The study adviser cannot answer detailed questions about admissibility because that depends on the assessment of your previous education. The Board of Admissions will base their decision on your application as a whole. Therefore, the definitive answer to your application can only come from them.

Please review the information offered on the admission requirements page and this FAQ carefully. If you have any substantial questions left, feel free to reach out to the study adviser.

If your bachelor’s degree is not related to History, it is up to the Board of Admission to decide on your admissibility. Do note that you may still be eligible for admission. To indicate if you meet the diploma and language requirements, please find our admission requirements here. Make sure to include all the history-related courses you have completed and add, if possible, relevant papers or a thesis to your application file.

If the Board of Admissions believes there are deficiencies in your education background that can still be bridged by completing a series of courses in History, they will offer you a pre-master programme. Students who have been offered a pre-master programme will find the procedure for the registration stated in their admission decision. In most cases, the pre-master programme is offered to students who hold a bachelor’s degree in History, from a Dutch university of applied sciences (tweedegraads HBO).

If no pre-master programme is mentioned in your admission decision, it is not possible to do a pre-master.

Students with a bachelor’s degree from a university of applied sciences in History, equivalent to the level of a Dutch HBO bachelor’s degree (lower secondary education certificate, tweedegraads) can expect, if considered eligible, to be assigned the full 45 EC pre-master programme.

If you completed the bachelor Geschiedenis in Leiden, you are directly eligible for admission. You do need to apply in Studielink, but you don’t need to submit an application for admission (toelatingsverzoek). If you accidentally submitted an application for admission (toelatingsverzoek), please contact the Student Affairs Front Office.

If you are still doubting which MA History specialisation you want to study, it is possible to apply for more specialisations simultaneously in Studielink. Do take into account that these specialisations belong to the same MA degree in History. Once the E-Prospectus is published in June, you can take a closer look at the courses on offer per specialisation and make a final decision. It helps to explore the research areas of our lecturers on the staff page per specialisation.

If you are studying the MA History and you want to switch to the Research MA History, there are a number of conditions to meet. For further information, please contact the study adviser.

Yes, you can apply for the programme already. If you are admitted in that case, it will be on condition that you hand in your final documents such as language tests and/or your bachelor’s degree before the start of the programme in September or February. Do note that there are different (earlier) deadlines for final documents if you are a student who requires a student VISA. Please enquire with the Student Affairs Front Office.

Please look carefully at the language test requirements for information of the exemption group. If you’re not part of that list, you will be expected to hand in a language test. For further questions you can contact the Student Affairs Front Office.

No, the application deadline is a hard deadline. Therefore, your application after that deadline will only be for a future intake.

The MA Ancient History; Empires, Societies and Cultures is part of the MA History. If you want to apply to this programme, please first select the MA History (CROHO code: 66034) in Studielink and then select the specialisation: Ancient History.

When you apply for the MA History in Studielink, you may be asked to submit a motivation letter. Do note that this is not necessary when applying for the MA History. However, if this is still requested from you, we advise you to upload a document containing the text ‘non applicable’ to make sure you can continue your application. Here you can find all the documents that you need to hand in during your application.

Please reach out to the Student Affairs Front Office.

No, you don’t need to have knowledge of Latin and (ancient) Greek if you want to study this programme.

No, it is not possible to do language or bachelor courses as part of the MA History programme.

Yes. Students are requested to seek for an own internship place. Yet, the lecturers of the Ancient History programme can also advise you on possible internship places. The secretary of the Ancient History programme can help you here: l.claes@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Did you find an internship position, then inform the Leiden Career Service by mail: careerservice@hum.leidenuniv.nl, and start looking for an internship ancient History supervisor – preferably someone with the most knowledge on the topic of your internship. The procedure for arranging an internship is being explained on the website of Career Service: Internships and research in the Netherlands - Leiden University

Regular internships can be implemented in your educational programme, if the Board of Examiners has ratified your internship place and aims.

Our programme offers two intakes per academic year. For the Ancient History specialisation, the February-intake has a limited offer on courses, also see the E-Prospectus. If you would like to discuss your study programme, please contact the study adviser.

If there are personal circumstances that have an impact on your studies, it is important to discuss them with the study adviser. Please send an e-mail to mahistory@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

The team of Greek and Roman history works hard to organise several guest lectures, workshops, and seminars throughout the academic year. Additionally, the academic year is concluded with an optional study trip exploring the Roman past in the Low Countries. Previous destinations were fort Hoge Woerd, Trier, Xanten, and Nijmegen.

Yes. The programme is built around small-group seminars rather than large lectures. As such, regular attendance is expected to partake in the discussion of course-relevant material.

The specialization generally consists of seminar-style courses. Consequently, the most common forms of examination are papers, presentations, participation, and large research assignments.

Yes. You can explore the E-Prospectus for possible elective courses. If you would like to discuss your study programme, please contact the study adviser.