The APL (Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia) is published once a year and showcases the increasingly diversity of research conducted at the Faculty of Archaeology. The APL currently forms a showcase for the faculty as a whole in which all employees can publish their research. By alternatingly publishing…

Silk Road Virtual Museum - A virtual museum of the art and culture of the regions that lay on the trade routes between Europe and Asia, popularly known as the ‘Silk Road’.

Water, Urbanism, and Sustainability in Roman Ostia

The Faculty of Archaeology

How does global change across time and space lead to convergence and loss of variation or increasing diversity and conflict?

Read on these pages all about the history of Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands. The Academia Lugduna Batava was founded in 1575 and its motto is: Libertatis Praesidium ('Bastion of Freedom').

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

An interdisciplinary and innovative research group combining History, underwater archaeology, GIS and wood provenancing methods.

Book by Dr. Mariana Françozo resulting from her research into the collection of count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, governor of the Dutch colony in Northeastern Brazil between 1637 and 1644.

A platform to research memory and culture in the Muslim world. This programme explores the ways modern memory studies methodologies can be applied to pre-modern Muslim societies to reveal the uses of the past and senses of tradition in diverse contexts of Muslim thought.

In developing cooperation with Indonesia, Leiden University focuses on projects that benefit culture, nature, society and economy, in Indonesia as well as in the Netherlands.

Before you apply for your master’s programme, please make sure you check our application deadlines.

What is our place in the Universe? How did stars, planets, and galaxies form? Could life exist beyond Earth? The minor Our Universe invites you on a journey through space, time, and society. You will explore the scientific story of modern astronomy, the origins of life, and the role of the cosmos in…

Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present.

This book presents an introductory survey of the major themes, thinkers and texts, philosophical genres and profound insights of the Chinese philosophical tradition. Its coverage ranges from the foundational history of Chinese thought in the 6th–5th centuries BCE up to the present day.

From summer and winter schools to online workshops, explore, connect, and grow as a researcher.

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

The Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden is the leading academic institute for Archaeology in the Netherlands, and one of the largest in the world. The Faculty is an international front-runner, in the top ten of the QS World University Ranking, at subject level.

Erasmus+ Cooperation partnerships are transnational projects designed to develop and share innovative practices and promote cooperation, peer learning, and the exchange of experiences in education. There are two kinds of Cooperation partnerships: those supporting innovation and those supporting the…

The collaboration between Leiden University (Medical Center) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona forms one of the most powerful international alliances for the creation and transmission of knowledge in the field of transfusion medicine.

What is students’ engagement in problem-based learning (PBL) and case-based learning (CBL) in teacher certification programs?

On December 6th, 2024, Rector Hester Bijl welcomed participants at the Leiden Jewish Studies Association’s First Annual Conference “Jews at Home: From Creation to Corona” and also presented two Leiden University students with the inaugural Leiden Jewish Studies Association “Best Thesis in Jewish Studies”…

Part of ‘Moralising Misfortune: A Comparative Anthropology of Commercial Insurance’, an ERC Consolidator project of Erik Bähre.

This study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology.

De gerenommeerde Moddermanprijs over de jaren 2022-2023 is toegekend aan Elco Nab.

A cannon, a sabre, guns: these Sri Lankan objects had been in the Rijksmuseum for centuries. In early December, they were returned to Sri Lanka. Associate Professor of Colonial History Alicia Schrikker led the research that formed the basis for the restitution and published a volume on the findings…

Geert Wilders is fiercely opposing asylum seekers' centres during his election campaign. Marloes van Noorloos, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, commented in the ‘Reformatorisch Dagblad’ on whether he is guilty of incitement: 'Wilders’ statements do not explicitly refer to violence.'

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) will handle more criminal cases without involvement of the courts. The aim: more community service and fewer prison sentences. Jan Crijns, Professor of Criminal and Criminal Procedural Law, commented on the proposal in ‘Trouw’ newspaper.

Below are some of the scholarly works published within the context of the Institutions for Conflict Resolution programme.

Programme director of the bachelor's programme Security Studies Daan Weggemans kicked off the first webinar for prospective students this afternoon. In Kaltura Live he had an international audience of about 60 interested people.

As part of Mariana Françozo’s BRASILAE project, a group of representatives of the Ka’apor people was invited to visit Leiden. The Ka’apor, an indigenous people from Brazil, are some of the present-day relatives of the Tupi-speaking peoples who used to live in the northeastern region of Brazil, claimed…

On Saturday 15 February 2020, the Leiden University Thesis Prizes were presented during the Dies celebration day for alumni. Joint first prize went to Vincent Peeters, who was awarded a cum laude master's degree in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure in August 2019.

Compared to other countries, Dutch prisons have relatively few inmates. But who are behind bars in our prisons? Professor of Criminology and Comparative Penology Miranda Boone: ‘It's not the bad, but often the sad and the mad.’

Haunting the future through poetry

On Wednesday 3 September 2025 Yu Ai successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Knowledge of Muslim societies is essential to function in a globalised world and to fully understand our own Dutch society. Leiden researchers explore the languages, cultures, religions, legal systems and history of Muslim societies and in this way contribute to a centuries-old tradition.

At the Faculty of Archaeology, we investigate the development of human societies worldwide, from the earliest beginnings to modern times. We also study the heritage of mankind, which evokes this deep history, and which connects with, and informs, contemporary society.

The tree-year bachelor's programme in Archaeology is a many-sided programme in which you study societies, cultures, and human behaviour from the past, aiming to reconstruct and revive them. Dive into the development of human societies all over the world, from the Netherlands to the Mediterranean, and…

Studying one another’s languages and cultures fosters understanding between groups of people, which leads to more equality, along with increased economic, administrative, and cultural cooperation.

During the Latin American Studies Master's programme you will focus on key social, political, linguistic and cultural developments which are currently shaping the complex reality of Latin America.

Overview of granting opportunities in the wider digital humanities community. Follow links for the most up-to-date details on deadline dates/times and conditions for applying.

Political scientist Wouter Veenendaal (Leiden University) provides an in-depth case study of clientelism in Malta, the smallest member state of the European Union. He reveals that not only that patron–client linkages are a ubiquitous feature of political life in Malta, but also that the smallness of…

Combined hormonal contraceptives (CHC) are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In 2013, a review was published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In this review, the authors concluded that the risk of VTE varies by the type of progesterone in the CHC. Subsequently,…