Arts and culture

An evolutionary 'trap' that has haunted crested and marbled newts for 25 million years: Leiden researchers have uncovered a mysterious DNA error that should not be able to arise – yet persists all the same. How is that possible? PhD candidate James France found new clues.

On 8 February, the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) published the measures that universities themselves are intending to take to manage the influx of international students and enhance the Dutch language skills of lecturers and students.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

This Honours College track empowers you to address societal challenges by enhancing new skills and competencies.

How do you combine the growth of wind energy with the protection of vulnerable seabirds? With her master’s thesis on this delicate balance, Sofie Hajer won the 2025 Unilever Research Prize. Her work provides new insights into how ecology and policy can strengthen each other.

Sense Jan van der Molen is vanaf 1 maart de nieuwe wetenschappelijk directeur van het Leiden Instituut voor Onderzoek in de Natuurkunde.

Online education and assessments

Career and apply for jobs

Career and apply for jobs

Career and apply for jobs

Not sure what your next step is in choosing your studies or planning your career? Science Career Service is here to help, from making study choices to career orientation and preparing for the labour market.

Studying at university can be both challenging and rewarding. Alongside your courses, you might be balancing a social life, part-time work, and personal circumstances that require your time and energy.

Curious about the experiences of students in HC Governance and Global Affairs? Read their testimonials here and find out what makes this programme special to them! 🌏✈️

Leiden Assessors Council (LAssO)

During your time as a student, it is important to develop yourself both academically and in terms of personal growth. You can join a wide range of workshops and courses on personal development, well-being and creativity.

Study support

Dyslexia is a learning disorder which is common among students and can impact your studies at Leiden University.

Find out how honours students at Leiden University get support, join a community or offer suggestions for improvements.

Want to build a strong set of skills for your future? As a Science student, you have free access to plenty of support and resources.

As a university, we offer you the best education you can get. Professors, tutors and lecturers are ready to teach and guide you. But we do more than that. Of course, studying is your own responsibility, but we are happy to help if you need support. You decide what and when; online or on campus. These…

Throughout the university you can print, copy and scan via multi-function printers (MFPs). To use them you will need a LU-card.

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

It is possible to develop and improve your study skills. By using the SMART method you can learn to study strategically, be academically competent, have confidence about taking exams and manage your time well. Of course all this is only possible if you put in enough hours.

What does 'leadership' mean to you? In the Leiden Leadership Programme, you will find out. The LLP gives you tools to develop yourself personally, professionally and societally.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The university is responsible for the safety of over 40,000 people who work, study and visit around 50 buildings in Leiden and The Hague. Find out which security measures are changing and what this means for you.

Using mathematics to help children with bone cancer. It sounds a little strange, but for statistician Marta Fiocco, it's just her job. She gets a substantial grant from KiKa for it. With that money, she is going to study the effect of chemotherapy adjustments.

Can humans sense where north is, using what is known as magnetoreception? This question had master’s student Björn Keyser (Media Technology) so intrigued that he started crowdfunding to be able to study this together with the California Institute of Technology.

She works four days a week as a project manager at LIACS and trains six days a week with the Dutch Para Climbing team. Christiane Luttikhuizen balances her role at the Faculty of Science with competing at a high level in climbing.

Language is omnipresent: when you talk, app or meet in Teams. Understanding how we communicate with one another and what communication does to us is essential. In her inaugural lecture, Nivja de Jong will call to redress the balance between the sciences and the humanities.

Innovations only achieve true success when people actually use them. PhD researcher Max van Haastrecht developed a cybersecurity app for small businesses and learned how essential it is to align technology with real-world practice.

Speaking for the Executive Board, Timo Kos reflects on the university’s security policy and what lies ahead. ‘We want to keep our buildings open, but we also need to be able to guarantee the safety of everyone there. It’s a real balancing act.’

Mozambican politician and child rights activist Graça Machel speaks October 27 at Leiden University about her work.

Marco van Eijk is the new Educational Director of the Bachelor's Life Science and Technology (LST). Since 1 September he has been responsible for ensuring the quality of the programme. ‘LST is a unique programme and everyone has to keep working hard for that. That is my main task.’

In the short term, no reorganisation is foreseen within the Faculty of Humanities, nor are any compulsory redundancies expected. Nonetheless, structural changes remain necessary. This is evident from the faculty’s draft budget for 2026 and the accompanying financial multi-year outlook.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

The Schoof cabinet has presented its budget. As expected, higher education is facing severe cuts. In the coming period, the Executive Board will regularly look at the consequences of what it deems an irresponsible policy.

On Tuesday 27 May a first meeting was held in response to the demonstration and occupation at the Wijnhaven building on 6 May. The aim was to explore how the university can balance the fundamental right to protest with ensuring a safe environment for all students and staff.

Scrap the radical cuts to research and teaching. This was researchers and students’ message to government at the opening of the new academic year. Various speakers in Leiden’s Pieterskerk highlighted the importance of science for society.

The university finds it important that students and staff are offered a safe environment. Read here about the safety measures in place and what you should do in case of emergencies or other incidents.

During your studies you will develop transferable skills. Leiden University has selected 13 transferable skills that it finds important for students to develop during their studies. These skills are important not only during your studies but also in later life once you begin working.

The three parties currently forming a government – D66, CDA and VVD – have presented a new coalition agreement, in which they announce their intention to reverse the substantial funding cuts to higher education. This is encouraging news, although many uncertainties remain. The Executive Board will closely…

Bringing your drug candidates to patients is what many academic chemists dream about, but the road to this goal is long and bumpy. Now, Leiden small molecule nizubaglustat is ready for phase 3 clinical trials. This is thanks to a €132 million funding secured by the biotech spin-out Azafaros.