 fellowship within the Senior Fellows programme and two €50,000 fellowships within the Teaching Fellows progr…

History student Lydia Boer has won the Uitgeverij Verloren/Johan de Witt incentive prize. She receives the prize for her bachelor’s thesis The marriage between Johan de Witt and Wendela Bicker: a political affair?

Professor of Contemporary History Wim van den Doel has won the 2024 Boerhaave Biography Prize. Van den Doel receives the prize for his book 'Snouck: Het volkomen geleerdenleven van Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje'.

Isabel Casteels is one of the five winners of a Praemium Erasmianum Foundation Dissertation Prize. She was awarded the prize for her dissertation Looking for Justice. Execution Spectators and the Revolt in the Low Countries, ca. 1520-1585.

‘The Oscars of the natural sciences’, is what they are called: the Breakthrough Prizes awarded annually in America by the Breakthrough Foundation. Part of this are the New Horizons prizes for early-stage researchers. Sebastiaan Haffert, researcher at the Observatory, is this year's winner.

History student Martijn Treur has won the incentive prize from Uitgeverij Verloren/Johan de Witt thesis prize for his bachelor's thesis.

Nienke van der Marel has been awarded the New Horizons Prize in physics for her pioneering research on planet formation. This prize is given to young, promising researchers in physics or mathematics. The astronomer and her colleagues found the first observational evidence for 'dust traps' in disks around…

Psychology teacher of the year is Laura Nawijn. The Master Thesis Awards are for Max Kalisvaart and David Hof. Lee Aldar wins the PhD Paper Prize. The PhD Wild Card Prize 'Resilient Scientist' is won by Anastasiia Myronenko, Anne Versluis, Annemarie ten Kate, Ashley Smit, Fabian Wolters, Gita Nadinda,…

Jeff Fynn-Paul, lecturer at Leiden University’s Institute for History, was recently awarded the European History Quarterly’s 2016 Prize for his article “Occupation, Family, and Inheritance in Fourteenth-Century Barcelona: A Socio-Economic Profile of One of Europe’s Earliest Investing Publics.”

On November 25th, BPS students Bart van Lieshout (right) and Scott Engels (left) received Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Research Prizes from the KHMW. This annual prize is awarded to students who have written a master's thesis in the pharmaceutical and medical sciences field.

Psychology teacher of the year is Evelien Broekhof. The Master Thesis Awards are for Yanna Naeije and Arian Memarpouri. Mirjam Wever wins the PhD Paper Prize; Jip Aarts wins the PhD Wild Card: Academic Citizenship. Congratulations!

Professor of Cognitive Psychology Mariska Kret has been awarded the Dr Hendrik Muller Prize by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) for her pioneering research into emotions. Kret: ‘This prize offers a wonderful opportunity to give a boost to emotion research.’

Research

Associate professor Rens Tacoma has won the 2021 Research Prize for Historical Sciences. The prize is awarded annually by the Italy Studies Working Group for the best scholarly publication in the field of Italy Studies in Dutch or Flemish academia.

Postdoc and linguist Evelyn Bosma receives the Keetje Hodshon Prize for her dissertation. For her research on the multilingualism of Frisian children, Bosma previously won the Klokhuis Science Prize and the Campus Fryslân Science Prize.

Research

Within all bachelor’s and master’s programmes, depending on the type of programme, attention is paid to ensuring that academic research is carried out scrupulously. For each programme, this is done in a way that is appropriate for the discipline in question.

The latest book by political scientist Matthew Longo came out this spring: 'The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain'. In addition to its many favourable reviews, the book received the prestigious Orwell Prize this summer, which highlights exceptional books on politics.

Professor of Radiology Andrew Webb and his collaborative partner Johnes Obungoloch from Uganda have won the 2023 Huibregtsen Prize.

Cognitive neuroscientist Anne Urai is part of the Neuromatch Conference team. With the prize for open science, Neuromatch wants to reduce or remove barriers in financing, education, and closed networks among well-funded labs that many scientists face, by providing always-affordable, pay-what-you-can…

Professor Mariska Kret has received the Mercator Sapiens Stimulus, a new science prize from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW). The prize consists of a sum of 1m euros.

Education

Professor of Brain, Safety and Resilience Anne-Laura van Harmelen has been nominated for the Huibregtsen Prize. The winner of the prize will be announced on the Evening of Science & Society (4 October).

