In the unique two-year international joint Master’s programme in European Politics and Society (EPS) you will be able to study at four major European research universities in four beautiful cities: Prague, Leiden, Krakow and Barcelona.

Since 2021, LUCIS invites three to four eminent scholars to give a large-scale lecture in one of the finer halls at Leiden University. These lectures bring together students, junior researchers, and senior scholars from Leiden University and beyond and are aimed at presenting cutting-edge research in…

Here you can find annual reports and evaluation reports of LUCIS from previous years.

Study Information, Online Experience

What forms does Muslim religiosity take in daily life? What is the relation between representations of Islam and Muslims by scholars and the views that exist in the ‘real world’?

How do societies move forward with sustainable, effective and efficient management of Earth's water resources?

The master’s specialisation Biology and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University bridges the gap between experts and the public by combining high quality research in biology with extensive training in science communication.

The master’s specialisation Physics and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University bridges the gap between experts and the public by combining high quality research in biology with extensive training in science communication.

In the master’s programme in Dutch Language, Culture and Society at Leiden University you will study the language and culture of the Netherlands from the Dutch Golden Age – the time of Rembrandt and Vondel – until today’s dynamic and muliticultural society.

The master’s specialisation Mathematics and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University bridges the gap between experts and the public by combining high quality research in mathematics with extensive training in science communication.

Governance is a complex puzzle of organisations, people and divergent interests. Academic research in this field furthers our knowledge of the role of public administrators, of different organisational structures, of the people who work at such organisations and of how these organisations implement…

The master’s specialisation Astronomy and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University bridges the gap between experts and the public by combining high quality research in biology with extensive training in science communication.

What's New is a lecture series organised by LUCIS and the department of Middle Eastern Studies. The lectures focus on current research on Islam and the Middle East.

Khadija Kadrouch-Outmany defended her thesis on 16 September 2014.

During the Autumn semester (September-December), the Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR) offers a minor that focuses on the study of Morocco from a social sciences and humanities perspective.

Our researchers are experts in the fields of languages, cultures, history, arts, societies and philosophy. Together we cover almost all continents and time periods. Knowledge of these disciplines contributes to a humane, safe and sustainable world.

In this paper, Sibgatullina and Abbas aim to illuminate the complex connections between the European right-wing movements and Islam and discusses how the adoption of Muslim identity may function as a politically strategic opportunity for European conservative forces.

Until 2019, LUCIS hosted one annual lecture, inviting an eminent scholar to give a large-scale lecture in one of the finer halls at Leiden University. Because of their success, we now organise four larger lectures every year, entitled LUCIS Keynotes.

The research group ‘Quantum and Society’ explores the boundary between quantum technology and science communication.

How have Muslims imagined the world before Muhammad? Stories about pre-Islamic times feature across all genres and periods of Arabic literature, and while many writers have derided the pre-Islamic past as disorderly paganism, others celebrate its memory as a time of Arab nobility and fine literature.…

LUCIS produces various video series and MOOCs to showcase the variety of expertise available at Leiden University.

Links to related organisations, institutes, journals and archives.

To complement scholarly knowledge with journalistic insights, LUCIS regularly invites journalists to share their perspective on current events.

Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society addresses the broad range of work being done across the social sciences and the humanities that takes diplomacy as its focus of investigation.

Jochem van den Boogert defended his thesis on 18 November 2015

If you have a question, there are various ways to get in touch with us.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

Become an indispensable contributor to the wellbeing of our societies in culture, policies and economies!

LUCIS is an interfaculty knowledge centre offering a multidisciplinary and comparative view on Islam and Muslim societies.

Studies on the Ottoman Jihad on the Centenary of Snouck Hurgronje's

The master’s specialisation Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and Science Communication & Society at Leiden University is a two-year programme which combines research training in chemistry with one in techniques of communication.

While many European universities, Leiden included, have a proud tradition of research into Islamic studies, a topical and thematic focus on Shiʿi Islam in all its dispensation remains a desideratum.

Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR) studies religion as human activity, in all its diversity.

Diplomatica: A Journal of Diplomacy and Society addresses the broad range of work being done across the social sciences and the humanities that takes diplomacy as its focus of investigation.

An overview of Professional Associations and Journals

How does the religious identity of islamic primary schools in the Netherlands relate to the social demands?

Astronomer and Marxist Anton Pannekoek was a remarkable figure. This book aims to study the connections between his life as a socialist theorist and as a pioneering scientist through the prism of Pannekoek's biography.

The Netherlands and Morocco: relations between the two countries go back a long way. Assistant professor Nadia Bouras is researching these relations. Of Moroccan migrant workers, she says, 'In the seventies the predominant idea was that everyone had the right to their own culture and religion. That's…

Tax scandals, like the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and the Pandora Papers, have made taxation a major topic of public debate. Learn more about this in the new minor Tax and Society: Building a Sustainable and Fair Tax System.

Islam has a rich and fascinating history, but if you talk about it in the classroom, all kinds of opinions and emotions come up. 'How do I incorporate these responses into my lessons?' The Netherlands Institute in Morocco is organising a study trip on ‘Islam and Citizenship’. Fourteen teachers from…

This research programme encourages the analysis of nascent Islam within the framework of religious studies.

Anthropology of Law in Muslim Sudan analyses the hybridity of law systems and the plurality of legal practices in rural and urban contexts of contemporary Sudan, shedding light on the complex relation between Islam and society.

To reach a larger audience beyond the academy, a number of activities in the cultural realm have been programmed over the years.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

In Women and Property Rights in Indonesian Islamic Contexts, eight scholars of Indonesian Islam examine women’s access to property in law courts and in village settings.

Combining approaches from intellectual history, philology and the study of Arabic manuscripts, this study places the Bornu scholar Muḥammad al-Wālī within his intellectual environment on the one hand, and it portrays him as someone who responded to the concerns of ordinary Muslims around him on the…

LUCIS is directed by Nathal Dessing, who is advised by a steering committee.

Did you know that Arabic was for centuries the lingua franca in an area stretching from the south of Spain to the Chinese border? And that the Middle East under Muslim rule was the world’s beating heart of trade, but also of science and scholarship?

Governance and Global Affairs, Leiden University College The Hague

At Leiden University you can study Islam and Muslim societies within two Dutch-language BA and various MA programmes and specializations.