While phenomenology and Yogacara Buddhism are both known for their investigations of consciousness, there exists a core tension between them: phenomenology affirms the existence of essence, whereas Yogacara Buddhism argues that everything is empty of essence (svabhava). How is constructive cultural…

This dissertation studies the construction of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a cultural icon in American memory, particularly by FDR himself.

This 25th volume in the series 'Islam in Africa', edited by Annachiara Raia, is a pioneering collection of poetry by the outstanding Kenyan poet, intellectual and imam Ustadh Mahmmoud Mau (born 1952) from Lamu island, once an Indian Ocean hub, now on the edge of the nation state.

In this thesis it is posed that the central object of preference discovery is a co-creative process in which the Other can be represented by a machine. It explores efficient methods to enhance introverted intuition using extraverted intuition's communication lines.

On 9 June 2020, Maral Darouei defended her thesis 'Managing a sustainable career in the contemporary world of work: Personal choices and contextual challenges'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.I. van der Rest.

Archives were a common target during the Second World War, and hundreds suffered damages. Among these archival losses, the losses to medieval manuscript collections stand out.

Conference

The main question addressed in this thesis is how we can best conceive the contrast between a priori and empirical truths.

Migration is the talk of the town. On the whole, however, the current situation is seen as resulting from unique political upheavals. Such a-historical interpretations ignore the fact that migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human societies from the beginning and plays a crucial role in the cultural,…

What are best practices for teaching students to engage with 'wicked' problems?

Hot rocky exoplanets are planets that orbit so close to their host star that they possess a molten surface.

Promotor: Carel J. ten Cate, Co-Promotor: Hans W. Slabbekoorn

On Wednesday 3 September 2025 Yu Ai successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

This book reveals how one publishing firm's editorial strategy helped to legitimate European colonialism in the early modern era.

PhD defence

Various guests with a background in human rights, law, politics and international relations will be taking part in the ‘Human Rights and the World Cup Qatar’ debate on Friday 30 September. Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) Secretary-General and Leiden alumnus Gijs de Jong will be there to provide…

The University Council is the central co-participation body of the University.

Leiden Law School has been ranked number 32 on the QS World University Rankings 2018. Once again, it has been ranked best law faculty in the Netherlands and eighth in the whole of Europe.

Leiden Law School has been ranked number 32 on the QS World University Rankings 2017. Once again, it has been ranked best law faculty in the Netherlands and eighth in the whole of Europe.

The theme of the opening of this year’s academic year was peace and justice. With the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine, these are turbulent times. During the ceremony those present reflected on what the academic community and universities can mean in times of crisis and conflict.

As a twelve-year-old girl, Nicky van de Beek became intrigued by the tomb chapels in Saqqara, Egypt. Now she is doing her PhD on them, just like another Leiden Egyptologist decades earlier. Herta Mohr persevered with her research during World War II. Now she is the namesake of the first Leiden building…

Nobody is better qualified to tell you what it is like to work at Leiden University than the employees themselves. Watch the videos and meet your future colleagues. They will be happy to share their experiences with you.

The students from the Leiden University Green Office have big ambitions and have outlined their recommendations in a new Green Paper. Like being the most sustainable university in the world by 2030. Students Janey Franssen and Job Kemperman are two of the paper’s authors. How do they want to achieve…

Are you mad about board games? Then we’ve got good news for you: we’ve developed our very own University game, HORA EST! It’s a fun way to learn more about the University. Get your family and friends together for an evening of fun and games!

Would you like to go to work feeling healthy and energetic, and end your working day with a positive feeling, but things don’t always work out that way? Healthy University Leiden works with you to create a healthy and pleasant working environment in which you can realise your full potential.

Leiden University values participation: the participation organs are the ears and eyes of the university. They identify issues of concern among staff and students and help advise and decide on the future of our organisation. Something for you? Then stand as a candidate! This year, elections will…

This new handbook by Frits Naerebout and Henk Singor places the history of the Greeks and Romans within the larger context of the contemporary Eurasian world.

Together Leiden University, Delft University of Technology and Erasmus University Rotterdam form the strategic alliance Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities.

The Iseum Campense, the impressive sanctuary for Isis and the Egyptian gods on the Campus Martius and arguably one of ancient Rome’s most notable absent presences, is a monument central to various debates.

This book presents an archaeological overview of the presence and development of Egyptian material culture in the context of Augustan Rome.

The present study explores the role of water in the ancient Roman city of Ostia.In antiquity, Ostia was situated at the intersection of the Tiber River and the Mediterranean Sea, and acted as one of the harbour cities of Rome for several centuries.This study investigates how water was acquired, used,…

On 16 May 2022, Professor Michel Wouters from the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), will deliver his inaugural lecture titled ‘Quality of Cancer Care: why the real world matters’. Wouters will use the opportunity to describe how quality registries…

Promotor: A. Achúcarro, Co-promotor: A. Boyarsky

With the departure of Tesse Stek to the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome for three years, Andrzej Antczak will take over the role of Departmental Head for World Archaeology in September 2018. We spoke with him to learn more about his background, ideas, and plans for the future.

The organ in the Great Auditorium in the Academy Building has been played at walk-in concerts and University celebrations since 1998.

Lev Manovich, world-renowned innovator in digital humanities and theorist of digital culture and media art, is the first speaker in the Media Technology MSc program's "Hello World!" lecture series.

world-line presents the forces of ELISION on Huddersfield Contemporary Records for the fourth time, once again pushing the boundaries of instruments in search of visceral, expressive musical experiences. The three works present very different aesthetic approaches, crafting dynamic and innovative sound…

This project studies how Islamic charitable networks in seeking to address global needs position themselves as universalist projects, entangled with Western humanitarianism and neoliberal welfare regimes. It seeks to understand how and to what extent contemporary transnational Islamic charitable networks…

He discovered how to determine the rotation and centre of our Milky Way, predicted where comets come from and laid the groundwork for radio astronomy: Leiden Professor of Astronomy Jan Hendrik Oort (1900 – 1992). Piet van der Kruit, whose PhD supervisor was Oort himself, has written a biography about…

Did you know that Arabic was for centuries the lingua franca in an area stretching from the south of Spain to the Chinese border? And that the Middle East under Muslim rule was the world’s beating heart of trade, but also of science and scholarship? Want to learn more? Then sign up for the new MOOC…

This study aims to make a practical contribution to a new understanding and use of 3D reconstructions, namely as ‘laboratories’ to test hypotheses and visualize, evaluate and discuss alternative interpretations.

The small quantum world and our world of perception obey different laws of nature. Leiden physicists search for the border between both worlds. In an article published soon in Physical Review Letters they set an upper limit.

The World Data Visualization Prize for 2019 was awarded to Dimiter Toshkov, Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, for his work on the theme of small states and good governance. The prize is a good way to raise awareness about the value of good data visualization.

What is Leiden University doing to make its buildings future-proof and independent of fossil energy?