Leiden University regularly confers honorary doctorates, and presents awards and prizes.

‘We’ve only just begun,’ said Honorary Doctor Jennifer Chayes in her acceptance speech after receiving her Honorary Doctorate on 8 February. 'We are on the cusp of a data revolution, which will deeply impact both science and society.'

Public Administration researcher Adrienne Héritier will receive an honorary degree from Leiden University. The award is for her groundbreaking work in the field of multilevel governance, decisionmaking and institutional theory at the European level. She will be awarded the degree on the dies natalis…

On 27 November 2015 Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Rozenberg receives his sixth Honorary Doctorate.

Leiden University awarded Sir Winston Churchill on 10 May 1946 an Honorary Doctorate in Law. Churchill's speech of thanks showed typical British humour: 'I feel like the most learned man in the world.'

We welcome Paul Sharp as The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's first Honorary Editor.

The Leidse Instrumentenmakers School (LiS) has received the Leiden erepenning—an honorary medal that is awarded each year during the celebration of the Leids Ontzet to a person or institute that has done a great service to the city of Leiden.

On 15 June 2022 an honorary degree will be awarded to the director of the Orpheus Institute Peter Dejans for his significant contribution to the institutional establishment, networking and further development of

Leiden physicist Carlo Beenakker has received an honorary doctorate from the Bogoliubov Institute for theoretical physics in Kiev.

On 8 February 2016 prof. Jennifer Chayes received her Honorary Doctorate at Leiden University as part of the 441e Dies Natalis. A video registration of this special event has now been published. For the ceremony of Jennifer Chayes’ Honorary Doctorate, please scroll to the 82th minute.

American anthropologist Rosemary Joyce will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Leiden University on its Dies Natalis on 8 February. Joyce has delivered important new insights into the ancient Mayan cultures of Central America.

Linguist Willem Adelaar was appointed to Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion on October 1st. On that very same day he celebrated his 43-year connection to Leiden University. Adelaar has an impressive track record in the field of indigenous, and often endangered, Amerindian languages.

Mozambican politician and child rights activist Graça Machel will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University for her commitment to the rights of women and children in Africa and elsewhere. She will be awarded the honorary doctorate on the Dies Natalis, the University’s foundation day, on 8…

On 9 February, 2015, the 440th Dies Natalis, Peter J. Katzenstein will be awarded a Leiden University honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the social sciences in general, and to political science in particular. Professor Katzenstein (Cornell University) is one of the most influential…

Charles Darwin received an Honorary Doctorate from Leiden University on 9 February 1875. What traces did he leave behind in Leiden?

Els Rose has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lausanne. Rose is professor of late and medieval Latin at Utrecht University. The committee commended Rose for “ her original research, that has contributed to an understanding of the breadth and depth of the reception of texts and traditions…

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, who died on 5 december 2013, received an honorary doctorate from Leiden University in 1999. Mandela’s response was modest: ‘It is not a personal achievement. It is a tribute to all those who emerged from underground, from prison, from exile...’

Leiden University is awarding an honorary doctorate to virologist Marc van Ranst. Van Ranst has been one of the main advisers of the Belgian government during the Covid pandemic. German Arabist Beatrice Gründler will also receive an honorary doctorate for her work in the field of Oriental Manuscript…

Australian cell biologist Melissa Little and Dutch physicist Robbert Dijkgraaf will each be awarded an Honorary doctorate at the Dies Natalis of Leiden University in February 2019. They are receiving these awards for their services to science.

Professor of Clinical Pharmacology Adam Cohen from Leiden University received the prestigious Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Honorary Prize on 12 November. The prize honours a scientist who has distinguished themselves in the field of research that has directly or indirectly led to the development of new medicines…

On 26th and 27th February, the South African Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor will visit Leiden University as honorary Oort Visiting Professor of Astronomy for Development. She will give a ceremonial lecture on Astronomy for Development in the Academiegebouw on 26th February and lead…

Historian Frank Dikötter will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University for his work on the history of the Chinese Republican period and the People's Republic of China under Mao. He will be awarded the honorary degree during the university's Dies Natalis celebrations on 8 February 2017.

Professor of Predictive Pharmacology Elizabeth de Lange has received an Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Pharmacy of Uppsala University. She will be honoured during the Uppsala Winter Conferment Ceremony on 31 January 2020.

Carolien Rieffe is appointed an Honorary Professor at the prestigious UCL Institute of Education, University of London. Rieffe already holds a professorship, Social and Emotional Development, at Developmental Psychology, Leiden University. This new appointment strengthens the existing bond between Leiden…

The Leiden University Academy of Creative and Performing Arts will be proudly awarding an Honorary Doctorate within the upcoming 440th Dies Natalis.

On 8 February 2016, Dr Jennifer Tour Chayes, Director of Microsoft Research in Boston and New York, will be presented with a Leiden honorary doctorate by Frank den Hollander, Professor of Probability Theory and Statistical Physics.

Astrophysicist Ewine van Dishoeck has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Geneva. She received the award on 11 October during the Dies academicus of the Swiss university, which, like Leiden University, is part of the European research university federation LERU.

Professor Paul van der Heijden (international labour law Leiden University) has been appointed the honorary Marcel Storme chair at the University of Ghent. The Marcel Storme chair is a rotating professorship at the law faculty of the University of Ghent which according to the regulations is solely…

On April 13 2018 during the Arts Festivals Summit in Ljubljana, Prof. Frans de Ruiter has been appointed Honorary Member of the European Festivals Association, of which he has been President for 14 years.

Friday May 23 Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Rozenberg receives his fourth Honorary Doctorate.

Many members of the Royal Family have studied at Leiden University and several have been awarded an honorary doctorate.

The theme of our 450th anniversary, and of this Dies Natalis, is Ahead of the Times. We have, after all, been directing our gaze to the future for centuries now.

On 7 February 2025 Leiden University celebrated its 450th anniversary.

On 8 February 2021 Leiden University celebrated its 446th anniversary.

On Monday June 15 Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Rozenberg received his fifth Honorary Doctorate.

The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) provides artistic research and education in the arts.

On 8 February 2022 Leiden University celebrated its 447th anniversary.

On 8 February 2024 Leiden University celebrated its 449th anniversary.

Leiden University celebrated its 443th foundation day on 8 February 2018.

LIACS prof. Grzegorz Rozenberg is one of the world leaders in research on Theoretical Computer Science and Natural Computing. He is often called the guru of Natural Computing.

LIACS prof. Grzegorz Rozenberg is one of the world leaders in research on Theoretical Computer Science and Natural Computing. He is often called the guru of Natural Computing.

A selection of news from Leiden University.

Emeritus professor at the Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University - the Netherlands

Cooperation on education with China stimulates innovation and brings a different perspective and new content to classrooms.

In 2022, LIACS created the G. Rozenberg Research Award in honor of its 25th anniversary. This new award is intended for promising PhD students of LIACS.

Universities cannot survive in this highly competitive world without collaboration. And the ultimate aim is to make the world a safer and more sustainable place. This was Rector Carel Stolker’s message during the 441st Dies Natalis.

Leiden University will be conferring three honorary doctorates in its special anniversary year. They will be awarded to Eliot Higgins, truth finder and founder of Bellingcat, Bonnie Honig, expert in feminist theory and legal theory, and Kelly Chibale, professor of organic chemistry, who works on prevention…

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2022, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

The oldest university in the Netherlands has produced many well-known scientists. Some of them are known to the wider public; others are perhaps less well known, but their achievements are no less impressive.

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’.