Supervisor: S.F. Portegies Zwart Co-Supervisor: A.G.A. Brown

Even though more than 4000 extra-solar planets are known today, only a small fraction of these has been captured in an image. To better understand the planet formation mechanisms in solar-like environments we started the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES).

A step-by-step approach to building confidence in anxiety-prone young children.

Physicist Christopher Berg Smiet, who recently obtained his PhD in Leiden, has been awarded an NWO Rubicon. The grant allows him to conduct postdoctoral research for two years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in the United States.

Together we can make science open. Find the next step that fits your journey here.

The Leiden Observatory is starting a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to construct a new telescope.

When you have finished your dissertation, it is time to prepare for the defence procedure.

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 9 April 2026 at 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm.

A team of astronomers led by Dutch scientists have directly imaged a giant planet orbiting at a large distance around a sun-like star. Why this planet is so massive, and how it got to be there, is still a mystery. The researchers will publish their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

Getting started with active learning & teaching can be as simple as assessing on what is already accomplished. Here are some practical courses of action to begin experimenting with active learning, whether you are a teacher or responsible for the spaces.

Staring into the clouds hoping for a glimpse of the sun, cheering in encouragement, video recordings: there was no shortage of things to do at the Leiden Observatory. More than 600 visitors witnessed the last, almost complete solar eclipse of the decade..

Heterogeneous catalysis is essential to many industrial applications. These catalysts are often comprised of supported nanoparticles, which contain various different surface sites.

Steps to take if you need residence permit only, and not a visa, for your upcoming studies.

The focus of this thesis is how stars like our Sun and planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth are formed.

Steps to take if you already have a Dutch residence permit and are joining Leiden University.

Steps to take if you need a student visa for your upcoming studies.

ALMA has observed stars like the Sun at a very early stage in their formation and found traces of methyl isocyanate - a chemical building block of life. This is the first ever detection of this prebiotic molecule towards solar-type protostars, the sort from which our Solar System evolved. The discovery…

Leiden University has partnerships in the local region, in the Netherlands, in Europe and with countries on almost all the world's continents. Students and researchers benefit from these partnerships, but society is also a beneficiary, says Rector Carel Stolker.

The solar system was formed approximately 4.56 billion years ago. Despite the numerous theories that have been developed over the years, the formation and evolution of the solar system still remain unclear.

When you have finished your dissertation, it is time to prepare for the defence procedure.

This thesis highlights the significant role of surface geometry and oxidation state in determining CO adsorption behavior on copper surfaces.

On 28 November 2025, Leiden University and PLNT Leiden hosted “The Knowledge Orchard” - an event aimed at starting up/ enhancing interdisciplinary cooperation between academics at Leiden University, and improving collaboration between Leiden researchers and external partners in research and educatio…

This article presents a five-step framework for building behavioural cybersecurity strategy to reduce human-related risks affecting organisational security

Thousands of first-year students and hundreds of mentors kicked off the EL CID on Monday morning. This year for the first time, the introduction week of Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences was also open for students of Regional Training Centre mboRijnland and the Leiden Instrument…

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.S. Overkleeft, Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel

Please have a look at the long version of our promo video

Schuurman examines how Russia is escalating its covert operations against European countries.

The aim of this project is to develop, evaluate, and multicentre implement a blended form of cardiac rehabilitation that uses a theory-based approach to guide patients to full self-management.

In recent years, the use of primary data in terrorism research has increased. In order to maximise the benefits of this trend, we want to encourage terrorism scholars to implement open science practices more systematically. This article therefore presents different avenues towards open and reproducible…

Supervisor: Indira Nederpelt

Metastasis is responsible for over 90% of cancer-related deaths and arises from the ability of a small subset of tumor cells to detach from the primary tumor, overcome multiple biochemical and mechanical barriers, disseminate through the body, and colonize distant organs.

Leiden University has participated in an international study carried out by the CARMENES consortium, which has discovered two small, terrestrial planets around Teegarden’s Star. The planets have masses similar to Earth and their temperatures could be mild enough to sustain liquid water on their surf…

Working for a top faculty? Discover the vacancies at the Faculty of Science and apply immediately.

The Old Observatory has a rich history. On this page you will find a short version of the history that took place in the observatory.

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure