In the seminars you meet in small groups to discuss historical themes, sources, methods and historiographical debates. These courses focus on acquiring knowledge, learning analytical and practical skills, and exchanging ideas and reflection. Assignments are usually assessed with writing assignments and presentations. Research MA students can choose their literature seminar and research seminar within one track, or build their programme across the tracks. The Historical theory seminar is designed for the Research Master students specifically.

In the second and third semester, you have the freedom to develop a tailor made programme that meets your specific research interests. The tutorial, optional courses and second research seminar enable you to specialise in a specific theme or field, and may include an internship within or outside the university. You will also take research courses offered at the national research schools, while the Skills for Research seminar critically prepares you for a research-oriented career after graduation.

For your Tutorial and Research MA Thesis, you have the freedom to choose a historical topic that you want to investigate further. You can choose your supervisor from the entire teaching team of the institute, and thus make use of all the knowledge and expertise that Leiden has to offer.

The university encourages cross-listing of courses between the MA tracks, which offers you a very wide range of courses and allows you to make use of the wealth of expertise available within the Institute for History.

The Literature Seminar (10 EC) is the introductory course of the MA Track that every student begins with. In this intensive two-hour weekly seminar, you will delve deeper into key themes and academic debates related to the track's focus, using by secondary sources such as monographs and academic articles.

The Research Seminar (10 EC) is a seminar in which students conduct research using primary sources and literature, presentations are given and a paper is written. The Research seminar is a 2-hour per week course for twelve weeks that is concluded with a substantial paper.

This course is compulsory for all Research MA students. It discusses major problems in historical theory or philosophy of history through close readings of relevant texts. Topics that will be addressed include explanations, models, intentions, representations, narratives, paradigms, comparisons, objectivity, and ethics. The course is valued at 10 EC.

This course prepares  you for possible research careers after graduation. You will discuss various types of successful research projects and reflect upon the organization of academic research. You will develop your own proposal, developing a good research question and including debate, feasibility, and innovative character. The course will guide you through this process. Senior researchers will visit the class to comment upon their own ongoing research projects. The course is valued at 10 EC and is compulsory for all Research MA students.

Within the Research MA History, you will take courses at a national Research School, amounting to at least 10 EC. You will compose this set of courses yourself, together with the Coordinator of Studies. Research Schools courses offer training in both methodology and area specific knowledge. Research MA students choose courses at the Research school that relates most with their possible area of research.

The tutorial is the mainstay of our Research MA as it offers intensive, eye-to-eye discussions with one of Leiden’s many specialists. During the tutorial you will explore the field and determine the subject and research question of your thesis. The tutorial is valued at 10 EC.

You will also choose a number of optional courses, worth up to a total of 20 EC. You are advised to study these courses abroad. The optional courses may also be spent on a research internship, or at courses (level 500) offered at any department of Leiden University or at another Dutch university.

The programme concludes with a thesis, based on original source research and a final oral exam. Together they are valued at 30 EC. The level of the thesis will have to meet high standards. In principle, the (shortened) thesis will have to be worthy of publication in an academic journal. During the final ceremony you are expected to present and defend your thesis vis-à-vis with your thesis supervisor and a second examiner.

Prof.dr. Jürgen Zangenberg

Long before any Roman set foot on what is now the western coast of modern Turkey, however, cities like Ephesus, Miletus or Smyrna had been hubs of cultural exchange for centuries. This seminar will examine examples of cultural exchange, focusing for example on Greek oracles, the healing god Asklepios, indigenous priests of the Roman imperial cult and women prophets from rural Phrygia.

Dr. Miko Flohr            

An important development in the history of the Ancient Mediterranean was the emergence and intensification of trans-regional networks of economic, social, cultural and political exchange. People, cities, and regions were increasingly connected over longer distances, and this had a profound impact on the everyday lives of people, their ideas, expectations and ambitions. A key question in ancient history is how these ‘global’ networks intersected with ‘local’ situations. In this Research Seminar we explore how the ‘global’ and the ‘local’ interacted in Greece,  Italy and elsewhere in the Mediterranean between ca. 400 BCE and 200 CE – from the late Classical Greek period, until well into the Roman imperial period. How does increasing longer-distance connectivity redefine sanctuaries, cities, politics, economic life, and cultural practice, and how is this reflected in our sources, material and textual?