Is it acceptable for an algorithm to make mistakes? Quinten Meertens investigated this at Leiden University and the UvA and has been nominated with his research for the prestigious Christiaan Huygens Science Prize. The winner will be announced on 11 October. In April, Meertens received his doctorate…

Nadine Akkerman, associate professor of early modern English literature is receiving the Dr Hendrik Muller Prize 2021 for her work.

The Modderman Prize is awarded once every two years to advance research in the field of criminal law science.

The University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) is proof of the competence for University teaching staff. If you are a lecturer, assistant professor, associate professor and professor with an appointment of 0.5 FTE or more and have been working at the University for a year or more, you must earn the UTQ.…

Didactics

The board of the Pastoor Schmeits Prize for Astronomy Foundation has awarded the Pastoor Schmeits Prize 2025 to two individuals: Yamila Miguel, affiliated to the Leiden Observatory, Leiden University and SRON, and to Else Starkenburg, affiliated to the Kapteyn Institute, University of Groningen. The…

After the KHMW Brouwer Thesis Prize for History, Vicente Fischer de Miranda Rodrigues has also won the Cornelis Thiele Prize of the Dutch Society for Religious Studies.

Puck Rouffaer has won the Volkskrant-IISG thesis prize with her master's thesis on psychiatrist Coen van Emde Boas. Leiden University student Nina Witteman made it into the top 3 with her thesis on the history of malaria.

While teaching, it is important to provide an inclusive, activating learning environment for students. In this section you will find some faculty guidelines to create a good learning environment for you and for students.

On 28 and 29 April 2022, the fourth annual PhD Workshop on European and International Insolvency Law took place, organised by the Foundation Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC). A shared first prize was awarded to Gert-Jan Boon (Leiden University) and Theodora Kostoula (European University…

During the award ceremony of the Christiaan Huygens Prize on 16 October, mathematician Rosa Schwarz received an honourable mention. Schwarz, former PhD candidate of the Mathematical Institute, received the mention for her dissertation ‘Logarithmic approach to the double ramification cycle’.

Global Ethnography alumna Elleke Schreur has won the FSW Thesis Prize 2024 and has also been nominated for the University's Thesis Prize 2024. As part of the master's programme in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Elleke's research explores how the experiences of homeless people differ…

Assistant professor Stephanie Noach has won the Dissertation Prize of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. She is receiving this prestigious prize for her research on darkness in contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Health Day has won the LUF Relationship-Promoting Activities Prize (LUF RAP). This 5,000-euro prize is awarded to an initiative by Leiden University students that brings the academic community together.

Writing a master’s thesis in Political Science is a demanding yet rewarding journey. Every year, students deliver impressive research that showcases their analytical skills and academic rigor. This year, one thesis stood out for its exceptional quality. On 31 October 2025, during the master’s graduation…

Didactics

The popular-science book 'Doggerland. Lost World under the North Sea' has been nominated for the EAA Book Prize 2023, awarded annually by the European Association of Archaeologists. At the moment, the book is among 10 publications shortlisted for the prize, with the winner being announced in August…

The Fritz Zwicky Prize 2022 for Astrophysics & Cosmology has been awarded to Prof. Ewine F. van Dishoeck for her pioneering, decades-long work in astrochemistry and molecular spectroscopy, as well as for her leadership within the astronomical community. The award was announced today by the European…

Matthias Flór receives the KHMW Graduation Prize in Theoretical Physics for his master's thesis. His research on exotic superconductors at Leiden University and TU Delft struck a chord with the jury. The jury unanimously chose to award Flór noting that ‘he demonstrated impressive technical abilities…

Martijn Verkuilen is the winner of the Unilever Research Prize 2022. By transferring DNA from a plant into yeast, he made the first move to produce a new drug for type 2 diabetes. He collected his prize in Wageningen on 24 November.

The members of the Board of ALTEX Edition, the ALTEX Editorial Board and ALTEX Editorial Office elect the winner of the annual award out of all main articles published in the previous year; articles including members of the Board of ALTEX Edition or ALTEX Editorial Office as first authors are excluded.…

University lecturer Lauren Lauret has been awarded the D.J. Veegens Prize 2022 for her dissertation on the meeting practices of the States General during the time of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces compared to those of the Lower House during the first half of the 19th century.