Marion Anker is a junior curator at the Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of the Netherlands. She studied History in Leiden and Amsterdam. Together with her team, she organised the controversial exhibition ‘Revolusi! Indonesië onafhankelijk!’ What did studying History teach her?

Anyone who has taken a walk through the centre of Leiden before might have come across him, an attentive group of tourists gathered around. After studying history, Koen van Toen, or Koen Marijt, started his own business. He now organises historical walks, among other things.

Working as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: for many students it would be their dream. Alumnus Tom Groot Haar is busy making it a reality. 'My career seems like a preconceived plan, but it wasn't.'

Alumna Louwien Eising is headteacher of Carmel College in Emmen. How have things been during the pandemic? And how has her degree in Education and Child Studies helped her? ‘In the evening I was attending lectures and the next day I was applying what I’d learnt in the classroom.’

Marlon Titre (1982) studied at Royal Conservatoire The Hague, did his PhD and studied at Leiden University, earned several other qualifications and is now, among others, Director of Filmhuis The Hague. Who is this multi-talent?

The new cabinet has finally taken office. Six of its members studied in Leiden, once again making the University a key supplier to the cabinet. Who are these alumni?

She stands out for the moderate tone she takes in discussions on Dutch talk shows. Without judgement you can have an open conversation, criminal lawyer Natacha Harlequin learned in her student days in Leiden. ‘What I personally think of the alleged act doesn’t matter so much.’

Jaïr van Rhenen studied Medicine in Leiden and is now a GP in the largely religious Veenendaal. Before this, he worked as a tropical medicine doctor in Lesotho. ‘If you have the prospect of an afterlife, you often respond differently to illness.’

Alumnus Anoma van der Veere did Japanese studies and talks in this interview about his studies in Leiden and his work as a researcher at the Leiden Asia Centre and as Japanese correspondent in Tokyo.

Jiska Ogier studied notarial law, which wasn’t always easy because she went to lectures in a wheelchair. As a student she pushed to make society accessible. And with her law degree and lived experience she has now made this her work. ‘You can achieve a lot with creative solutions.’

Cornald Maas was able to ‘pioneer’ in Leiden. This Dutch Studies graduate, presenter, programme maker and publicist combined an active student life with studying hard.

Twenty-two of the 150 newly elected members of the Dutch House of Representatives studied at Leiden University or did their PhD research here. But who are they and which degrees are most popular?

The whole world is waiting anxiously for sufficient supplies of coronavirus vaccines. As Launch Navigator at Pfizer, alumnus Dennis de Mik must help ensure that the Netherlands receives 19.8 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. How is he going about this and how has his Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences…

Eating fewer carbs, moderate amounts of protein, and more fats — welcome to the ketogenic diet! While a ketogenic diet can have various effects on body and mind, did you know there are different types of ketogenic interventions? In this episode, Eline Dekeyster shares more about this topic.

Yousef Yousef (39), a successful entrepreneur in the water-quality industry, recently joined the Advisory Board at Leiden Law School. Read the interview about his career.

How do we prepare our students for a future labour market in which flexibility, resilience and adaptability are essential?

Here you will find an overview of all communication departments within the university.

Giving a presentation about the University? There are standard presentations available.

Lifelong development at Leiden University: learn, develop, grow

After obtaining their PhD, most of our graduates find a new position outside the University, for instance in the private sector or a civil society organisation. As you will not necessarily continue your career within the academic world, it is important to start thinking in good time about what you would…

How can you ensure that your research hits the headlines? How can you bring your research output, such as PhD research or a publication, to the attention of the public?

We carry out regular evaluations with a view to improving the quality of our teaching. The programme committees and the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) play an important part in this process. In addition, a student satisfaction survey is also carried out very year:…

Alumnus Rennie Roos lives and works in Indonesia. What took him there, what does he do there and what inspires him?

