BSc degrees: ‘Political Science’, ‘International Relations and Organisations’. MSc degree: Political Science, with specialisations ‘International Organisation’; ‘Dutch Politics; ‘Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Development’; ‘International Politics’; ‘Political Legitimacy and Justice’; ‘Democracy…

PhD defence

Terrorism expert Bart Schuurman has been appointed professor. As a researcher and lecturer at ISGA, he has witnessed the terrorist threat evolve and broaden. 'How can we explain these shifts and protect our society against them? That is what I want to focus on more,' he says.

At Leiden University’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences we keep in touch with our alumni in various ways.

As a graduate of the Faculty of Humanities, there are unlimited possibilities. Do you want to know more about the sectors and jobs Humanities' graduates end up? Read their stories below!

Jurisprudence

An overview of Professional Associations and Journals

Nietzsche's most famous and infamous book Thus Spoke Zarathustra is perhaps the most read, but probably also the least understood, book in Nietzsche's oeuvre. Nietzsche considered it his highlight. He called it a symphony, a holy book, a fifth gospel and even the greatest gift ever given to humanity.…

In Democratie en totalitarisme zijn de invloedrijkste opstellen van de Franse denker Claude Lefort samengebracht. Lefort laat overtuigend zien dat de kwetsbaarheid van de democratie juist ook haar kracht is. Voor democratie is essentieel dat de macht als ‘lege plaats’ verschijnt. Zij mag slechts tijdelijk…

On Thursday 3 March , Prof. Margaret Moore will give the annual Centre for Political Philosophy lecture.

Festival

Following China and Italy, it appears that the United States is becoming the next epicentre of the coronacrisis. Can the US handle this crisis? Is president Trump dealing with the situation correctly? We asked Leiden America expert Sara Polak.

The Leiden University Political Science bachelor’s specialisation International Relations and Organisations enjoys a high popularity. To assure the quality of education, the number of students it admits is limited. This is known as a 'numerus fixus'. If there are more applications than this ‘numerus…

As a student in the programme Politicologie: Nationale en Internationale Politiek, you will examine societies and power relations with the analytical eye of a scientist. You will deal with interesting, important topics such as elections, civil wars and international cooperation. In doing so, you will…

On Thursday 11 December 2025, Daan Roovers, the philosopher and former Denker des Vaderlands (Philosopher Laureate), will give the 54th Huizinga Lecture at the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden. Under the title What’s at stake: The boundaries of politics and fair play, she will reinterpret Johan Huizinga’s…

Assistant professor and dual PhD candidate, Pieter Slaman writes in Binnenlands Bestuur about the fact that the German occupier lengthened the period of mandatory education in The Netherlands.

Lecture

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Study information

Our goal is to prepare you for a career that makes a difference.

Are you interested in current affairs, developments in society and people? Are you highly motivated, willing to be challenged and able to go just a bit further in finding creative solutions to legal issues, then Rechtsgeleerdheid is the master’s programme for you.

Lange tijd wisten we ons thuis in een wereld die we meenden te hebben. Het bestaan in deze vertrouwde wereld vormde onze existentie, die we op een eigenlijke wijze op ons namen. Thans is de wereld echter niet meer wat hij was, en zijn we ook zelf niet meer wie we waren. ‘De wereld is weg’, zo dichtte…

On 27 September 2017 a new book by Prof. Luuk van Middelaar appeared, entitled The new politics of Europe. The book is at the same time a front line account of Europe’s recent crisis years – from monetary turmoil to tensions around Ukraine, from refugee crisis to Brexit – and an analysis of the Union’s…

The essay For progress has been published to mark the 450th Dies Natalis of Leiden University. In 2025, we are celebrating our 450th anniversary, and the theme of this special year is Ahead of the Times.

Professor Kees Waaldijk presented the report on the LawsAndFamilies Database to Pearl Dykstra, member of the High Level Group of Scientific Advisors of the European Commission on 25 April. This comparative study shows that in European countries same-sex partners are increasingly gaining equal rights.…

The Institute of Public Administration at Leiden University serves as a bridge between academic research and practical application from its base in The Hague.

Education at the Institute of Public Administration focuses on the broad study of public administration, including the semi-public sector, lobby organisations, civil society, and relevant private organisations.

Our selection and placement procedure starts with your application and ends with—hopefully—an invitation to you to enrol as an IRO student. This page tells you all you need to know about the steps to be taken in between.

The new cabinet threatens to cut nearly a billion euros from higher education. This not only endangers academic work, it is a disaster for the Netherlands itself. The proposed penalty on study extensions and other financial measures will heavily impact students and will reduce education accessibility.…

The research project ‘The History of National Security, 1945-present', is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Campus The Hague/Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Military History (NIMH). The project will run until the summer of 2013, when we hope…

Inaugural lecture

Lecture

Met de val van Balkenende IV laait de discussie over het functioneren van politieke partijen binnen ons democratisch bestel weer op. Opgeblazen ego’s, overambitieuze politici en partijpolitieke machtspelletjes zouden echte democratie in de weg staan. Maar die discussie is niet nieuw.

Because admission to the BSc Political Science: International Relations and Organisations involves a selection and placement procedure, you need to take into account that the application deadline is both early and very strict. And after applying, there are some more deadlines that you will need to take…

In the master’s programme in Archaeology, you can follow courses on the archaeology of Europe, deepening your understanding of the continent’s long history.

The Institute of Political Science has a multi-dimensional research programme that promotes the unity of the institute as an intellectual community rooted in the social sciences and especially political science, while enabling overlapping groups of colleagues to develop particular research agendas within…

Tim Koopmans is one of the great minds in the history of Dutch and European legal scholarship. He taught law as a professor in Leiden and other universities, among which Ghent, Cambridge, Utrecht. He practiced it as a judge in the European Court of Justice and Advocate-General in the Dutch Supreme Court,…

Ever since the foundation of Leiden University in 1575, philosophy in Leiden has been committed to open-mindedness, dialogue, and comparative perspectives. In line with this tradition it makes perfect sense to question the widespread self-image of philosophy as well. Is philosophy the exclusive privilege…

From 1 to 2 June 2017 Leiden University hosts the annual 24-hour Political Science Conference (‘Politicologenetmaal’). This event will bring together political scientists and practitioners from Flanders and The Netherlands, who will participate in several workshops to discuss subjects like elections,…

82 years ago Queen Wilhelmina fled to England. Henk te Velde tells about her on the Australian radio show 'Nightlife'.

Thinking Planet is a big public philosophy event which aims to bring ideas from all over the world to the Netherlands.

How does the Chinese government communicate with its citizens? Yuxi Nie obtained her PhD with her thesis on communication strategies of the Chinese state media agency Xinhua. She discovered that on social media, Xinhua communicated in different ways, depending on the target group.