Complex research with a generous sprinkling of jargon: PhD defences can be difficult for non-experts to follow. In the compulsory new lay talk, PhD candidates begin by explaining their dissertation in words of one syllable. And it’s not just the PhD’s family and friends who appreciate this.

Xin Zhang, PhD at ICLON, researched the relationship between teachers’ learning motivation and the quality of their teaching. Defence on 6 July.

PhD candidate Magda Pucci studied indigenous music in Brazil. She and her group Mawaca travelled through the Amazon and played with peoples there such as the Paiter Suruí, Kayapó, Ikolen-Gavião and the Huni-Kuin. PhD defence on 19 March.

Siamak Anvari (Tehran, 1981) is a composer and sound artist based in the Netherlands. Three weeks prior to his PhD defence on 25 June and the presentation of his artistic work on 24 June, Lianne van Roekel (PARC) spoke to him in his working studio at the Royal Conservatoire (KC) about the PhD process,…

Monica den Boer, who has decades of experience within police and defence and was also active as a Member of Parliament (D66), has been appointed extraordinary professor of Police Studies.

Starting your PhD during two major crisis in your country; it happened to Kamaran Palani, PhD student at the Dual PhD Centre and ISGA who lives in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In spite of the difficulties in his county, Palani (34) stuck to his PhD-research about the fluidity…

Jorik ter Veer studied Political Science in Leiden. How does he look back on his student days?

Terrorism is not a successful communication strategy. After an attack, the attention quickly shifts from the terrorists to authorities and citizens. This is what Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn argues in her dissertation: 'The aftermath: meaning-making after terrorist attacks in Western Europe'. ‘A year…

PhD ceremonies in the Academy Building will be much easier for family, friends and other non-specialist audience members to follow after the summer. The Doctorate Board is pleased to have decided that as of 1 September, all Leiden PhD candidates will begin their PhD defence with a lay talk. ‘It can…

For long, the government showed little empathy for military veterans with physical or psychological scars. This is what PhD research by Theo van den Doel has revealed. The Ministry of Defence looked at each case through a legal lens. Veteran support has improved enormously since, but the policy does…

Having flirted with Egyptology and Italian, Dieuwertje Kuijpers found her true calling in the Master’s in European Union Studies. She is now a freelance journalist specialising in politics, security and defence. But she is also at home writing columns for ThePostOnline and hard-hitting articles for…

Leiden’s beadle, Willem van Beelen, is retiring on 29 February. How does he look back on his career and what do those in the know have to say about him?

A research team led by Dr. Yannick Veilleux-Lepage (Institute of Security and Global Affairs) in collaboration with Emil Archambault has secured funding from the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program to study the use of drones by violent…

The Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award is an annual award for the best thesis in the field of Children’s Rights granted by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of Leiden Law School.

On Thursday 12 June 2013 , Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, gave the first Europa lecture entitled: 'Poland, the Netherlands and the European Union - Common Challenges'.

Leiden University won five prizes at the 10th edition of the IBA International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition – English edition of 2023, including Best Regional Team of Europe.

During an open debate in the UN Security Council on the topic of peacekeeping and human rights, the project

On 13 December Marit Buddenbaum won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Prize for her thesis on the right of the child to contact with brothers and sisters. The prize for the best master’s thesis in the field of children’s rights is awarded each year by Defence for Children together with the Department…

On Tuesday 12 January 2021, the Leiden Law School thesis prizes were awarded at the New Year’s event.

Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) have discovered how specialised immune cells can detect and remove cancers that are ‘invisible’ to the conventional defence mechanisms of the immune system. Their work has been published in Nature. The findings…

The Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award is an annual award for the best thesis in the field of Children’s Rights granted by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of Leiden Law School.

