The one-year Master's specialisation in Ancient History: Empires, Societies and Cultures offers an attractive mix of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

Study information

Study information

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…

Acta Politica is the official journal of the Dutch Political Science Association.

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.

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

By choosing Leiden University, you’ll be choosing to broaden your personal and academic horizons. You’ll be in excellent company too because you’ll be part of an inspiring community of students, lecturers and professors from all over the world. Founded in 1575, ours is the oldest university in the N…

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…

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.

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 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…

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.

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.

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…

Recente publicaties in de Leidse handboekenreeks zullen hieronder verschijnen.

During the two-year History Research Master's programme you will learn from inspired academics and learn how to conduct high quality research.

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,…

Recently, Hans-Martien ten Napel was in the news on the above subject several times.

On 3 December 2020 (at 14.30) Janna Everaert will defend her dissertation "Macht in de metropool. Politieke elitevorming tijdens de demografische en economische bloeifase van Antwerpen (ca. 1400-1550)". To attend this event please send an email to janna.everaert@vub.be.

Prof. em. Wim Blockmans (Leiden University) has given an interview to ‘De Nieuwe Wereld’ (in Dutch). He talks about his latest book 'Medezeggenschap. Politieke participatie in Europa vóór 1800'. Take also a look at the YouTube channel of this Dutch philosophy collective as other videos feature medievalists…

How do psychology, culture, politics, and upbringing influence our lives in a rapidly changing world? What is the role of education and development, and how do cultural differences shape our society? In the minor "Introduction to Social Sciences: Human Behavior in a Changing World" (30 EC), you will…

Overview of Leiden publications on Central Asia. For additional publications dedicated to a single country, please go to individual pages of the researchers, which you can access through the Researchers page.

The center studies the many ways in which issues of law and justice are dealt with in art and literature with a focus on liminal issues and cases. These are issues and cases where law comes to the limits of what it is capable of dealing with and art and literature explore the implications of what is…

From taking general introductions to developing your personal specialty; on topics ranging from the city council to the ‘new world order’; with forays into economics, history and philosophy: during Politicologie: Nationale en Internationale Politiek, a world will open up for you.

On Friday, June 12th, the Europa Institute held its annual PhD Day.

Researchers Wim van Noort, Sandra Groeneveld, Marieke van der Hoek, Jelmer Schalk en Joris van der Voet published a book on public organizations.

The Leiden Research Profile Area Political Legitimacy organizes a public symposium on the 12th of May 2016 on the legitimacy and future of the Dutch Senate.

How do democracies develop? The Institute for History is devoting a three-day conference to this question.

What is the best electoral system for a democracy? First place at the Leiden University Thesis Awards 2021 is for those who have added a cleverly substantiated, personal vision to this socially relevant theme. ' This is what Annetje Ottow, chairman of the executive board and board member of the Leiden…

Door recente cyberaanvallen op instituties binnen en buiten Europa groeit het vermoeden steeds sterker dat achter de aanvallen wellicht een politieke motivatie schuilt. Jelle van Buuren van het Institute of Governance and Global Affairs (ISGA) verscheen in het NRC om te bespreken of er sprake kan zijn…

The House of Representatives in the Netherlands has requested advice from the Council of State about combining membership of the House of Representatives with holding a post in the cabinet. Geerten Boogaard sees this as a sign that the Netherlands is moving towards a constitutional court.

The unemployment replacement rate data set, assembled by Olaf Van Vliet & Koen Caminada (version 1, January 2012), provides data on unemployment benefit schemes in 34 welfare states from the 1970s until 2009. The current data set includes all 27 member states of the European Union and 7 non-EU OECD…

Growing health inequalities, rising healthcare costs, an ageing population, and shortages of healthcare staff are just some of the challenges facing healthcare, both in the Netherlands and beyond. These issues transcend the boundaries of the medical sector and touch on broader themes such as social…

In 2023, many of our students and staff won great prizes and secured important research grants.

The formation of a new government is in full swing in the Netherlands. Or more accurately, it is in full deadlock. As a result, the possibility of a minority government is being discussed. Would that be a good idea?

The university is home to many pearls of research institutes that do not make the news every day. The Executive Board visited one such pearl, the Institute of Philosophy, on Tuesday 1 July. It resulted in an inspired conversation.

Met groot plezier heeft de Universiteit Leiden van 1 tot 4 november het X Congreso Internacional de la Asociación de Hispanistas del Benelux (AHBx) georganiseerd, met het thema Transhispanismos: contactos y contagios (Transhispanismes: contact en besmetting). De AHBx is een platform in de Benelux dat…

Virtual Reality komt steeds dichter binnen handbereik van docenten en studenten. Hoe zou Virtual Reality kunnen bijdragen aan de leerervaringen van uw studenten? Vrijdag 19 februari, kwam een groep van ruim twintig docenten en experts af op een bijeenkomst over deze vraag in Studiecentrum Plexus. Met…

Hans-Martien ten Napel recently published a volume with Routledge, Culture, Secularization, and Democracy; Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville, co-edited with Prof. Sophie van Bijsterveld (Radboud University Nijmegen).