The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences brings together high-quality research and outstanding mono- and multidisciplinary teaching.

In this conversation-analytic study, the authors analyze conversations between researchers from different disciplines and community members to examine relationship building in real life. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons By license.

Nature and History, Towards a Hermeneutic Philospohy of Historiography of Science

Study information

Leiden University College (LUC) is proud to announce that it have been awarded the Special Feature Sustainable Higher Education by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). This recognition affirms the deep commitment to embedding sustainability across the curriculum, research,…

Find out how to apply for Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

LUC students research the Geul river’s restoration, combining sediment studies, biodiversity assessments, and policy insights for global environmental challenges

Haunting the future through poetry

The Dutch Center for Travel Writing Studies s a scientific center that develops and coordinates initiatives to promote research into travel writing. It actively seeks contact with external (scientific and social) partners to collaborate on issues surrounding cultural / national identity, cultural contact…

How do we experience sensual wonder and enchantment and to what extent can (early) modern imagination-techniques be implemented to create an artwork and performance, which offer a sensory and novel experience.

The LAK offers various writing courses. Explore the world of story creation. Learn the basic skills of fiction writing and, as a writer, find your own voice, taking the first important step from idea to story. Or explore poetic techniques. There is a wide choice of English-spoken workshops! During…

A liveable planet. More biodiversity. And resources which are being managed wisely. At the CML, we want to make an impact with our research and education. On this website you can read what we do to achieve that.

The projects of nine researchers at Leiden University have received funding through the new NWO Science Diplomacy Fund. The Fund is for scientific activities that will improve relations between the Netherlands and other countries.

In which way and to which extent is integration articulated in concept maps and which factors affect the resulting concept maps? By which factors is the perceived usefulness of such concept maps affected?

The RISIS project aims at creating a distributed research infrastructure to support and advance science and innovation studies. This will give the field a strong scientific push forward, and at the same time, provide a radically improved evidence base for research and innovation policies, for research…

Inaugural lecture

Scientists are regularly confronted with questions of integrity. A new film teaches students how to handle this issue.

Talk That Science, a podcast with the aim of presenting science in a challenging, new and relevant way. They do this by combining music and science. Talk That Science was founded a few months ago and has grown into a medium where science, music, young adults and scientists come together.

Every year, more than three thousand businesses are declared insolvent in the Netherlands. The purpose of bankruptcy is to divide the assets of these companies among the creditors. However, the value of the claims of the creditors often exceed the value of the assets of the company

The Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law team regularly publishes in both Dutch and international academic journals and book series.

BSc degrees: ‘Political Science’, ‘International Relations and Organisations’. MSc degree: Political Science, with specialisations ‘International Organisation’; ‘Dutch Politics; ‘Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Development’; ‘International Politics’; ‘Political Legitimacy and Justice’; ‘Democracy…

Find out how to apply for Astronomy and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

ELS@Leiden aims to give empirical legal research skills and interdisciplinarity a prominent place within the law school curriculum.

Growing health inequalities, rising healthcare costs, an ageing population, and shortages of healthcare staff are just some of the challenges facing healthcare, both in the Netherlands and beyond. These issues transcend the boundaries of the medical sector and touch on broader themes such as social…

In the logic and aesthetics of a republican baroque the existing world is the result of a moment in which for a split second two or more realities are equally real and after which only a singular one becomes actualized.

Understanding what motivates foreign fighters to go and fight in war zones and analysing their social environment offers a basis for preventing them from going.

Knowing how to resolve global problems is one thing, but how do you make sure that it actually happens? That’s the real challenge, because there are powerful movements everywhere that want to reconstruct the walls of nation states. In an attempt to resolve this issue, Leiden researchers are experimenting…

Students with a Dutch HBO Bachelor’s in Biology and Medical Laboratory Research or equivalent can only be admitted to the master after completing the premaster’s programme.

Policy studies and interventions in the field of Youth

For our students, studying in The Hague can make a big difference. The Hague is proud to be known as the international city of peace and justice. The city is full of opportunity and is a fantastic student city.

Overlevingsanalyse is een onderzoeksgebied dat zich richt op het bestuderen van de tijd tot het optreden van een specifieke uitkomst.

On 22 June, Anneke Koning defended the thesis 'Return to sender: a multi-method study of guardianship against transnational sexual exploitation of children'. The doctoral research was supervised by Joanne van der Leun, Masja van Meeteren and Johan van Wilsem.

There's a whole lot to discover and experience in nature. But children who grow up in the city are seeing less and less greenery. During the Out and About! days junior school pupils will be going on a green expedition in their neighbourhood.

LUCSoR has chairs in Comparative Religion, Islam in the West, Christianity, and Judaism. Main areas of expertise include ancient Mesopotamian religions, the Enlightenment, Islam in the West, and new spiritual movements.

Shining a new light on the Roman world

Voor deze use case zoeken wij een gebruiker die voor onderzoeksdoeleinden interesse heeft in de auteursrechtelijk beschermde collectie van de KB en ons kan helpen met het opstellen door wensen, noden en ervaringen te delen.

ASTRON en de Universiteit Leiden beginnen samen een nieuwe leerstoel over sterrenkunde en AI. Bijzonder hoogleraar Joeri van Leeuwen gaat deze positie vullen.

The objective of this study is to better understand the distribution of microplastics in the environment. More specifically, we will quantify the abundance and distribution of microplastics on beaches.

The Faculty of Science grants two C.J. Kok awards each year: the C.J. Kok Public Award, also known as the award for the ‘Discoverer of the Year’, and the C.J. Kok Jury Award, the award for the best PhD thesis from the past year.

The title of European City of Science was officially handed over to a delegation from Leiden in the Italian city of Trieste on 6 September. Leiden will be the science capital of Europe for the year 2022. The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), the largest interdisciplinary science conference in Europe, will…

The new book by Dimiter Toshkov - associate professor of Public Administration at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs - has been recently published by Palgrave Macmillan.

PhD defence

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death Professor Hans Daalder (4 May 1928 – 4 April 2016).

Each month we will be spotlighting material we have been reading, or that have been recommended to us that relate to AI and a particular theme.

Overview of the CML reports

The BLRN members have published extensively in recent years. In addition to the BLRN book series, dissertations of BLRN members published in the E.M. Meijers Institute Series, you will find below a selection of our publications. For a more complete overview of publications of each BLRN member, please…

At a festive gathering, 25 projects were awarded a Kiem grant 2025 - 2026 of 10,000 euros. Interdisciplinary teams from Leiden University will conduct innovative research into horror, international payments and fungi in historical collections, among others.

How do processes of coalition-formation influence patterns of decision-making in the European Union?

Fantastic plants, dizzying patterns and pulsating sounds: researchers from Leiden are going to study the effects of a simulated psychedelic trip on the mind and body at Lowlands Festival. Why might this be interesting for therapies?