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.

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.

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.

Research Schools aim at collaboration between researchers from different faculties (interfaculty schools) and universities (interuniversity schools).

Our programmes are known for our scientifically based education and for our open atmosphere.

Our programmes are known for our scientifically based education and for our open atmosphere.

Our programmes are known for our scientifically based education and for our open atmosphere.

Our goal is to prepare you to make a difference in your future career.

LIACS organizes different lectures and seminars like the LCN2 Seminars and SAILS Lunch Time-seminars.

With a MSc degree in Creative Intelligence & Technology (previously Media Technology) you will be prepared for a career involving creative and critical thinking. Our alumni have a broad choice of career prospects: they hold positions ranging from academic researcher to creative entrepreneur.

The one-year MA in Russian and Eurasian Studies at Leiden University is a unique programme that stands out for its interdisciplinary approach and relevance to current global affairs.

Leiden University has six top bachelor’s programmes, according to Keuzegids universiteiten 2024 consumer guide to universities published on 30 November 2023. This once again puts the university in third place among broad universities ranked according to top programmes.

The ICT.OPEN conference had no less than five Leiden highlights. PhD candidate Anna Louise Latour won the pitch prize of 500 euros and PhD candidate Can Wang won the second prize in the Commit2Data poster competition. In addition, Professor Holger Hoos gave the keynote lecture on the first day and Suzan…

For over six centuries, the Tatars have been part of Poland’s social and cultural fabric. In this 8-episode series, released weekly, professor Maurits Berger and assistant professor Ewa Górska explore how this Muslim minority has maintained its identity across generations, how Islam is practiced in…

Lecture, This Time for Africa series

Applications can be submitted by doctoral researchers (at least in the second year of their studies during the proppsed stay), postdocotral researchers, and senior researchers. The research should thematically align with one of the research themes or projects conducted by the academic staf of the Department…

Sonorous phenomena are always on the verge of becoming something else. As it unfolds, sound constitutes spaces, mediates presence, articulates time. Furthermore, it may prompt emotions, generate awareness, organise patterns of behaviour or trigger a sense of belonging. As sound becomes audible, it is…

This article traces the evolution of interpretations of international law and international cyber norms on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace by reassessing five major – and allegedly state-led – cyber operations: Stuxnet 2010; Belgacom 2013-2014, the Ukrainian power grid 2015, the US presidential…

The master's in Assyriology, a specialisation of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations programme, at Leiden University provides you with a multidisciplinary study of the languages, literatures and cultures of ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

The International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) welcomes visiting researchers who would like to spend time with us furthering their (PhD) research. As a visiting researcher, you can make use of our extensive library, our digital resources and the expertise of the Law School’s institutes.

The Research MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations covers two years and can be studied in four tracks: Classics is one of them. While diving into the literary, cultural and intellectual worlds of Greece and Rome, you will be involved in current research, and stimulated to reflect on the significance…

If you want to take on an extra challenge during your bachelor’s programme, options like the Honours College, the Humanities Lab and the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) will give you additional depth, intensity and study credits. You can even do a double degree.

The Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) master's at Leiden University covers the entire range of present-day research on the civilisations of Greece and Rome, Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

In Renaissance Florence, humanists wrote Latin poems fashioning their city as the new Rome, and members of the Medici family as Roman rulers. How can we explain this practice?

The research programme Probability Theory focuses on probability theory and on operations research.

The skin has recently gained attention within body studies for its many specific cultural and social associations, in addition to its biology. This project aims to examine the different layers of meaning and the functions invested in the skin in ancient Greece: how did ancient Greek literary and medical…

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching) with four partners in Kazakhstan.

The physical features of twelfth-century manuscripts from the Flemish abbey of Ter Duinen – such as script, page layout, and reading aids – show how their readers organized, interpreted, and transmitted knowledge.

What is my contribution to the world? This is what students and researchers at Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) ask themselves every day. They want to make a difference with their teaching and research in the four global challenges of ‘Peace and Justice,’ ‘Sustainability,’ ‘Diversity’ and ‘…

These were the main speakers and session leaders at The Knowledge Orchard 2025:

The English language and Culture bachelor’s programme at Leiden University will help you develop an excellent command of both spoken and written English and immerse you in the rich global culture of English literature at a high academic level.

Leiden University has long history of research and teaching on Asian traditions, with a focus on language and philology, history, religious studies, philosophy, law and literature. Leiden has in the last thirty years also built up an equally impressive strength in the study of modern and contemporary…

Shafa’Atussara Silahudin defended her theses on 18 May 2021.

If you’re considering the Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives bachelor’s programme and would like to experience what it’s like to study in Leiden University, introductory activities that include an Open Day, Experience Day, Online Experience and Student for a Day, will help you make up your…

If you’re considering the Arts, Media and Society bachelor’s programme and would like to experience what it’s like to study at Leiden University, introductory activities such as an Open Day, Experience Day, Online Experience and Student for a Day, will help you make up your mind.

Which fungi live in Leiden University’s historic buildings and collections, and how can their impact on heritage and human health be understood and managed?

Along with your application, you will need to submit a variety of documents. This information only applies to students who need to submit an application for admission. If you have a diploma that grants you automatic admission to a bachelor’s programme, you won’t need to submit additional documents.

LIAS has a School of Asian Studies (SAS), a School of Middle-Eastern Studies (SMES) and a School of Religious Studies (LUCSoR). These designations, and the fields within them, remain foundational to our work. At the same time, the academic community benefits from the presence of cross-regional networks…

The Master’s in Korean Studies at Leiden University offers a unique opportunity to conduct graduate level research, on various aspects of pre-modern and contemporary Korea, and to spend a full academic year at a university in South Korea.

Building on its extensive holdings in Asian studies, including much material that can support the study of “unofficial” histories and cultures, Leiden University Libraries has established the Leiden Chinese Queer Collection (LCQC).

Prof. dr. Lisa Cheng has been nominated for the Regional Chair at the University of Nantes (France).

In 2025 hebben medewerkers en studenten van de Universiteit Leiden veel mooie prijzen ontvangen en belangrijke onderzoekssubsidies binnengehaald.

Leiden University has seven top-rated bachelor's programmes according to Keuzigids universiteiten 2026, a consumer guide to university programmes. This is based on the National Student Survey.

Lecture, This Time for Africa series

Online, hybrid, on campus... It was an unpredictable year, also for the Faculty of Humanities. Luckily, there were also non-corona related stories. Let's review 2021 with this list of the most-read news articles per month.