Prof.dr. Damian Pargas

A perusal of American history reveals that illiberal and anti-democratic values and movements—aimed at obstructing democratic participation and nullifying liberal rights—have played an important role for over two centuries. This course examines illiberalism and anti-democracy from the Revolution to the present.

Dr. Henk Kern

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was for long time considered to be the definitive watershed moment in Russian history, but historians now discern deeper continuities between the old regime, the communist regime and in its post-communist present-day form of a presidential republic. In this seminar we’ll have a fresh look at the Russian Revolution of 1917 in its larger context of War which started in 1914 and was more or less ended in 1921. We’ll make an analysis of the successive efforts by historians to explain and (re)frame this war-revolutionary era.

Dr. William Michael Schmidli 

This course traces and analyzes the significance of war, human rights, and democracy for the American people, U.S. institutions, and U.S. foreign relations from the 1940s to the early 2000s. The central research question framing this course is: how did war shape the structures, practices, and values of U.S. democracy from the Second World War to the War on Terror?             

Dr. Soledad Valdivia Rivera

In the last decades the Latin American region has seen the proliferation and empowerment of social movements, ranging from the Zapatista Movement in Mexico in 1994 to the Student Movement in Chile and ‘#’ movements such as #NiUnaMenos and the most recent wave of social protest at the end of 2019, dubbed the ‘Latin American Spring’. The course first introduces the main scholarly debates on Latin American Social Movements. It then examines the role of social movements in the political scenario and takes particular interest in understanding why social movements such a recurrent and influential actor in Latin America.

Dr. Carolien Stolte

What would a truly global history of peace advocacy look like? In this course, we will first delve into the thoughts and actions of twentieth century peace activists from around the world. What political, philosophical or religious ideas informed their thinking? Next, we will look at what happens when peace activists from different regions work together in international organizations for peace. How do their ideas of peace interact, clash, and change in the process?

Dr. Lionel Laborie

The early modern period saw numerous episodes of forced migrations as a result of state persecution and religious violence. These communities have traditionally been described as ‘diasporas’ and studied separately from one another. In recent years, however, scholars have drawn attention to the existence of both intra- and extra-diasporic networks and increasingly questioned the very notion of ‘diaspora’ because of the social cohesion, mutual trust and cultural homogeneity it implies. This seminar will discuss some of the best-known examples of early modern diasporas (Mennonites, Sephardim and Ashkenazim Jews, Huguenots, Catholics, Jacobites, Moravians…) from a both systemic and cross-cultural perspective. 

Prof.dr. Marieke Bloembergen

In this research seminar we will study histories, politics and ethics of heritage formation in colonial and postcolonial Southeast Asia (and beyond), in the light of debates on decolonization, restitution and environmental care. We focus on practices of knowledge production on, and care for, both natural/ environmental and cultural objects in and from the region – or objects classified as such. We attempt to cross the nature/ culture divide in heritage formation, aiming to understand 1. how heritage politics in colonial and postcolonial times helped creating this divide, and 2. how nature has shaped and transformed cultural heritage and vice versa.

Prof.dr. Gabrielle van den Berg and Prof.dr. Jos Gommans

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols created a vast empire that covered large parts of Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Mongols heralded a new era of globalization by creating unprecedented opportunities for cultural transmission and exchange. In this course, we will look at the immediate and long-term impact of the Mongols and their descendants (e.g. the Timurids and Mughals) on the course of Eurasian history. And how did the Mongols themselves fashion their legacy and to what extent were they able to construct their own image and memory in e.g. art, literature and history-writing?

Dr. Nadia Bouras Dr. Rebekka Grossmann

This course explores the interconnected histories and memories of Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe and North Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present. It examines how colonialism, migration, and nation-building shaped Jewish–Muslim relations, producing moments of coexistence, conflict, and solidarity. Taking a transnational and postcolonial approach, the course follows these interactions across imperial, national, and diasporic contexts, including Morocco, Algeria, France, and the Netherlands.

