PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

The Department of Archaeological Sciences seeks to achieve the highest standards of excellence in science-driven education and archaeological research across the globe and across all periods.

Are you thinking about studying Computer Science? Learn more and watch the videos. Note: As of September 2025 you can also combine this master programme with the Business Studies specialisation.

We perform multidisciplinary research at molecular, cellular, and organismal levels of animal biology to increase fundamental understanding of health and disease.

Music, being together and the impact of science were at the heart of the festive opening of the academic year and the start of the faculty’s 200-year anniversary. The faculty was 200 years old on 2 August 2015. The anniversary was celebrated in style, attended by 500 members of staff and students.

Leiden University will be recording a brand-new series of podcasts in 2019: Science Shots. Our top scientists will talk about their research in less than 15 minutes. Tip: something to enjoy on the train journey between Leiden and The Hague, our two University cities!

The majority of scientists, from archaeologists through to zoologists, collect huge volumes of data. Their massive databases contain large amounts of information which is difficult for humans to filter. With a solid grounding in statistics, we can develop algorithms for analysing and identifying patterns…

At around noon on Tuesday 9 April, a small fire started in the basement of Leiden University’s Snellius building. The fire brigade was quickly on the scene and soon extinguished the fire.

With the emergence of new methods and technologies such as improved DNA analysis and big data, archaeological research has changed radically in recent decades. The researchers from the Department of Archaeological Sciences at the Faculty of Archaeology use new scientific knowledge to answer fundamental…

Gorlaeus Gebouw, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC, Leiden

BE-OPEN is a structural project funded under the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education action. The project is coordinated by the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. The main objective of the project is to develop conditions for the implementation of the core principles of Open Science at universities…

The Biotech Training Facility (BTF) on the Leiden Bio Science Park is now officially open. Professionals and students can practise their skills and learn new competences in the field of life sciences in this fully equipped training centre with laboratories, clean rooms and technical areas.

In films kunnen de meest wonderlijke acties plaatsvinden. Maar zijn die acties in de 'echte' wereld ook mogelijk? En in hoeverre houden filmmakers ons voor de gek? Tijdens het Leiden International Film Festival komen film en wetenschap samen.

Politics is about the authorised allocation of values: who gets what, when and how much? This question is relevant at many different levels, in many different places and in very different ways.

The two-year master’s programme in Computer Science at Leiden University offers seven specialisations ranging from AI to Bioinformatics and Data Science. The programme combines excellent theoretical teaching with possibilities for applied work with industrial relevance.

Social Science Matters is an online variant on London’s famous Speakers’ Corner – a platform for the researchers in the various disciplines in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to react to the news. This soapbox gives our social scientists an opportunity to voice their opinions on current…

How to facilitate the translation of science into innovation

A record number of 83 teams collected a record sum of 10,566.37 euros on 29 September during the Leiden Science Run. The full sum goes to the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF.

The Biomedical Sciences Communication specialisation focuses on the interaction between science and society and concerns science communication in a broad sense. You combine your research training with different aspects of science communication. The entire programme is taught in English.

The research reported in this thesis is concerned with the knowledge development of a small sample of experienced science teachers in the context of a broad innovation in Dutch secondary education, including the introduction of a new syllabus on Public Understanding of Science.

The research group Science Communication and Society aims to understand how science communication works to improve the interaction between science and society. Central themes are ‘Bridging the gap between experts and the general public’ and ‘Evaluating Science Communication’.

The research group Science Communication and Society has been physically within the Institute of Biology (IBL) since 2012 and has become a formal part of the institute in 2018. The mission of this group is understanding how science communication works to improve the interaction between science and s…

The Citizen Science Lab brings together scientists, citizens and community stakeholders to arrive at new insights for both science and society through citizen science.

Leiden University's Citizen Science Lab supports and organizes initiatives where anyone can get started with scientific data and research. This is how we enrich research with insights from the community, make science accessible to all, and tackle important local issues together.

Would you like to learn more about communicating your research with audiences other than the scientific community? The Science Communication and Society department from Leiden University is inviting young researchers (PhD, postdoc, or other early career) to join our Summer School about science communication…

The Data Science Research Programme aims to advance the state of the art in Data Science research and to accelerate the use of Data Science methods at all faculties of Leiden University.

Would you like to learn more about communicating your research with audiences other than the scientific community? The Science Communication and Society department from Leiden University is inviting young researchers (PhD, postdoc, or other early career) to join our Summer School about science communication…

Here you can find information about our next big event!

Science, Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL)

Although science and education have top priority, exploratory projects with companies, governments and NGOs generate ample opportunities in terms of societal challenges, science strategy, valorisation and research collaboration. In the LIACS Applied Data Science Lab, our master's students and graduates…

The aims of research and teaching within the Educational Sciences programme are to understand in how individuals develop and learn and to optimize education for all individuals.

In September 2021 the CWTS open science policy came into effect. This policy deals with open access publishing, open research data, and open source software. All research projects carried out at CWTS are subject to the CWTS open science policy.

The master’s programme Statistics & Data Science provides students with a thorough introduction to the general philosophy and methodology of statistical modelling and data analysis. The programme has two specialisations: Data Science and Statistical Science.

In the Biomedical Sciences Management specialisation you gain knowledge and skills in the area of management, business and entrepreneurship with focus on science- and research driven companies. You will combine research in biomedical sciences with different aspects of business studies and learn to build…

There are five institutes at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences:

In citizen science projects, citizens and scientists work together to develop new scientific knowledge.

OSCL is a learning community where anyone associated with Leiden University can learn and talk about open science practices. Example events are Open Science cafés, workshops, and walk-in-hours. The what Open science is an umbrella term for an approach to science that aims to make scientific…

Leiden Science’s monthly dose of research inspiration from our staff, for our staff and all other curious minds.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences brings together high-quality research and outstanding teaching in the disciplines of cultural anthropology, education and child studies, political science, psychology, science and technology studies, as well as in multidisciplinary approaches.

The mission of science based business (SBB) connects the domains of science, business, and policy. Scientific research we focus on at Leiden in areas such as artificial intelligence promises to reshape our societies for the better. Translating science into positive societal impact however requires new…