Where you end up depends on the chosen study direction, your own skills and interests.

Leiden is the ideal city for students. There is a wide variety of activities you can do next to your studies, to make the most out of your student life.

How do people acquire language? How can you train your brain? What is the effect of stress on an unborn child? LIBC research topics range from language processing to cognitive robotics, and from psychiatric disorders to the impact of social factors on human behaviour. Meet several main research topics…

Get to know us through our online and in-person events for prospective students!

For Humans of Psychology, students and staff will be put into the spotlight. At our institute prizes are won, exiting research is conducted, knowledge is harnessed, public meeting are organised and open science is highlighted. Take a look behind the scenes.

In the track Cognitive Neuroscience we focus on the investigation of the psychological, computational, and neuroscientific bases of human cognition by means of mind and brain research.

The outreach and engagement platform BrainTrain consists of five enthusiastic students of the masters programme Forensic Family Science. As part of their project, the students visit high-schools to teach adolescents about the brain, make them experience that their own reality is not always the only…

In Dutch magazine De Psycholoog, Anne-Laura van Harmelen talks about the impact traumatic experiences, especially for those who are growing up.

In Dutch magazine De Psycholoog, Anne-Laura van Harmelen talks about the use of the term resilience and argues that resilience is concept that needs further explanation.

Our cameraman could regularly be found on location in 2019, reporting back on funny, remarkable and interesting University stories. This gave us films about our 444th anniversary, celebrated scholar Hendrik Lorentz and a Neolithic house in flames...

Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights Outstanding Student Research Theses

What effect did the lockdown have on young people? Leiden researchers started a study of this in the first year of the covid pandemic. They discovered an impact on the development of the brain areas involved in social behaviour. The researchers published their discovery in Scientific Reports at Nat…

Autistic people have problems communicating their borders towards the non-autistic community and often do not feel respected. To not only change daily life for autistic people, but also the scientific community from within Carolien Rieffe (Developmental Psychology) addresses this issue in her research…

Eight scientists from Leiden University have been awarded a grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this Vidi funding, the researchers can set up an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.

How does the brain develop from birth up to adolescence? And why are young people given so little information about the development of their brain? Two new websites of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition provide an answer.

Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam, Stefanie Meeuwis, and Eliška Procházková have all been awarded a share of the Aspasia diversity grant obtained by Mariska Kret. These three promising young psychologists will each receive 10,000 euros as a stepping stone towards a career in science. This gives them three months…

Brain researcher Elseline Hoekzema has discovered that the structure of the brain changes during pregnancy, particularly those areas related to social functions. These changes persist for at least two years after the mother gives birth. Publication in Nature Neuroscience on 19 December.

How does our brain interpret traces of evidence? Can someone who is suffering from brain damage be held accountable for criminal offences? And should it be possible to adjust a criminal’s behaviour with deep brain stimulation? These questions were addressed during the Public Scientific Day Brein & Recht…

How can parents avoid passing on stress and mental health problems to their children? Professor of Stress-Related Psychopathology Bernet Elzinga develops simple interventions to help both parents and young people. For her research, she has been awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest academic honour…

Imagine getting a notification on your mobile phone with your personal code for impending mental health problems or even depression: yellow, orange, or red. Science fiction? Not for scientist Eiko Fried. 'There is a real chance we can prevent some mental health problems before they occur.' Want to participate…

Leiden University will appoint Dr Anne-Laura van Harmelen as Professor of Brain, Security and Resilience at the Institute of Education and Child Studies with effect from 1 September 2020. She will focus on the brain in relation to the development of transgressive behaviour and its prevention and tre…

Psychology teacher of the year is Anouk van der Weiden. The master thesis awards are for Irina Verhülsdonk and Christel Klootwijk. Eliška Procházková receives the PhD publication prize; Katja Cardol and Judith Tommel the PhD wild card: the Open Science Award. Conny Binnendijk earns the OBP prize and…

How can we make clever use of new technologies to improve quality of life in cities? The answer is in the NL Smart City Strategy, which Mark Rutte officially received on January 25th. Three professors from Leiden University - Carolien Rieffe, Joost Kok and Wessel Kraaij - gave advice.

Brothers and sisters within a family, with the same parents, experience their upbringing differently. As well as the impact of their own negative experiences, the way siblings experience their upbringing also plays an important role in anxiety and depression. This is the conclusion reached by Marie-Louise…

Our research regularly receives attention in the (Dutch) popular media. Here is an overview.