As an exchange student, alumna Jessica Ma was already looking for a bridge between statistics and the real world. In Leiden, she gained the experience to follow her interests and, after a few detours, she landed her ideal job with Disney in the United States.

Monique Koemans werkt sinds 2,5 jaar op de Nederlandse ambassade in de Verenigde Staten. 'Leiden is een opvallende rode draad in mijn leven.'

Professor of Psychiatry Anne Speckens studied medicine in Leiden and did her psychiatry training there too. She opened the Radboudumc Center for Mindfulness in Nijmegen. What does she do there and how does she look back on her time as a student?

Charlotte Poot (31) is co-founder and chair of Hospital Hero, an app that prepares children for a hospital visit. She studied and obtained her PhD at the LUMC.

Lawyer, economist, politician and women’s rights activist Lizzy van Dorp is the 100th entry in our Top 450. Who or what is your favourite?

It was his thesis supervisor during his master's in Film and Photographic Studies who encouraged Shivan Shazad to pursue a second master's in diversity policy at Ghent. He is now Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

How do you write a good news article? Here are a number of guidelines to help you.

If you have a question about the University website, or if you wish to post an announcement or report content-related changes, please contact the web editors of your faculty or unit.

Study information, On Campus Experience

Leiden alumnus Luc Amkreutz is a curator at the National Museum of Antiquities. His exhibition about the submerged landscape of Doggerland highlights what we can learn from prehistory. ‘Just like the people of Doggerland, we are confronted with climate change, but we are responsible for the speed of…

Research into depression in children, Leiden alumni in the Dutch House of Representatives and an exceptional achievement by one of our students: what do this topics have in common? They are among our most read stories of 2021.

Bachelor, Master

Depression and anxiety disorders among youth are causing major problems worldwide. The mechanisms involved are still unknown, however. Moji Aghajani – Assistant Professor at the Institute of Education and Child Studies - aims to provide new insights with his research "Youth mental health meets big data…

From 29 – 31 May, second-year students of the Advanced MSc in International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) took part in the programme's annual visit to Geneva, Switzerland. Students participated in various institutional visits, and got to hear first-hand from practitioners and experts on a variety of…

On October 12th, the LACDR PhD-Postdoc event will be organized in castle Oud Poelgeest.

If you’re unsure where to refer students to for well-being support, this page should help. It provides an overview of the support available at Leiden University.

Social media is a good way to meet others or to hear about the latest news and developments. It is an excellent way to tell people about what you are doing and to hear what they are up to too. But social media also has its downsides: disinformation, trolling, disrespectful comments and even the misuse…

Her plan was to obtain a PhD, but, during her master’s, alumnus Sangbreeta Moitra discovered that her true interest lay in applying neuroscience in everyday life.

In November, 2023, we organized our annual PhD-Postdoc event with the topic ‘future career opportunities’. After an interactive presentation ‘be prepared for you career after your PhD/postdoc’ by Harry Linders, there was ample opportunity to meet LACDR alumni and career coaches.

At the Leiden University Thesis Awards ceremony, law student Bettina Schmiedler won third prize for her socio-legal study on corporate social responsibility.

Last October, we organized our annual PhD-Postdoc event at Kasteel Oud-Poelgeest. An important part of the program was a speed dating session with LACDR alumni.

25 years ago the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University was founded. In the academic year of 2022-2023 several lustrum activities will be organised to celebrate this happy occasion. The year was kicked off with a vibrant party on September 8, inviting staff, students, and alumni.

Medewerkers Annet van der Helm en Mijanou Blaauw in Glasgow

A delegation from Leiden University visited various universities in Japan at the end of March. The strong ties between the Netherlands and Japan are still based on a long tradition of knowledge exchange.

From interview training and competence tests to internships and contact with alumni. At Leiden University there are many ways for our students to prepare for the job market, but the support available is often too fragmented and hard to find. How can we best prepare our students for a job market that…

The first eLaw Conference held at Leiden University was a success and fostered timely discussions on the legal challenges and opportunities presented by digital technologies.