The LIAS Office conducts the Institute's administration. Please feel free to stop by for information or assistance.

Review Committees, with cross-boundary experts, are invited to assess our research and education programmes. All our research will be evaluated once every six years, based on the national evaluation system for publicly funded research in the Netherlands. The Committee's findings can be found on this…

From 1 June onwards, Erik-Jan Zurcher, professor of Turkish Studies, will be the new academic director of the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS). We asked him about his plans.

Dr Ruixuan Chen, an alumnus of the LIAS and now assistant professor in Buddhist Studies at Heidelberg, has been awarded the Ernst Waldschmidt Prize. The award ceremony is postponed due to the pandemic and will take place in Berlin presumably in early 2021.

The Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) has a new Director of Education. Rint Sybesma was appointed with effect from 1 September. ‘I am looking forward to getting to know the institute even better.’

Ab de Jong, professor of Comparative Religion, was appointed as the new the academic director of the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) with effect from 1 September. We asked him about his plans for the future of the LIAS.

LIAS hosts Visiting Researchers from around the world. The programme provides Visitors access to LIAS facilities (including Leiden University Library) so that they can conduct research on an approved topic. As an academic institution committed to international cooperation and exchange, LIAS welcomes…

LIAS faculty members can apply for Travel Funding to cover expenses for conference travel or fieldwork.

The various bodies involved in the administration of LIAS are listed below.

Lecture, Drinks

Edegar da Conceição Savio defended his thesis on 28 January 2016

The LIAS Office conducts the Institute's administration. Please feel free to stop by for information or assistance.

LIAS staff has a strong track record in supervising internationally competitive PhD research in Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies, and the study of religion. Our graduates go on to work in a range of professional fields, academic and other. This page provides information for prospective and current…

The following staff members are currently part of the LIAS PhD Council

The LLRC-committee consists of members representing participating institutes.

Many of our staff and students have won an award, received a grant, obtained an academic fellowship for their quality or have been socially engaged due to their specific expertise. See below for an overview per year.

LIAS researchers working in the field of linguistics hold dual appointments in LIAS and the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL).

To truly understand complex regions such as the Middle East and Asia, you have to know their culture, history and local societies inside out. Driven by curiosity for other cultures, the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) provides an understanding and analysis of current and historical…

LIAS is comprised of three research schools with expertise in different areas:

LIAS faculty teach and carry out thesis supervision in many programs.

This section contains information on:

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 language learning resource centre unites all language teaching professionals working at Leiden University: teachers and researchers at the LUCL, ATC, LUCAS, LIAS, and ICLON.

Area studies is an approach to knowledge that starts from the study of places in the human world from antiquity to the present, through the relevant source languages, with central regard for issues of positionality.

Here you can find information and recent documents pertaining to the Advisory Council, such as meeting minutes. The minutes are password-protected; please request the password from the LIAS secretariat.

This section contains information on:

The Ancient Worlds Network brings together staff and graduate students in LIAS working on the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world.

Leiden Asia Departments

The language learning resource centre unites all language teaching professionals working at Leiden University: teachers and researchers at the LUCL, ATC, LUCAS, LIAS, and ICLON. You can find a list of them, ordered by language and/or role, in the menu on the left.

The Scientific Committee

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

This section contains information on:

This section contains information on:

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of the Faculty of Humanities with two partners in Uzbekistan.

Please feel free to stop by for information or assistance.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

LIAS Global History Workshop brings together faculty and graduate students in LIAS and other Institutes who are interested in writing critical histories grounded in empirical research and theory, irrespective of historiographical approach, geographical focus, or time period.

Once you have decided on your field of research, you should start looking for a supervisor as early as possible.

LIAS PhD program activities include thematic coursework (the PhD Seminars), generic skills training, library training, research presentations, social events, and so on. They are open to all LIAS PhD candidates.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

This section contains information on:

The two-year research master in Asian Studies equips you with advanced and in-depth knowledge of a region and discipline within the field of Asian Studies.