Health is a wonderful gift, both for humans and for society. If we are able to prevent both physical and mental illnesses, we can spare a lot of suffering and fight rising health costs. Social scientists and physicians in Leiden are working closely together to conduct research on the human mental, behavioural…

So you've been accepted onto an exchange or study abroad programme at Leiden University. Congratulations! Now it's time to make preparations for your stay.

Congratulations, you have completed all the steps for admission and application, so you are a Leiden University student now! Below you can find a few tips to start at Leiden University well prepared.

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

Have you ever wondered how you can increase the visibility, accessibility, and recognition of your research while complying with funding and national requirements? LUCRIS is the answer!

If you do not have immediate plans to continue with a master’s programme after your bachelor there are all kinds of possibilities to fill your time with. Think of for example travelling, possibly in combination with learning a language, working, volunteer work, an administrative year, etc.

The SPS Monitor measures your sensory stimulus sensitivity. Sensory stimulus sensitivity refers to one's sensitivity to subtle environmental stimuli, the depth and intensity with which these stimuli are processed and the impact this has on one's functioning.

Would you like Leiden University to be a more open workplace that recognizes and rewards all contributions, and an institution that creates and shares knowledge more freely with society?

Peter Grunwald

The main aim of this project is to investigate the various ways in which language categorizes possession, how these are morphosyntactically encoded across and within languages, and how this distinction should be represented in a model of the language faculty.

Until recently, the role of external information processing in intelligence has rarely been investigated quantitatively or experimentally. A group of researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Leiden University, GGZ Rivierduinen, and University of Edinburgh measured in a new way how and when people…

Do you have a creative and curious attitude towards scientific research? Do the creation of media and use of technology drive your research interests? Could you be a researcher who challenges scientific practice and pushes its boundaries? Then the Media Technology MSc programme at Leiden University…

Do you have a creative and curious attitude towards scientific research? Do the creation of media and use of technology drive your research interests? Could you be a researcher who challenges scientific practice and pushes its boundaries? Then the Media Technology MSc programme at Leiden University…

Why do some parties fail to settle conflict, even after long periods of fighting? ISGA PhD candidate Valerie Sticher suggests that costly concessions often stand in the way of a negotiated agreement. Conflict party members not only care about their in-group's welfare, but also want to avoid rewarding…

Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to change teaching in Higher Education, but adoption is low despite the growing amount of resources available. The current project aims to investigate if and how teacher communities can foster adoption of OER in curricula.

He’s a fast and animated speaker, which is only logical because Gerard van Westen is driving an express train. His destination? A virtual human, consisting of algorithms that predict what an administered substance will do in the body. The train is already a long way down the line and the pharmaceutical…

Neuroscientists Ineke van der Ham (Leiden University) and Anouk Keizer (Utrecht University) regularly use VR in their research. Their experiences with the medium raise many questions about the ways VR is experienced by different people. Therefore they conducted an VR experiment at the cinedans festival…

What happens in young people's brains when they win money for someone else? Psychologist Elisabeth Schreuders has shown that the brain responds differently according to the type of friendship and that the response is strongest with stable relationships later in adolescence. PhD defence on 6 March.

In Ancient Egypt, prominent families engaged in ancestor worship to maintain their high standing. Renata Schiavo researched this link between religion and power for her PhD. ‘People were afraid that their ancestors would bring misfortune if the family’s prestige declined.’

On the Master’s Open Day on 15 February Liza Vromen from Harlem arrives in Leiden to investigate the pre-master’s programme Psychology. As a matter of fact she will look beyond that programme for a master’s specialisation which fits her personal interest.

Accelerating the development of new cancer medicines by joining forces—that’s the mission of Oncode Accelerator, a Dutch consortium that recently welcomed three Leiden-based PhD candidates. Under the guidance of Gerard van Westen, Marc Boef, Remco van den Broek, and Lucina-May Nollen are exploring how…

Baroque flautist Jed Wentz followed two years of dancing classes in order to develop the right feeling for the gestures required for the Baroque French opera genre ‘tragédie en musique’. On 9 December Wentz defended his PhD thesis on the subject, and on 8 December he gave a concert in the context of…

The sand on European beaches may look pristine, but in every kilogram of sand there are on average 250 microplastics: fragments smaller than 5mm. These results are part of a study from Leiden researchers with the help of beach-goers throughout Europe.