New edited volume by Mies Grijns (VVI), Hoko Horii (KITLV/VVI), Sulistyowati Irianto (Universitas Indonesia) and Pinky Saptandari (Airlangga University).

From 2 to 17 January, Leiden University co-organised an interdisciplinary course on children’s rights, that took place at the Centre for Studies on Justice and Society at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

How do perpetrators of notorious crimes integrate in society after their imprisonment? Marieke Liem and Daan Weggemans investigated this in in-depth interviews with ten Dutch convicts for murder, paedophilia and terrorism.

The civil lawsuit against the Congregation of 'Onze Lieve Vrouw van Liefde van de Goede Herder' starts this week. A total of 19 women, aged from 62 to 91, together with the women’s rights foundation Clara Wichmann wants recognition through the courts that there was a situation of forced labour at youth…

PhD candidates Mies Grijns and Hoko Horii were interviewed about their research on Child Marriage in Indonesia in the ‘Jakarta Globe’, a daily online English language newspaper in Indonesia.

Stay tuned for updates on relevant media appearances of Anne-Laura van Harmelen.

‘The idea that overweight and obesity are the fault of parents and/or the child, is rubbish.' Roxanna Camfferman, who specialises in child and adolescent studies, explains her proposition. Her PhD dissertation is on the role of upbringing in child obesity.

Below you will find the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about admission to the clinical specialisations of the Master in Psychology.

A punishment that fits the crime is the cornerstone of the rechtsstaat or constitutional state. But opinions differ greatly on what constitutes a just and effective punishment. Research by Leiden University provides politicians, legislators, law enforcers and the public with new information and insights…

The LHSC booster grants awarded are described below. The summaries below are aimed at the general public. For further detail, please contact the researchers in question.

This research master specialisation involves general courses, specialisation-specific courses, electives, research internship and your thesis.

Child marriage has become an increasingly important topic on the international human rights and development agenda. Many organisations are calling for a ban, but what problem would such a ban solve? PhD defence on 18 March 2020.

Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies graduate Gillian King has two different jobs. Together with a partner, she runs ‘Het Leerhuis,’ a support centre for children with learning difficulties. But she also writes books, chick lit to be precise. This is how she has made something of a name for herself…

Various researchers from Leiden University have been awarded NWO (Dutch Research Council) Open Competition funding. Nine social sciences and humanities projects will receive the funding.

On Friday 16 April, the webinar 'Children and young adults in contact with the law: Systemic vulnerabilities and institutional responses' will take place. The webinar is organised by Eva Schmidt LL.M, Dr. Anna Pivaty (Radboud University/Maastricht University) and Dr. Stephanie Rap, with the support…

Learning from and with each other. The 'Haags Mentorprogramma

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Professor International Relations and Diplomatic Practice at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University spoke to Belgian (Flemish) news magazine Knack about the position of Europe in relation to the United States and China. ‘Europe has to be careful to avoid…

During the last weeks of 2018, Judi Mesman presented the 'Kennisagenda Jeugd' to various departments and ministries, where she was welcomed with open arms. As figurehead of the NWA 'Jeugd' route, Judi worked together with the 'Taskforce Jeugd' in recent years on the development of the 'Kennisagenda…

CADS alumna Ruth Erica has won the Glazen Globe with her book The Tree with the White Leaves. This is a biennial prize for the best geography-related youth or children's book.

Conference

An impressive 21 research projects by Leiden researchers have been awarded Veni funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

“Endophenotypes of Social Anxiety Disorder: Can we detect them and are they useful in clinical practice”

What effect does bullying have on the brain? This is just one of the key research questions included in the NeuroLabNL science agenda. Scientists presented the agenda to Minister Van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science) and Minister Dekker (Justice and Security) on 3 July at Campus The Hagu…

A common notion is that autistic people feel no need for social contact, that they are socially clumsy and show little prosocial behavior. But is that image correct? According to developmental psychologist Carolien Rieffe, an important goal of Autism Awareness Week (March 28 - April 5) is to remove…

Earning some quick money by drug trafficking, committing an act of violence or almost collapsing under performance pressure. In the four-part NeurolabNL Young vodcast young people talk openly with neuroscientists about high-risk behaviour and performance pressure. How did they find their way back?