Is it a prehistoric mammoth tooth or just an ordinary pebble? It was National Finds Day at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities on Saturday 17 June, and Leiden University was one of the collaborating partners.

Giles Scott Smith is Dean of Leiden University College The Hague.

Together with students and local residents, historians Ariadne Schmidt and Alicia Schrikker researched the Leiden Transvaal neighbourhood. They will present their findings on Thursday 20 October, at a specially organised mini-festival in the neighbourhood.

Thinking of studying abroad, or are you just starting your international journey here at Leiden University? We've got you covered! Join us for a week of pure inspiration, amazing chats with your peers, and all the info you need to make your dreams a reality here in the Netherlands or abroad. And enjoy…

Bram Caers is an Assistant Professor of Middle Dutch literature (up to 1600). His research interest include (urban) historiography in the vernacular, early modern manuscript culture and the interplay between manuscript and print, epic literature, rhetoricians, and medievalism. He teaches courses on…

How should the Quran be read? The manuscript of this holy book makes different interpretations possible. Researcher Marijn van Putten has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant of two million euros to explore centuries-old recitations.

Leonor Faber-Jonker (1987) is a historian, author, and artist. She was the scientific curator of an exhibition on the Namibian genocide at the Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris (25 November 2016 - 12 March 2017).

Laurens van Apeldoorn is an assistant professor of tax law at Leiden University.

Applications are now open for the Summer School ‘The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance’ (12 - 23 June 2023) for Master-level and PhD students. The activity is supported by the European Union’s Jean Monnet programme (Erasmus+).

Timur Khan is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Area Studies.

Joaquin Fernandez Abara is a PhD candidate at the Institute for History.

Gabriel Veppo de Lima is a Scholarship PhD Candidate at the Institute for History.

The Leiden interdisciplinary research programme Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) and the Embassy of Ireland are jointly organising a special book launch in The Hague. On 13 November, Gerry Finnegan, author and a former director of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), will…

The Executive Board of Leiden University has appointed Dr Alicia Schrikker as Professor of Dutch History in the World, effective 1 January 2026. The chair is based at the Institute of History (Faculty of Humanities).

Li-fan Lee is a PhD candidate of intercultural philosophy at the Institute for Philosophy of Leiden University since July 2022. He is interested in human culture and philosophical thoughts in their most general sense across temporal and geographical boundaries, and is dedicated to clear-eyed philosophical…

Judith Naeff is Assistant Professor Cultures of the Middle East at Leiden University with a main interest in contemporary Arabic visual culture and literature. She has worked mainly on cities & urban imaginaries and memory & temporality.

Deadline approaching: Applications are still open for the Summer School ‘The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance’ (16 - 20 June 2025) for Master-level and PhD students. Application deadline: 15 May 2025.

Academics regularly face threats, intimidation and abuse. The Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) therefore launched the WetenschapVeilig platform on 7 November 2022.

Thijs Brocades Zaalberg is Professor by Special Appointment of Military History at the Leiden University Institute for History and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy in Breda.

Liesbet Nyssen is PhD candidate at LIAS.

To truly understand Dutch literature, we have to look beyond borders. At least, that is the view of Sander Bax. From 1 August, he will be Professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature and Culture in a Transnational Dynamic.

Spycraft, by professor Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman has been selected by History Today and The Economist as one of 2024’s best books

From 13 to 24 June 2022, the Summer School on the European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance, supported by the Erasmus+ (Jean Monnet) Programme was held for the second time.

Over the centuries painters and photographers have depicted students at study in Leiden. An exhibition at the Hortus botanicus reveals the similarities and differences in 450 years of student life.

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.

Several Spanish media paid attention to associate professor Eric Storm’s new book Nationalism.

The Chinese History chair has a long, rich history within Leiden University. Since 1 February, this position has been held by Ying Zhang. ‘Leiden University brings together a legendary range of Asian knowledge.’

Nancy C. Kula is Professor and Chair of African Linguistics. Her research interests focus on a range of topics in African and General Linguistics with a focus on Bantu Languages investigating phonology, morphology, tone and their interfaces. She also works on Language Policy in Africa, specifically…

Carmen Van den Bergh is assistant professor in Italian Literature at the Leiden University Centre for Arts in Society (LUCAS) where she is director of the Italian Language and Culture Department, track leader for Italian in the MA Literary Studies and quartermaster for the new BA programme Modern Languages.…

This fall, LUCIS will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Hugh Kennedy from SOAS University of London to Leiden. He is the fourth Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation Visiting Professor in Arabic Culture at Leiden University.

Nadine Akkerman recently appeared as a guest on a BBC podcast and the History Extra podcast to discuss her book Spycraft. In these interviews, she delved into the fascinating world of espionage, sharing insights from her research and highlighting key themes from her work.

Pablo Merayo Montes is a PhD candidate at the Institute for History researching Dutch guest workers in Spain during the eighteenth century.

Expert in Classics Renske Janssen has been awarded a Rubicon grant. She will use the grant to conduct research at the University of Edinburgh into how Roman law was perceived by society at the time.

Thanks to a €4.8 million grant from the Dutch Research Council, a consortium that includes four physicists from Leiden University will develop a national facility for atomic-scale research into novel materials. This initiative is expected to drive innovation for energy transition.

The Institute for History has a new academic director. Professor of Early Modern History Jeroen Duindam will take on this role from 1 September. ‘You can only do this job properly if you make time for it.’

Associate professor Eric Storm’s book on nationalism has been reviewed in several newspapers. Storm was also interviewed by newspaper Ara.

Wat zie jij als je verderkijkt? Hoe ziet studeren aan de Universiteit Leiden in 2075 eruit? We nodigen je uit om mee te doen met Verderkijkers.

The National ThinkTank presents an analysis and seven solutions to the social issue of ‘meaningful ageing’.

Joanne Stolk is a Lecturer in Greek papyrology and Coptic connected to the Leiden Centre for the Arts in Society and the Leiden Papyrological Institute.