The philosophers at the Institute of Philosophy develop new perspectives and insights not only on fundamental philosophical questions, but also on topical and interdisciplinary themes such as secrecy, migration, climate change, the politics of truth and intercultural relations.

To be eligible for Philosophy in World Traditions at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

PhD defence

In 2018 the Central Asia Initiative at Leiden University offers several fieldwork grants to a max of 7,500 EUR. Only MA or MA Research students enrolled at Leiden University are eligible. The fieldwork should be carried out in one of the Central Asia countries by the end of 2018. The money can be used…

In the Bachelor's programme Japanese Studies at Leiden University you will study the rich history and age-old traditions of Japan. Discover the fascinating country of haiku, samurai, geishas and manga.

People in Asia increasingly feel the need for a strong identity. This is the consequence of developments such as globalisation and the realisation that Asian countries such as China and India are becoming new world powers. Professor Hilde De Weerdt studies how political ideas and national identity spread…

An Investigation into the role of copper-alloy craft production in the early medieval economy of northwest Europe.

This project explores the religious lives of a Surinamese Hindu community practicing in Amsterdam at the Sri Radha Krishna Mandir from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Nietzsche has often been considered a thinker independent of the philosophy of his time and radically opposed to the concerns and concepts of modern and contemporary philosophy. But there is an increasing awareness of his sophisticated engagements with his contemporaries and of his philosophy's rich…

This volume, featuring sixteen contributions from leading Roman historians and archaeologists, sheds new light on approaches to the economic history of urban craftsmen and traders in the Roman world, with a particular emphasis on the imperial period.

A selected group of unpublished amulets from various collections in the world will be studied and edited.

This project analyzes to what extent hodegetical textbooks relied on each other in warning their readers against vicious habits, how much continuity their catalogs of vice displayed, and to what extent vices that persisted throughout the 18th and 19th centuries were associated with easy-to-remember…

On 23 October 2019, Yoram Stein defended his thesis 'Spinoza's Theory of Religion: The Importance of Religion in Spinoza's Thought and Its Implications for State and Society'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. P.B. Cliteur and Prof. A.A.M. Kinneging.

Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present

This is the first reference work to describe the history of embroidery throughout Central Asia, the Iranian Plateau and the Indian Subcontinent from the medieval period through to the present. It offers an authoritative guide to all the major embroidery traditions of the region and a detailed examination…

Yeonhwa Jeon defended her thesis on 6 July 2017.

The Darién region of Panama is the only land bridge connecting North, Central and South America. Nowadays home to descendants of African enslaved peoples, Indigenous peoples (Emberá, Wounaan, and Guna), and mestizos, Darién has been and still is fundamental to connectivity, cultural interchange, and…

TruLife applies lessons from the study of long-term urban traditions, exemplified by pre-Columbian Maya tropical cities, to present-day sustainable urban design.

Subproject of

Systems with local constraints is a new finding in recent researches on complex systems. The heterogeneous spatial interactions and the temporal dependencies among those numerous units make it difficult to describe by traditional statistical physics.

On 9 January 2019, Willem van der Muur defended his thesis 'Land rights and the forces of adat in democratizing Indonesia'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.W. Bedner and Prof. dr. J.M. Otto.

This project studies the theory and practice of moral education in the (Neo)Platonic tradition.

Heloisa’s doctoral research examines classical music performance from a curatorial perspective, reflecting upon and challenging the traditional configuration of performance environments.

How can historically-informed performers step outside the confines of the work-concept?

On Thursday 11 May 2017, Qiang Yu defended his doctoral thesis ‘Market Power and Competition Law in the Software Industry’. The supervisors of the research are Professor T.R. Ottervanger and Professor S.C.G. Van den Bogaert. A brief summary of his thesis is provided below.

Maps play a crucial role in our view of the past, yet few historians are sufficiently skilled in cartography to genuinely integrate maps into their research. This project breaks down the long-standing barriers between history and cartography by inviting emerging scholars (ResMA) to reflect on maps as…

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

Conference, Workshop

If you really want to understand East Asia, you can't overlook Korea. At the Bachelor's programme Korean Studies at Leiden University you will discover a fascinating mix of age-old traditions and modern customs through intensively studying culture, history and language.

In November we went to a real, biodynamic farm (Kwekerij Eko Logisch) and listened to David, a farmer who believes you can limit harm to the environment while still growing heaps of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. On the two-hour visit, we were shown around the farm and even encountered some animals.

Are you interested in working with Leiden University or Leiden University Medical Centre?

The LUMC has a longstanding tradition researching the role of the immune system in infectious diseases, transplantation and auto-immune diseases.

Welcome to the Leiden University Centre for Islamic Thought and History. The initiatives and projects undertaken here are under the auspices of the Leiden University Centre for Intercultural Philosophy. As a centre, we aim to promote the study of Arabic and Islamic thought and history, in all its different…

We investigate reaction systems, a novel computational model gleaned from the biochemical reactions taking place in living cells and information processing in nature.

LIAS aims to advance the globally conscious vision of area studies, both within and outside the academic community. Focusing on Asia and the Middle East, the institute is a meeting place of multiple fields of inquiry, theories and methods, historical periods, and areas.

LUCIS’ research on Islam and society is guided by three overarching themes, which are fundamental to our research programmes.

A large, 64+ person space with multiple working zones in the Schouwburgstraat building, Den Haag. Tables fold and wheel, and chairs are also on wheels. There are multiple movable whiteboards which allow group working in various sizes. Windows and tables are additional writing surfaces. There is also…

International organisations face the challenge of balancing conflicting norms. For instance the norms governing traditional UN peacekeeping missions and the the norm of international criminal accountability. Political scientists Tom Buitelaar (Leiden University) and Gisela Hirschmann (Leiden University)…

What is nationalism and how can we study it from a historical perspective? Writing the History of Nationalism answers this question by examining eleven historical approaches to nationalism studies in theory and practice.

The Leiden Institute for Philosophy has a unique profile in the Low Countries and is one of few of its kind worldwide. It takes a global and comparative perspective of philosophy, whereas most philosophy programs restrict themselves to European and Anglo-American philosophical traditions rooted in Greek…

The programme focuses on the medieval dynamics of intellectual life in the Rhineland and the Low countries, nowadays divided over five countries (Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) but one cultural region in the later Middle Ages.

Mavlyuda Yusupova will be Central Asia Visiting Professor in November 2018. She will deliver two guest lectures for Leiden MA and PhD students.

Leiden University has long history of research and teaching on Asian traditions, with a focus on language and philology, history, religious studies, philosophy, law and literature. Leiden has in the last thirty years also built up an equally impressive strength in the study of modern and contemporary…

The goal of this research is to examine the emergence of new types of female representation in nineteenth-century ukiyo-e (woodblock prints from early modern Japan) as these images relate to the ideals of femininity of the time.

The Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy (LCCP) is a research community based at the Institute for Philosophy of Leiden University, devoted to research in all areas of continental philosophy. LCCP is envisaged as an open space for stimulating discussion, critical debate and inventive co-operation…

The artefacts that still remain from the traditional culture of the indigenous Yukon, Canada, are spread over dozens of museums throughout the world. Yukon Indian Ukjese van Kampen carried out research to bring this culture to light. This is the subject of his dissertation entitled ‘The history of Yukon…

The one-year, English-taught master's programme in English Literature and Culture focuses on the interaction between literature and key political and social issues such as identity, migration, memory and the metropolis, but also between literature and the literary tradition, and literature and film.

The two-year master’s programme in Philosophy at Leiden University investigates the fundamental principles underpinning human knowledge while cultivating your capacity for reason and sound argumentation.