As a Leiden University’s master’s student in Political Science you conduct independent research and report your findings to fellow academics and, who knows, to a larger audience. Your thesis is a showcase of your academic skills and personal interest, and perhaps even passion. Easier said than done,…

On 15 February 2024, Leiden Law School's Faculty Board will enter a new phase.

From a vegan community kitchen to a green framework for drug development: sustainability became more visible in everyday campus life at Leiden University in 2025.

The more than 370 sensors that have been hung up in Leiden University buildings to count the people present will not be switched on again. The equipment will eventually be removed from the buildings.

Alumnus Théo Pavlović received the Master's Speckmann award for his thesis: PAN RECORDS - A digital journey through the ethnic music niche that was supervised by Bart Barendregt. This price is awarded to the best fieldwork reports for ethnographic fieldwork. It includes a certificate and a prize of…

Leiden University won five prizes at the 10th edition of the IBA International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition – English edition of 2023, including Best Regional Team of Europe.

As the end of the year approaches, the new University Sports Centre (USC) building is nearing completion. Vice-President of the Executive Board Timo Kos visited the USC, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, to see how work is progressing.

From 29 – 31 May, second-year students of the Advanced MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) took part in the programme's annual visit to Geneva, Switzerland. Students participated in various institutional visits, and got to hear first-hand from practitioners and experts on a variety of…

It was not light, but its absence that caught Stephanie Noach's attention a few years ago. With her research on darkness in art, she aims to show how darkness can question and sometimes even undermine colonial imagery.

On March 11, a travelling photo exposition on the Mayan archaeological site El Mirador, in Guatemala, saw its festive opening at the Van Steenis building. For the occasion a special Faculty Lecture was organised, entitled 'Water Legacy: Mayan World Meets the Netherlands'. We were honored to receive…

As Professor of African Linguistics, Nancy Kula increases our knowledge of variation across languages. Her inaugural lecture is on Monday 23 March.

A Leiden-based team of researchers has taken over the editorship of the journal Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations. For the first time in its history, the journal is now based outside the United States. The new Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor Alanna O’Malley…

While the United States continues to carry out drone strikes, and China conducts large-scale cyber and information operations, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers live in trenches, and NATO sends tanks to the Donbas front to force a breakthrough. Has war changed dramatically in recent decades as a result…

The new welfare state is said to be close to its citizens and does not dominate, but cooperate. “But this paradigm has a hard time to acknowledge the power relation that shapes the relation between state and citizens,” says Anouk de Koning in the interview 'The Downsides of Equality Talk in the Welfare…

The president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, has chosen not to use his presidential compound. Professor Remco Breuker states in Time that this marks a change in South Korea’s approach to the compound.

The Tides of History is a history podcast that takes listeners into the past while trying to identify how it echoes today. The current season centers around the Iron Age and the new episode features an interview with our own Bleda Düring.

Roderick Geerts, a PhD candidate of the Faculty of Archaeology in Leiden, takes us on a short journey through the rich history of the Red Sea port of Berenike in Egypt.

The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has appointed four Leiden professors as members. Petra Sijpesteijn, Vanessa Mak, Mariska Kret and Miranda van Eck have recently joined the KHMW.

In the new video series 'The World of Linguistics', alumni and academics talk about their passion for their field. Student Aline-Priscillia is particularly curious about how language is processed in the brain.

Social

Facility

On 8 October, Armin Cuyvers was interviewed by RTLZ News and BNR News Radio on the shocking ruling by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of 7 October 2021 (both in Dutch).

No joke: on 1 April, the antique Van de Wall telescope was relocated to the atrium of the Gorlaeus Building. Have you spotted it yet?

Leiden University's humanities have one of the top places in the Times Higher Education Rankings. This year, we were placed 26th.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has started vaccinating staff from its intensive care, emergency and COVID departments. Junior doctor Christianne van Lieshout received the first jab on 6 January.