Dr. Paul van Trigt and prof.dr. Catia Antunes

Inequality is a pressing societal issue that has garnered recent attention from historians, social scientists, and politicians. However, inequalities cannot be comprehended, influenced, or altered without understanding their historical roots. Inequalities and the disparities they generate have persisted throughout history, particularly during moments of social and economic upheaval and affirmation. This course addresses why inequalities emerge in human societies between 1500 and 2000. We adopt the multifaceted concept of (social, symbolic, and economic) capital as conceptualized by Bourdieu to grasp the mechanisms underpinning the formation of unequal societies.

Dr. Jelle Brunning

This course examines the daily life experience of Muslims during the first four centuries of Islamic history, when caliphs ruled from Medina, Damascus and Baghdad respectively over an area that stretched from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Hindu Kush in the east. The course focuses on Egypt, one of the Muslim empire’s most prosperous provinces. The course studies the social history of this province through the lens of a unique but largely neglected type of sources that gives unfiltered and unpolished insight into these Muslims’ society: their own private letters, administrative documents, legal deeds, and other texts written on papyrus that have been preserved today.

Dr. Soledad Valdivia Rivera

In the last decades the Latin American region has seen the proliferation and empowerment of social movements, ranging from the Zapatista Movement in Mexico in 1994 to the Student Movement in Chile and ‘#’ movements such as #NiUnaMenos and the most recent wave of social protest at the end of 2019, dubbed the ‘Latin American Spring’. The course first introduces the main scholarly debates on Latin American Social Movements. It then examines the role of social movements in the political scenario and takes particular interest in understanding why social movements such a recurrent and influential actor in Latin America.

Dr. Bart Verheijen, Dr. Maartje Janse

Er wordt wel eens gesteld dat kritiek op kolonialisme een recent verschijnsel is. De bronnen laten echter laten zien dat die kritiek er altijd geweest is. Dit research seminar analyseert de woorden en daden van critici van het Nederlandse kolonialisme van de late achttiende eeuw tot nu. Er klonk kritiek op uitbuiting, slavernij en andere vormen van gedwongen arbeid, rechtsongelijkheid en excessief geweld, en uiteindelijk steeds meer op het koloniale stelsel als zodanig.

Dr. Claire Weeda Prof.dr. Judith Pollmann

Vanaf de late middeleeuwen tot het midden van de achttiende eeuw ging de groeiende macht van de Nederlanden gepaard met het bijeenbrengen en vermarkten van kennis. In ons seminar denken wij na over de relatie tussen kennis en macht in die vroegmoderne context van de Nederlandse steden en hun verbinding met de wereld daarbuiten, en van praktijkkennis tot institutionele en wetenschappelijke kennis. Hoe was kennis in de stad verbonden met machtsstructuren binnen en buiten de stad? Hoe haalden steden kennis binnen, transformeerden ze die en zetten ze kennis in voor eigen doelen?

Dr. Dennis Bos  Dr. Diederik Smit

In dit vak onderzoeken we het koloniaal project van de negentiende en twintigste eeuw niet als een afzonderlijk beleidsterrein, als een exotische sideshow, of als een verschijnsel waarvan het einde ‘historisch noodzakelijk’ zou zijn geweest. In plaats daarvan kijken we wat er gebeurt als we het kolonialisme als een integraal bestanddeel van de Nederlandse politieke geschiedenis opvatten en vragen stellen naar de bijdrage van koloniale uitbuiting aan de modernisering van Nederland. Wat was bijvoorbeeld de invloed van teruggekeerde ‘Indischgasten’ in de Tweede Kamer, of de rol van koloniaal geweld overzee bij de totstandkoming van een nationale identiteit hier? Misschien kan dit vak zelfs antwoord geven op de prangende vraag hoe het tegenwoordige succes van identiteitspolitiek wortelt in het koloniaal verleden van Nederland.

Launch your career with a master’s degree

Continuing your studies after your bachelor's degree pays off. Graduates with a master's degree are more likely to find higher-level positions: 77% start at a university of applied sciences (hbo) or university level, compared to 63% of graduates who only hold a bachelor's degree. This difference remains visible in the long term. After more than two years of work experience, 87% of master's alumni work at a university of applied sciences or university level, compared to 76% of bachelor's alumni.