On Thursday 29 September the workshop ‘How to Disappoint your Parents’ took place at Wijnhaven. Lenore Todd, Student Life Officer and Assistant Professor at LUC, was in charge of the workshop. The workshop centered on the question who and what causes you stress and, more importantly, how to deal with…

You might take photos and selfies with your phone's camera, or scan a QR code. But there is much more you can do with it. Astronomer Olivier Burggraaff developed a phone attachment that allows you to take measurements of surface water with your smartphone. He will receive his PhD on 13 December.

Can you talk for three minutes in glowing terms about your science or medical research? If so, sign up for the Leiden preliminary round of FameLab, the international competition for science communication.

‘No choice is forever’, states Tracy Evans. ‘You can change your mind and go in a different direction when the circumstances change.’ When Tracy was 60 years old, she felt the need for a change herself. It lead to her earning a PhD degree six years later.

Where do Humanities alumni work after they graduate? And how should they prepare to enter the labour market? According to three Humanities alumni and their employers, the answer is: ‘Find the biggest challenges the world has to offer – they hold all kinds of possibilities for ambitious people.’

Good research means looking beyond disciplinary boundaries, said Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Remus Dame in his inaugural lecture on 10 May. Processes that take place on DNA shouldn’t only be researched in a test tube but also in living cells, for instance.

How do you study complex disasters like a nuclear explosion or a natural disaster? Who can help unravel the legal knot that Brexit has become? The important societal themes of the present day call for interdisciplinary collaboration. Leiden scientists pitched their research at a symposium at Leiden…

Did your grandfather or grandmother also study in Leiden? And your parents, uncles, aunts, brother, sister...?

Did your grandfather or grandmother also study in Leiden? And your parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters...?

Do you work or study at the Faculty of Governance & Global Affairs? Show it, and order your own FGGA hoodie now!

How do you tell your professional story? This formed the basis of the Personal Branding workshop for young alumni at PLNT, the Leiden Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on 22 July. Forty-five alumni came along.

A systematic approach to quantify impacts of food consumption on animal welfare has been developed by researchers of the Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University in collaboration with ETH Zurich, and effective altruism organizations.

Are you a motivated student wanting to grow outside of your own bachelor’s programme? Then, look no further than the Humanities Lab honours programme: a challenging opportunity to broaden your horizon and grow.

Mountains of pepernoten, shelves full of chocolate letters and adverts showing the perfect Christmas table. With the holidays approaching, supermarkets are trying to entice us to buy all sorts of treats. Cognitive neuropsychologist Judith Schomaker researches how by directing consumers’ attention, you…

Can you only have psychedelic experiences by taking magic mushrooms? Not according to Aidan Lyon, philosophical researcher at the Institute of Psychology. In this episode, he explains other ways through which we can reveal our minds in insightful ways.

Language is omnipresent: when you talk, app or meet in Teams. Understanding how we communicate with one another and what communication does to us is essential. In her inaugural lecture, Nivja de Jong will call to redress the balance between the sciences and the humanities.

Fathers and mothers bring children up differently. Mothers are more likely to correct children for bad behaviour, for example. This is one of the findings of PhD research by Liesbeth Hallers-Haalboom. PhD defence 7 October.

It's never too early for students to be smart about preparing for the job market. This year Leiden University is launching new initiatives to improve the transition from university to work. The new awareness campaign - CareerTime - is starting on 29 September with career stands at the faculties.

Even if you have a healthy lifestyle, there's a lot to experience and learn during the Healthy University Week, from 26 to 30 October. Health psychologist Andrea Evers is enthusiastic about the week ahead. She tells us about the programme and gives us a taste of her own talk on what the placebo effect…

Thinking about what you want to do once you’ve graduated? Want to know what a particular profession really entails? Ask a Leiden alumnus via the online mentor network. It’s free, easy to access and very useful!

Young people influence one another to take greater risks, although it's not quite that cut and dried. This is what development psychologist Jorien van Hoorn discovered. Peers also have a positive influence on one another, an aspect that has so far been under-researched. PhD defence 12 January.

The European Union increasingly needs to respond to unforeseen events and developments. This is putting it to the test. What are the effects? Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union Luuk van Middelaar addressed this in his inaugural lecture on 23 September.

Four thousand visitors immersed themselves in art and science during Leiden's Night of Art and Science on 17 September. They could choose from dozens of lectures, experiments, interactive events and a lot of art.

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.…

On 2 November, more than 800 students visited Leiden's Humanities Faculty to explore their options during the Master's Open Day. Read some of their stories here!