Organisation, Social

In Dutch magazine De Psycholoog, Anne-Laura van Harmelen talks about the use of the term resilience and argues that resilience is concept that needs further explanation.

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…

Construction work at Casal Lumbroso, on the outskirts of Rome, led to the discovery of a fossilised elephant tusk, and soon after, the remains of a 400,000-year-old elephant. A newly published study, led by Enza Spinapolice and Francesca Alhaique uncovered traces showing that early humans had scavenged…

Do you want to design your own scientific project? And be involved in its fundraising and execution? iGEM Leiden offers you a place to challenge yourself in every way imaginable.

Erik de Maaker, Sybille Lammes, Anke Klerkx, and Michiel van Groesen received a 10k€ KIEM grant for 'Networking Heritage at Leiden University' to boost heritage research.

Nadine Akkerman's book Spycraft, which she co-wrote with historian of science Pete Langman, has garnered top publications, with reviews featured in The Telegraph, Literary Review, The Spectator, History Today, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Spui Campus has opened its doors to students, working professionals and researchers. At the site where the iconic V&D department store stood since 1928, Universiteit Leiden, TU Delft, Open Universiteit, LUMC en Universiteiten van Nederland are collaborating on solutions to current societal challenges,…

The Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights (LL.M.) was launched in 2015 to equip a generation of professionals to protect the rights of children worldwide. As the programme celebrates its 10th anniversary, we reflect on its impact.

Participating in discussions as a student, at an administrative level? Jonatan Wirix-Speetjens has done so for the past two years as assessor of the Faculty of Humanities. Ebrar Kaya will take over the position of assessor starting this September. In this interview we look back and ahead at the asse…

With its ‘Quality Agreements’, Leiden University is working to improve the quality of its teaching. Much has been done since they began at the end of 2018. At a meeting for delegates from all the faculties and the University Council on 11 June, it became clear just how much has already been achieved…

From academic freedom to security and medical breakthroughs: during Leiden University’s 451st Dies Natalis, the speakers reflected on the role of universities in a world of social and geopolitical tensions.

Space telescope Euclid is capable of unravelling the secrets of the universe. That is what the images published by ESA today show, according to astronomers working with the telescope's data. The images exceed all expectations. Scientists within the Euclid consortium, including astronomers Henk Hoekstra…

Welcome to Leiden University

When writing a thesis or paper you must make good use of the insights you have gained during your lectures and studies so far. You should also refer to relevant literature and carry out your own research on the topic.

Bachelor, Master

Since mid-January, Leiden University has had a new Executive Board. What are their impressions and their plans? An introduction in two parts.

Researchers have discovered the most distant Milky-Way-like galaxy yet observed. Dubbed REBELS-25, this disc galaxy seems as orderly as present-day galaxies, but we see it as it was when the Universe was only 700 million years old. This is surprising since, according to our current understanding of…

After four successful editions, the Academy for the Rule of Law (Dutch) course, a collaboration between Leiden University and the Montesquieu Institute, has evolved into its final form.

Hanneke Hulst explaines how she is trying to bridge the gap between science and health care. ‘For a neuroscientist to actually contribute to solutions for patients, you have to work across disciplines.’

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies…

On 15 April Susanne Deen will start as Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator for Leiden Law School and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. The aim of this new position is to contribute to establishing an inclusive community where all students and staff feel valued and respected, and can achieve…

When the tokay gecko loses its tail, a new one grows from resident stem cells at the stump. Each tissue type - muscle, bone, blood vessels and skin - develops from specific stem cells. This discovery by Luthfi Nurhidayat holds potential implications for advancing regenerative medicine in humans. Nurhidayat…

Leiden University has set up two committees to consider issues that are the focus of much attention within our community and society at large. They are the Knowledge Security Committee and the Fossil Fuel Industry Collaboration Committee. Former dean Joanne van der Leun will chair both.