A unique strength on the job market

As a Humanities graduate, you have developed talents that are in high demand on the job market. Intercultural skills, written communication, and social awareness are qualities that clearly distinguish Humanities graduates on the job market. Your ability to think analytically and creatively also gives you an edge.

The research master’s programme in History at Leiden University aims to equip you with a range of important skills and knowledge that will help you achieve your personal career goals. Whichever your area of expertise, you will have a broad and global context to your knowledge and critical-thinking skills that can be applied to the most complex conceptual problems.

Many of our students choose to do an internship during their study. Internships are a great way to gain invaluable first-hand experience in your area of interest before you decide on making it a career. In recent years students from the research master’s programme in History have been doing internships at the following organisations:

• Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands
• KITLV (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies)
• Dutch Embassy in Jakarta
• Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie
• Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael
• Maritime Museum Rotterdam
• Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Security and Justice

The Humanities Career Service offers you various (online) workshops, webinars and info sessions. Check our overview of career activities. 

The Leiden University Career Zone is an online career portal that helps you to prepare for the job market. Here you can find information, tools and tips to help you gain more personal insight, learn about the job market, develop your application skills, plan your academic and professional career, find job vacancies and discover what the Career Service can do for you.

Join the Mentor Network to contact alumni with experience on the labour market and ask them for advice. More than 1200 alumni are happy to help you!

The following diploma requirements apply for this programme:

• A bachelor’s degree from a Dutch research university in History or a comparable degree with a relevant specialisation. 

If you can demonstrate a level of knowledge, understanding and skills equal to that of holders of a degree mentioned above, you may be eligible.

All applicants must:

• have a bachelor’s degree from a research university that matches the level of a Dutch academic Bachelor’s degree, or demonstrate to meet the requirements for such a degree, including general academic skills;
• be able to conduct independent empirical research;
• be able to read academic literature and critically reflect on it;
• have a knowledge of general history and be able to present their findings (based on critically reading the literature or on empirical research) in a systematic and analytical manner;
• be able to write a thesis with proper references to the literature.

You may be asked to submit a writing sample, that shows your knowledge, understanding and skills.

Qualitative admission requirements

In addition, applicants must also meet the following qualitative admission requirements:

• Have sufficient knowledge of languages (other than English) relevant for study and research within the chosen specialisation.
• Good grades comparable with an average mark of at least 7.5 (Dutch grading system) for their entire bachelor’s programme, and a grade for the bachelor’s thesis of an 8 or higher;
• Affinity with and suitability for scholarly research in the specific field of the programme/specialisation
• Demonstrable motivation to study and suitability for the particular Research MA programme/specialisation

The qualitative admission requirements will be implemented as follows:

• You are asked to provide a transcript of records and diploma of the relevant obtained academic degree.
• Affinity with the field should be demonstrated by a “Research Proposal”. All applicants are required to submit a Research Proposal of approximately 1000 words, accompanied by an annotated bibliography of at least five (5) items, outlining the topic or field of research that the applicant wishes to pursue at Leiden University, and indicating the names of one or two faculty members who might guide that research.
• Your motivation and suitability for your chosen specialization should be demonstrated by a well-argued and structured motivation letter in which the applicant indicates why he/she wants to follow the History programme and convincingly discusses what makes the applicant a good candidate for the research MA programme. The statement should be between 700 and 1,500 words.

In order to successfully participate in this programme, you must be proficient in English. The following requirements apply:

IELTS: 7.0; where each separate component score must be at least 7.0;

• We do not accept IELTS Academic online.
• We do not accept IELTS General Training or IELTS Indicator.

TOEFL (Internet based) 100; with at least 5.0 (new 1-6 scale as of 21 January 2026) or 25 (old 0-30 scale) for each separate component. 

• We are not able to accept The TOEFL IBT Home Edition™, except in the following situations only:
  You took the test before 1 Sept 2022 (and it is not more than 2 years old), or you are unable to take an in-person test on location because test centres are inaccessible or closed due to unsafe conditions in a country.
• We do not accept the following types of test: TOEFL My Best™ scores (multiple test scores combined), TOEFL Essentials™  or institutional tests such as ITP.

