The people who lived in Saqqara, City of the Dead in Egypt, died thousands of years ago, but they are not all that different from us. This is what a study by the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, The Netherlands concludes. If you wanted to prove that you had good taste in ancient Egypt then…

The year 2023 saw the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Wagner Group rebellion and wildfires and floods as all the weather records were smashed. Our most-read stories were about the climate crisis and the elections: here’s the list.

It was long thought that the early development of Japanese children's books served mainly as a propaganda tool of the state: the literature was supposed to have been written to shape children into perfect citizens. PhD student Aafke van Ewijk nuances this image. Children's book writers wanted to have…

Connecting worlds, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. In that respect, a huge amount happened at Leiden University in 2023.

Connecting scientific fields, enhancing research and teaching, and providing innovative solutions to complex social issues: that is the idea behind interdisciplinary research. What did the university achieve in 2024? A small sample.

The decolonisation war in Indonesia was violent partly because the Dutch military operated on the conviction that ‘an uprising had to be forcibly suppressed.’ This what historian Christiaan Harinck from the KITLV discovered in his PhD research.

The war between Ukraine and Russia is playing out not just on the battlefield but also on the geopolitical playing field of gas. Conflicts at the start of this century about this energy source were, says PhD candidate Ilia Barboutev, a precursor to today’s war.

The interdisciplinary, English-taught minor ‘Violence Studies’ looks at violence from very diverse scientific perspectives. What are the benefits from this approach? Students and lecturers evaluate: ‘This minor’s a goldmine’.

The stadtholder’s court in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands has long been underestimated. Real courts and the associated court culture were to be found elsewhere in Europe. PhD candidate Quinten Somsen is trying to reverse this image. ‘The stadtholder’s court was actually very lively.’

Lecture

Lecture, Global Histories of Knowledge Seminar

Since 1 January 2020 - with the transition to the Dutch Civil Code - the system of writing off leave has changed. When you take leave, the system automatically writes off the hours that fall due first.

Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam have been collaborating intensively for many years. In 2012 this collaboration was formalised in the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities strategic alliance. This has allowed us to approach important and complex societal…

If you were declared disabled for work on or prior to 1 January 2016, and you are the recipient of a wage-related WGA benefit, you may also be eligible for what is known as a WGA compensation benefit.

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.

If you are an employee at the university and you are ready for the next step in your career, Leiden University offers a number of internal job openings. To qualify for an internal job opening, you must be an internal candidate.

Maileon statistics give you insight into the success of your email campaigns. How often was an email opened, which links did recipients click on and how many unsubscribes were there? With that data, you can optimise your campaigns.

ICT

The University believes it is important that you are happy in your work. This is why we gauge your opinion with the personnel monitor. We use the results to make improvements that enhance job satisfaction.

For inspirational leadership as the basis for a safe and resilient work culture.

For a workplace where social safety is self-evident.

The integrity and reliability of academic research are of fundamental importance to the University. All parties, both within and outside the University, must be able to have confidence that our research is conducted in a scrupulous, fair, verifiable, impartial and independent manner.

If your employment ends, you may be eligible for a transition payment. You could use this allowance for education or training, or to make your transition to your next job smoother. Do you qualify for a transition allowance?

The Comenius innovation programme for higher education and universities of applied science gives teachers the resources to implement their vision for education. Every year, the programme creates the conditions for a wide range of teaching innovations to flourish. The government’s aim with this programme…

On this page you will read all about the Kiem funding tool.

If you are unable to come to work due to sickness, find out below how to report sick and how the University guides its employees on sick leave.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has elected 16 new members, including two academics from Leiden: internist-infectiologist Meta Roestenberg and Arabist Petra Sijpesteijn.

An inspection and feedback session for exams offers students an important occasion to receive feedback and gives them insight into their learning process.

Degree programmes must be assessed and accredited once every six years to ensure they provide a high standard of education. You may be asked to speak to the assessment panel.

Conference

We provide answers here to some frequently asked questions about collaborations with the fossil fuel industry.

How can the voice of the education sector be better represented within the faculty? At the request of the Faculty Board, the Education Management and Organisation Task Force has been examining this question over the past few months. A detailed report has now been produced. Vice-Dean Jos Schaeken, who…

The valedictory lecture of former rector magnificus Hester Bijl was buried on Tuesday 12 May in the garden of the Kamerlingh Onnes Building (KOG). Where did this young, and slightly eccentric, university tradition come from?

Research, Didactics, Career development

An exam file contains all relevant information about an exam or assignment and must be kept according to legal guidelines. This page provides the procedures for archiving exam files and the responsibilities of the examiner.

Leiden University is committed to making your work safe, healthy and enjoyable.

Research, Transferable skills

On 27 May 2025, the Executive Board decided to establish a Committee on Human Rights / Conflict Zones.

Research, Transferable skills

Egypt serves as a strategic gateway to Africa and the Middle East. For that reasons, Luc Sels, President of the Executive Board and a delegation visited the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) at the end of April. This resulted in new agreements on research and student exchanges.

Last weekend, all university buildings were closed and the university systems were unavailable. The reason for this was the major maintenance of the university network. The network’s core needed to be shut down for this, including all supplies and services. A large group of staff from ISSC as well as…

Women confined to the kitchen? Not in Scheveningen around 1900. There, some women ran entire shipping companies. This is according to new research by history student Sjors Stuurman. He compiled the results in a book he wrote for Muzee Scheveningen.