Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

Education at the Institute of Public Administration focuses on the broad study of public administration, including the semi-public sector, lobby organisations, civil society, and relevant private organisations.

Leiden is a lively, compact student city, with a strong academic tradition and a close-knit student community. It’s also conveniently close to cities like Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, all within a 30-minute train journey.

Conference

 The International Society for Arabic Papyrology (ISAP) invites submissions for its tenth congress, to be held in Leiden from 22 to 25 March 2027. 

French is a global language. It is spoken on every continent and serves as an official language for many international organisations (NATO, UN, WHO). In this minor, you improve your language skills, study French from a linguistic perspective, and immerse yourself in the rich global Francophone culture…

The one-year master in Southeast Asian Studies, a specialisation of Leiden University’s master in Asian Studies, offers a large and varied selection of subjects and the freedom to choose the areas on which you will focus.

Did you know that Arabic was for centuries the lingua franca in an area stretching from the south of Spain to the Chinese border? And that the Middle East under Muslim rule was the world’s beating heart of trade, but also of science and scholarship? Want to learn more? Then sign up for the new MOOC…

Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) is looking for two PhD's, for a research programme funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO): 'A New History of Fishes. A long-term approach to fishes in science and culture, 1550-1880', supervised by Professor Paul…

Since the horrific events of October 7, 2023, Leiden students have grappled with difficult questions about Israel, Gaza and Israel/Palestine conflict more generally. Drawing on her expertise in the history of the Jewish experience in the diaspora and beyond, Prof. dr. Sarah Cramsey has held multiple…

Lecture and Exhibition

It is one of the most personal and simultaneously most universal experiences of human life: caring for a young child. Professor Sarah Cramsey has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to investigate how factors such as nationality, political systems, and religion influence the first thousand days after…

Maurits Berger's new English-language podcast, Matters of Humanities: History of Islam in Europe covers no fewer than thirteen centuries of history. In eight episodes, professor of Islam and the West Maurits Berger argues that the Islam and Muslims are an important part of European history: ‘That was…

The Leiden municipality wants to make the city centre climate-proof and combat heat stress by greening it. But they want to do this in a way that does justice to the city’s heritage. Researcher Fenna IJtsma delves into historical greenery to offer inspiration.

Lecture, Radical Spotlights Seminar

Researchers, civil servants and local residents met on 27 September to talk about partnering for sustainability. What were the results? In a green ‘city oasis’ in the centre of The Hague they spoke about the energy transition, bottom-up initiatives and citizen science.

The Veni grant is awarded annually by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). This year, multiple researchers from Leiden University and 2 researchers who will soon be working at the university will receive a Veni grant from the NWO. Thanks to this grant, which can amount to up to 320,000…

Bart Barendregt, Ratna Saptari, and Annemarie Samuels co-organised a two-day workshop on

Western countries still tend to view Africa as the periphery, says anthropologist Mayke Kaag. In her inaugural lecture, she calls for a shift in perspective: to see Africa as a mirror of global developments.

Subproject of the ERC project 'Challenging the Liberal World Order from Within: The Invisible History of the United Nations and the Global South'.

After a detour via the ANWB in Munich, alumna Manon Schouten works as a history teacher at two schools. ‘It's so rewarding to see the material resonate with students.’

If it is up to university lecturer Evelien Walhout, in a year's time we will know exactly what people from Haarlem and Zwolle died of a century ago. Together with colleagues from other universities, she started the doodsoorzaken.nl platform, where causes of death are recorded. ‘Somewhere around the…

Lack of manliness, avaricious or too imaginative. These are just a few of the accusations with which British scientists discredited each other over a hundred years ago. PhD candidate Léjon Saarloos researched British scientists around the year 1900 and their idea of what makes a good - and therefore…

A 5 million euros grant from the Dutch Research Agenda allows Anouk de Koning and co-applicants Femke Kaulingfreks and Maartje van der Woude to study social interventions in eight Dutch cities in an innovative and interdisciplinary way.

Carolien Stolte has received an Early Career Award from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). She received this award for her research into the role of informal Afro-Asian networks in the Cold War. For this innovative research she received the award, an amount of 15,000 euros, and…

Dr. Bettina Reitz-Joosse, postdoctoral researcher in the Classics department, has received a Niels Stensen Fellowship.

On 24 and 25 April 2025, the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam — home to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) — hosted an interdisciplinary workshop organized by dr. Rafal Matuszewski, an ancient historian at the Institute for History in Leiden.

The project aims to explore the history of the concept “barbarism” in Europe from the 18th century to the present. Responding to the contemporary popularity of the term “barbarism” in political rhetoric and the media, and the lack of reflection on the implications and legitimacy of its use, the project…

Film screening and Book Launch

Banquets for the rich, porridge for the poor and a standard diet of bread, olive oil and wine. Just a few assumptions about the Roman diet.

Few people would associate the name Anton de Kom with Leiden. Yet the Surinamese freedom fighter is the subject of an exhibition at Museum De Lakenhal.

Smart algorithms and powerful processors are just as essential for astronomy as big telescopes. Astronomers at Leiden University therefore constantly operate at the interface between astronomy and data science.

Discover the admission requirements for the MSc in Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development at Leiden University, including bachelor qualifications, ECTS prerequisites, and English language criteria.

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

Leiden University offers several services to help you prepare for the jobmarket. But where you end up depends on the chosen study direction, your own skills and interests.

Review the admission requirements for the MSc Democracy and Representation at Leiden University: bachelor’s degree in Political Science or related field, 80 ECTS in relevant courses, and proficiency in Social Science research design.

Academic staff and students blog about their research and teaching.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University College with Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan.

Review the MSc The Politics of Artificial Intelligence admission requirements at Leiden University: bachelor’s degree in Political Science or related field, 80 ECTS in relevant courses, and proficiency in Social Science research design.

Discover the admission requirements for the MSc in International Politics at Leiden University in The Hague: bachelor degree, 80 ECTS in political science, and English language proficiency (IELTS/TOEFL).

Discover the admission requirements for the MSc International Organisation at Leiden University in The Hague. Includes 80 ECTS, English test scores (IELTS/TOEFL), and supporting documents.

Review the admission requirements for the MSc Dutch Politics at Leiden University: required bachelor degree, academic credits, and language proficiency criteria.