See also the English test score equivalency table of Leiden University.

Note that English test results may not be more than two years old.

* New TOEFL grading scale 2026
In January 2026, TOEFL introduced a new grading scale. Test certificates issued in 2026 and 2027 will show overall scores in both the old grading scale (0-120) and the new grading scale (1-6). Component or band scores will only be shown in the new grading scale.
Leiden University’s 2026-2027 overall score requirements will continue to be based on the old grading scale. If you took your test on or after 21 January 2026, you must meet the overall score requirement shown on our website in the old grading scale (0-120), and the component score requirements shown on our website in the new grading scale (1-6).

*You do not have to submit an English proficiency test if you have completed your education in the USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada (except French-taught programmes in Canada) Singapore, South-Africa or Malta; or if you have completed an English-taught bachelor at a Dutch research university.

Note that for this research master programme you cannot be granted an exemption for the English proficiency test based on a Dutch pre-university (vwo) diploma.

According to Dutch law, Leiden University is required to reimburse students with a Dutch pre-university (VWO) diploma for any extra costs they make for meeting the English language requirements. You can be reimbursed for the costs of the English language test if you meet the following conditions:

- You have obtained a Dutch VWO-diploma; and
- You have successfully completed the English language test; and
- You are admitted unconditionally to the research master programme; and
- You are enrolled in the research master programme.

After admission to the programme, you will be informed on how to submit the request for reimbursement of the test costs.

For detailed information, including exemption criteria and methods of submission, refer to English language proficiency.

Please note that Leiden University does not offer a pre-master's programme for Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence (research).

Leiden University reserves a limited number of rooms each year for international students. However, as the number of housing requests always greatly exceeds the number of rooms available, we strongly recommend that you also look into other housing options at the same time. Read more about how and when to arrange housing. If you want to request accommodation via Leiden University, submit both your application for admission and your housing request well before the deadlines! Accommodation is offered on a first-come first-served basis and is not guaranteed. You don’t have to await admission before requesting housing.

If you want to apply for a scholarship, grant or loan, please bear in mind that different deadlines apply, and these deadlines can often be earlier. Deadlines vary per scholarship. Visit the scholarship website for more details.

You can apply for admission before receiving the results of your English language test. However, a sufficient result will then be a condition of your eventual admission. Of course, if you already have your English language test results, you can upload them directly.

• Digital copies of diplomas and transcripts are initially required. Once you have been admitted, we will inform you how to submit certified copies.
• The documents must be in the original language. If they are not in English, Dutch, German or French, they must be accompanied by official translations into one of these languages.
• If you have not yet completed your current programme, state your expected graduation date and submit copies of all transcripts obtained to date plus a list of subjects still to be completed.

This programme requires two letters of recommendation. At least one letter must be from an academic member of staff. 

Applicants are requested to include in their application a ‘Research Proposal’ of approximately 1,000 words outlining the topic or field of research that interests them most and that they wish to pursue at Leiden University, combined with an annotated bibliography of at least five (5) works.

Your motivation and suitability for your chosen specialization should be demonstrated by a well-argued and structured motivation letter in which you indicate why you want to follow the programme and convincingly discusses what makes you a good candidate for the research MA programme. The statement should be between 700 and 1,500 words.

1. Go to Studielink and enter your details according to the instructions provided. For this step you will need:

• a copy of your valid passport or European ID card, or
• if you are a Dutch resident, your DigiD. 

Be aware! If you wish to apply for a specialisation of a master's programme: first select the master’s programme in Studielink, then select the specialisation for which you wish to apply in Step 4 (Institutional Questions) in Studielink.

2. Within two days you will receive:

• an email with information on the next steps you'll need to take;
• your university ULCN student account details (unless, of course, you already have a ULCN account)
• the link to Leiden University’s online application portal (uSis)

After receiving your ULCN student account details, log into Leiden University’s online application portal (uSis), using the link provided. Here you can view the status of your application, which will be one of two possibilities.

