How do people develop and how do they learn? How does their environment affect them? How do we ensure that they develop in optimal fashion? And what can we do if problems occur? These are questions that the researchers at the Institute of Education and Child Studies try to answer.

A master in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

Promoting sustained physical activity through tailored incentive-based interventions for diverse cardiovascular disease patient groups.

The researchers at the Institute of Education and Child Studies focus on child rearing and the development of children and adolescents with and without developmental and other problems, in biological and non-biological families, childcare, education and care institutions.

This project aims to analyze and increase student motivation and achievement during the first three years of secondary school with an intervention that focuses on development of students’ talents.

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

We’re delighted to announce our plenary speakers.

Together with researchers from over the world, the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group endeavors to unravel the neurobiology of anxiety disorders and related constructs.

The specialisation Educational Science focuses on the nature of educational contexts and learning processes of children and adolescents from a cognitive-psychological, social-emotional, and neuro-scientific perspective. Both general learning as well as learning in specific tasks (e.g., reading, science,…

Read about our recent research projects below.

In secondary school, homophobic language is common, even in the Netherlands where there is high acceptance of homosexuality in the adult population. Adolescents especially in lower educational levels have prevailingly negative attitudes towards their lesbian and gay peers. Peer education with its participatory…

Where you end up depends on the chosen study direction, your own skills and interests.

Students and lecturers from around the world who have obtained international training, experience and exposure bring an international and multi-cultural perspective on psychology and being a psychologist to class.

The master's specialisation Clinical Neuropsychology consists of three main parts: the mandatory and elective courses, a thesis and an internship.

Stay tuned for updates on relevant media appearances of Anna van Duijvenvoorde.

Do young people who want to change gender have the unconditional right to medical treatment? Pediatric Endocrinologist Martine de Vries, who is also Professor of Medical Ethics, treats transgender children and adolescents. She will discuss this in her ‘Pride Talk’ on 18 September.

In the ESOF2022 mini-symposium organized by the Social Resilience & Security programme, international experts with a background in psychology, philosophy, and law discussed how the online world is related to adolescent mental health issues, moral and emotional awareness and children’s rights. In three…

What if you get excluded? Are apps against fear and stress effective? How do you keep your brain in shape? The first season of the new podcastseries ‘BreinGeheim’ is about the social contexts of adolescent development and how teens become resilient individuals. Leiden-based behavioural scientist sit…

Here you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

Free playtime and physical play are of great importance to children's social development. That is the main conclusion of innovative research by developmental psychologists and computer scientists from Leiden University.

A research project by Developmental Psychology professor Carolien Rieffe and researchers of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science has been voted Smartest Project of the Netherlands 2016.

Chemist Alexander Kros and astronomer Joop Schaye are two of the four Leiden researchers who have been awarded a Vici as part of NWO's Innovation Research Incentives scheme. They each have 1.5 million euros to set up a research group and employ PhD candidates.

Eveline Crone: 'Many thanks to my amazing Brain and Development Research Center colleagues. I am so thankful for the 15 fantastic years. It is also extremely exciting and energizing to start at Erasmus University Rotterdam with the Society, Youth and Neuroscience Connected SYNClab.'

The World Teachers Programme (WTP) is a bilingual profile of the Initial Teacher Education programme geared towards bilingual and international education.

From 9 until 20 October 2017 Stephanie Rap has visited the Renmin University of China Law School in Beijing to teach a course titled Juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice: interdisciplinary perspectives. She was warmly welcomed by the vice-dean Prof. Yanan Shi and Ms. Lei Chen, head of the law school’s…

From 1 January 2017, Professor of neurocognitive developmental psychology Eveline Crone has been appointed member of the Social Sciences Council of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

All five episodes of the first season of 'Breingeheim' are now available to listen on Spotify. The first season of the podcastseries is about the social contexts of adolescent development and how teens become resilient individuals. In every episode, a new Leiden-based behavioural scientist and an adolescent…

Societal challenges call for a resilient society. In taking steps towards a more resilient society, friendships play a major role. But how exactly do friendships relate to resilient behavior? In Dutch opinion magazine Vrij Nederland, Anne-Laura van Harmelen (professor Brain, Safety and Resilience at…

Autism spectrum disorders are more often diagnosed in boys than in girls. For Developmental Psychology professor Carolien Rieffe this raises the question whether autism remains undiscovered in girls and women.

Psychologists of Leiden University and Peking University will collaborate to investigate the deficiencies in emotion recognition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The new collaboration fits very well in the policy of Leiden University in which intensified collaboration with China has…

How does the brain develop from birth up to adolescence? And why are young people given so little information about the development of their brain? Two new websites of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition provide an answer.

The updated MRI scanner at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will become operational on 29 September. The new version is faster and better than the current model.

Below you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

Below you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

Below you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

Below you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

Only one in five young people with emotional health problems such as an anxiety disorder receives appropriate professional help. GPs often fail to properly recognise the signals in children and young people, according to psychologist Semiha Aydin. How can we improve this? PhD defence 23 February.

Of this year’s four NWO Spinoza Prizes, two have been awarded to Leiden researchers. On 12 September, Eveline Crone and Michel Orrit received their prizes, the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. The Spinoza Prize carries an award of 2.5 million euros.

Life returned to something resembling normal after Covid but other crises soon took its place. These great challenges are also being felt at the University and our researchers are working on solutions. The nitrogen crisis, problems with young people’s services and an increasingly urgent climate crisis:…

How is law shaped by and shaping social, political and economic change in Indonesia?

How do people acquire language? How can you train your brain? What is the effect of stress on an unborn child? LIBC research topics range from language processing to cognitive robotics, and from psychiatric disorders to the impact of social factors on human behaviour. Meet several main research topics…

Can dynamic testing provide us with insight in children’s potential for learning?

Researchers from five different discplines work together in this interdisciplinary initiative.

Time, Religion and Sacred Discourses of the Ayuuk People

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