On 10 December Walter Burkard won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award 2020 for his thesis on climate change and children’s rights. The prize for the best master’s thesis in the field of children’s rights is awarded every year by Defence for Children and the Department of Child Law of Leiden…

With Dies Natalis (Foundation Day) approaching, our year-long 444th birthday celebrations are coming to an end. We ran numerous activities, from a manhunt to an exhibition, and all our doctoral defences were given a 444 twist. A peek behind the scenes at the creatives and makers who helped make our…

Why are mycobacteria such successful pathogens? And are there defence mechanisms in the body that help reduce an infection? To find out, Annemarie Meijer has been awarded the NWO Open Competition ENW-XL grant. She will not explore this quest alone. Five other leading Dutch research groups are participating…

The Department of Child Law of Leiden University and Defence for Children invite you to the ninth Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award ceremony, which will take place online, on Tuesday 7 December from 15.30 onwards (in English).

As fruit and vegetables ripen, ethylene gas is released. Ethylene also influences the speed at which they ripen. Chemist Tom van Dijkman studied how small and inexpensive sensors can be made that measure ethylene concentrations during transportation. PhD defence 12 May 2016.

On 10 December Walter Burkard won the Jaap Doek Children’s Rights Thesis Award 2020 for his thesis on climate change and children’s rights.

Patrick van der Meij has been appointed Professor of Criminal Law Practice at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology from 1 January 2024. This is an Endowed Chair established by the Professor A. E. J. Modderman Foundation, which is affiliated with Leiden University in order to boost research…

It took a while, but the new cabinet has now finally been appointed. Four members of Schoof I studied in Leiden. Who are they?

How can novel bioimaging technologies and vertebrate model species be used to gain a better understanding of early cellular behaviours with the ultimate goal to increase our understanding of human development and disease processes?

The integrity and reliability of academic research are of fundamental importance to the University. All parties, both within the University and outside, must be able to have confidence that our research is conducted in a scrupulous, fair, verifiable, impartial and independent manner.

Treatment and care for cancer patients is becoming increasingly advanced. For example, surgeons can now perform operations with much greater precision, and therapeutic vaccines are being developed to prompt the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Work is also being done on better early diagnostics,…

LUCRIS Graduate School Management (GSM) is a system for the registration of all formal steps regarding admission, progress, and graduation during the PhD track. LUCRIS GSM supports various approvals (by the supervisor (promotor), dean, and secretary) that occur during the PhD track. Some documents,…

If we want to solve global problems, we need to know about both the theory and the practice. How does the international community make decisions about military intervention, for instance? Why is it such a complex process? Professor Herman Schaper has represented the Netherlands at the United Nations…

With its iconic buildings, Leiden University has a strong presence throughout the city. The university has left its mark clearly on museum collections in the city.

The research programme Language Use in Past and Present brings together linguists within LUCL whose central focus is both on actual language data, including language use in earlier stages of the language, and, taking a variationist perspective, on language change in various aspects.

The Secular Outlook describes what moral and political secularism means. It paints the image of a world view in which state and religion are kept well separated.

Ending the United Kingdom’s (UK) forty-seven year European Union (EU) membership has fundamentally transformed its relationship with the EU. After years of tumultuous negotiations, international law now once again governs the UK’s relationship with the EU. This has resulted in a sophisticated body of…

On 10 November Guanmian Xu successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

We'll give you 10 reasons why you should study the specialization Peace, Justice and Development of the master Public International Law at Leiden University

As a supervisor, you play a vital role in guiding and supporting your PhD candidate throughout their academic journey. Here are some important responsibilities and steps you need to consider.

If The Hague is completely new to you, perhaps you should consider joining a student association? It’ll be a great way to quickly get to know people and build up a network that will prove invaluable long after you’ve finished your master’s.

Becoming a member of a student association is the best way to quickly feel at home in The Hague. You’ll soon get to know people and you’ll make new friends for life.

The NWO-funded Vidi project “American foreign policy and liberalism” challenges the idea that the United States has created and sustained a “liberal international order” since World War II. It instead explores the ways in which illiberal ideologies – such as those underpinning racial hierarchy at home…

The research group War, Peace and Justice brings together scholars, researchers as well as current and former practitioners to explore issues related to the drivers, nature and (new) dynamics of war and conflict, comprehensive approaches to the promotion of sustainable peace, and the role of justice…

One of LUCIR’s key objectives is to bring together scholars and students of International Relations. To this end, LUCIR regularly organises events such as conferences, roundtables, lectures and book launches.

The programme consists of four phases: conceptualisation, specialisation, electives and thesis.