1. You can be directly admitted
If your (Dutch) diploma grants you direct admission, Leiden University's online application portal (uSis) will let you know. The portal provides an overview of what you have to do to complete your application, for example arranging housing, scholarships, applying for a visa/residence permit and insurances. Please follow the instructions carefully and proceed to step 3 Student registration.

2. You cannot be directly admitted: additional action is required
If you do not have a (Dutch) diploma that grants you direct admission, we will require additional documents to allow us to decide about your application. The online application portal (uSis) will tell you this and explain how to do so. See also Part 2: Admission to Leiden University.

In our online application portal (uSis) you can finalise your application by uploading the necessary documents and answering a few questions. This portal provides an overview of what you need to do to complete your admission application. Please follow the instructions carefully and make sure to include all the items that are asked for. We strongly recommend that you complete your application well in advance of the application deadline.

All applicants with an international degree must pay a non-refundable €100 application fee, which entitles you to apply for up to three programmes/specialisations in the same academic year. We cannot start processing your application until we receive this application fee, so please pay it as soon as possible. The online application system explains how you can pay it.

Can I be exempted from paying the application fee?
You do not have to pay the application fee if:

• You are following, or have completed, a bachelor’s degree at a Dutch university (of applied sciences). 
• You have previously registered as an exchange, bachelor’s, master’s or pre-master’s student at Leiden University.
• You have previously been admitted to the same degree programme at Leiden University, but you decided to postpone your studies. This does not apply if you are applying for a different study programme or specialisation.
• You have refugee status in the Netherlands (with a residence permit for asylum).

Exemptions cannot be granted for any other reasons.

After you have submitted your application, the online application portal (uSis) will, if applicable, ask you if you want to apply for student housing, a visa/residence permit or a scholarship. Be sure to make a careful note of the relevant deadlines for these options.  

After receiving your application fee payment (if applicable), the Admissions Office will check whether all the necessary documents have been uploaded and they will inform you by email whether any further items are required. The Board of Admissions of the faculty will then:

• decide whether you meet the admission requirements for the programme; 
• strive to issue a decision on your completed application within four to six weeks of the University receiving it.

Once a decision has been reached you will be informed by email. You can view your admission status in the online application portal (uSis).

There are three possible outcomes:

1. You are admitted
   You have met all conditions for admission.
2. You are conditionally admitted
   You will be admitted, provided that you meet certain conditions. These conditions will be specified in the online application portal (uSis).
3. You are not admitted

The reason(s) for non-admission will be clearly stated in the online application portal (uSis). If you are informed that you have been (conditionally) admitted, you will have to take a number of additional steps.

If you are (conditionally) admitted, the Admissions Office will ask you to confirm whether you will join the study programme. You can do so in the online application portal (uSis).

1.    Go to ‘Application study programme’ in the online application portal (uSis).
2.    Open the ‘Confirm’ screen. Here you will see three options:

• Yes, I want to study at Leiden University.
• No, I no longer wish to study at Leiden University and hereby withdraw my application.
• Maybe later; I do not wish to start this semester/academic year. I would like to receive further instructions by email.

The sooner the better
Confirm attendance as soon as possible, to avoid missing other important deadlines and information about your study programme.

Changing your mind
You can still change your mind if necessary, either in uSis or by contacting the Admissions Office master team.  

Deadline final decision 
Do you need a student visa or residence permit? You can only request one after confirming attendance. So make sure to confirm attendance before the visa/residence permit deadline. 

If you don’t need a visa or residence permit, the latest deadline for confirming attendance is before the start date of your study programme.

Check in the online application portal (uSis) whether you need to submit any documents to meet the conditions of your admission. Instructions on how to do so will be provided in uSis.

Arrange the payment of your tuition fee before the official start date of your programme. You will receive instructions and information on the available payment methods by email.

If you are an international student, go to the Prepare your stay page of our website for information about the practical matters you should take care of before and upon arrival. These include, for example, arranging housing, scholarships, applying for a visa/residence permit and insurances.

The tuition fee for this programme is  €2,694 for the academic year 2026-2027 (statutory fee).

This tuition fee applies if this is your first master’s programme and you are a national of one of the following countries:

The fee applies for both full-time and part-time study.

The tuition fee for this programme is €22,300 for the academic year 2026-2027 (institutional tuition fee).

If you are not a national of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland, generally speaking you will have to pay an institutional tuition fee. This fee applies for both full-time and part-time study. 

However, if, on the basis of your Dutch residence permit, you are eligible for student finance from the Dutch education agency (DUO) you are entitled to pay the statutory tuition fee. Information on qualifying residence permits can be found at the DUO website.

Only applicable to EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese nationals.

The tuition fee for this programme is €17,200 for the academic year 2026-2027 (institutional tuition fee).

If you are following a second Dutch master’s programme you will generally have to pay an institutional tuition fee that is higher than the statutory tuition fee.

Exceptions
In some cases, nationals of EEA countries, Suriname or Switzerland may be permitted to pay tuition fees set at the same amount as the statutory tuition fee for their second degree programme.

• Legal transitional arrangement for second bachelor's or master's degree: student pays the statutory tuition fee when:
  • Student has already obtained a bachelor's or master's degree but is starting a programme in the field of education or healthcare for the first time.
  • The student has already started a second bachelor's or master's programme before the first programme was completed and remains registered for it uninterruptedly.
• Institutional transitional arrangement for a second bachelor's or master's degree: student pays the institutional tuition fee equal to the statutory rate) when:
  • Student has already obtained a bachelor's or master's degree, but is starting a teacher training programme.
  • After completing a bachelor's or master's degree at Leiden University, a student will subsequently start a second programme (in academic years).

Are you unsure which tuition fee applies to you? Consult our Tuition Fee Calculator.​​​​​

If the pre-master's or conversion programme has 60 study credits or more, you pay the statutory tuition fee of that college year.

Leiden University offers a wide range of scholarships for students from specific regions of the world, or for specific programmes. Leiden University also offers the Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS), a programme specifically designed for non-EU/EEA students enrolling in a master’s programme. Find out more about scholarships, grants, loans and deadlines

If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss national and under 30, you may be eligible for a loan from the Dutch government to cover your tuition fees.

• The ‘student website’ page on Leiden University’s student website contains information about practical aspects, introduction weeks and student associations. It’s also a handy source of study-related information and advice.
• For detailed information about courses, schedules and reading materials, check out the Prospectus. 

Sign up for the introduction week in Leiden (OWL) or The Hague (HOP)! It’s the best way to get acquainted with student life and the student cities of Leiden and The Hague. 

Three days after you receive a digital proof of enrolment, you will get access to your digital student card. You will receive the proof of enrolment by email, so make sure to check your inbox. You can find your digital student card in the Universiteit Leiden app. Read more about your student card here. 

As soon as you receive notification that your student registration has been finalised you should apply for a Leiden University ID card, or LU-Card. It also serves as your library card, print & copy card and access pass. Read more about applying for an LU-card here.  

Master's Open Days

During the Master's Open Days you’ll have the opportunity to learn all about Leiden University’s master's programmes. Attend presentations about your chosen programme(s) or practical matters such as admissions and housing. Get real insight into the content of your preferred master's, along with the career opportunities it will bring.

When are the next Open Days?

• 15 & 16 October 2026: Master's Online Open Days

No, as Research Master student you don't have to pick one of the specialisations in the MA History. You can pick and choose courses from each specialisation.

Yes. Leiden’s expertise is not changing. You can study colonial history within the specialisations or as part of the Research Master.

No, you don't. For more information, please visit the admission requirements page.

Admission and application questions

For information on admission requirements and the application procedure, please check our admission and application pages.

For questions about your admission and registration, please contact the Student Affairs Front Office. You can reach them by phone at 071 527 80 11 (available between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM on weekdays) or submit your question using the online contact form.

Are you seriously considering studying the Research Master History? Do you have any questions that aren't answered on this website? Then you can email your question to the study advisor.

Study Advisor
Sabine van Veelen
Email: mahistory@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Do you have a question about studying at leiden University or student life in Leiden? Do you want more information about the History master's programme? Chat with Enid for answers to your questions!