Museum Studies looks at museum practices from archaeological, historical and anthropological perspectives.

The master's programme in Heritage and Museum Studies at Leiden University focuses on the relationships between past and present, the role of heritage in our society, and how our heritage can contribute to improving the quality of life and the environment.

A mosaic is the only image which can do justice to museums in the Caribbean. They are as diverse and plentiful as the many communities which form the cores of their organizations and the hearts of their missions. These profoundly social museums adopt participatory practices and embark on community engagement…

A look into the political history of collecting and the collections of Andean mummies in Western European museums from 1830-1930 through archaeology and paleoimaging.

Grassroots heritage initiatives and community engagement

The Museums, Collections & Society research programme is led by the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Archaeology and aims to promote collection-based research, stimulate Leiden education in this field, and raise ethical questions regarding the collections’ origins.

How do museum visitors interpret the authenticity of museum objects? How can we support visitors' meaningful interactions with real objects?

In the MA Museums and Collections at Leiden University you will learn about the ethical, political and practical dilemmas that affect museums today.

The 11th edition of Leiden Museum Night will take place on Saturday 18 May 2019. Nine museums will once again be opening their doors. As it is Leiden University’s 444th anniversary this year, we will be celebrating in style at the Academic Historical Museum.

The Museum enjoys the highest reputation internationally

Leiden and The Hague are home to many museums and Leiden University also houses large numbers of artefacts and archives. The Museums, Collections & Society research programme is led by the Leiden University Faculties of Humanities and Archaeology and aims to promote research on these collections, stimulate…

Leiden and The Hague are home to a wide range of museums and collections. There are particular stories hidden behind these collections. Where did the collections come from? What journey did they make before reaching us? What is the precise value of an artefact? Is this primarily material value or value…

Travel back in time and learn about how the University has changed over the centuries.

This study seeks to identify suitable local environments conditions for the objects displayed at the Jordanian museums using the proper methods in order to contribute to the stabilization of these objects.

The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, the Africa Museum in Berg en Dal and Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden merged in April 2014 to create the National Museum of World Cultures. Together the three museums are custodians of over 370,000 objects and almost 1,000,000 photographs drawn from across the world. Bringing…

Doctoral research on recent developments in museological practices by “critical” curators, interventionist artists, and personnel initiatives, focusing on ‘queering’ as an entrance point to broader intersectional issues; resulting in a report on the ‘Queer Baseline’ (to be launched in 2020), a popular…

Across two Museum Studies classes this spring, Dr. Laurie Kalb Cosmo will invite researchers and leading museum professionals in the Netherlands to speak about current projects that address timely subjects related to museum practice. Scholars from Leiden University’s new Research Group in Museums,…

Research on the global field of museums, heritage, commemoration, consumption and material culture

The 2011 disasters precipitated widespread concern among heritage scholars about the fate of Tohoku’s cultural properties, tangible and intangible. Damage to not only buildings and landscapes but also ‘formless’ heritage, some worried, could weaken social infrastructure and thus slow or undermine re…

This book explores the intellectual and cultural flows between Asia and Europe which occurred during – and were formative of – the political and social changes of the first half of the twentieth century.

Mariana de Campos Françoso and Amy Strecker published a new article in the International Journal of Cultural Property last week entitled 'Caribbean Collections in European Museums and the Question of Returns'.

The treasure houses of Leiden's University Library and Naturalis house wonderful historical collections with dried plants and botanical drawings. Tinde van Andel, extraordinary professor of History of botany and gardens, studies these collections.

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We give the floor to Dr Martin Berger, who joined…

Investigating the intercultural connections that shaped practices of knowledge production in colonial Dutch Brazil.

The master’s programme in Archaeology at Leiden University is the most diverse in the Netherlands. There are several regional and thematic focus areas and research is incorporated in the education programme. Join our international classroom: half of the students come from outside The Netherlands, as…

The master’s programme in Archaeology at Leiden University is the most diverse in the Netherlands. There are several regional and thematic focus areas and research is incorporated in the education programme. Join our international classroom: half of the students come from outside The Netherlands, as…

The Executive Board has appointed Pieter ter Keurs as professor of Museums, Collections, and Society as of 1 September 2019. The chair will be part of LUCAS (Faculty of Humanities) and is a collaborative effort of the Faculty of Archaeology and the Faculty of Humanities. Ter Keurs has his roots in…

Major renovations, much-discussed exhibitions and current museum related questions. ‘If you want to know what is happening in the art and museum sector in a very up-to-date way, then the 'Museum Talks' lecture series is the thing for you’, says Professor of Art History and organiser Stijn Bussels.

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

This year’s “best master’s thesis in the area of national or international history” was written by Bareez Majid, who has completed a research master's in Middle Eastern Studies. She wins the prestigious 2015 Volkskrant–IISG thesis prize for her courageous, solid research on a former “torture prison”…

PhD Defence

The Museums, Collections and Society programme, a joint initiative of the Faculties of Humanities and Archaeology, examines the dynamics and implications of the art of collecting as a universal phenomenon. The activities in the programme, which will be accommodated under LUCAS, will focus on three…

Leiden's Boerhaave Museum and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have discovered parts of a skeleton in an 18th-century manikin. The manikin was once used as a teaching aid for midwives. As far as we know, this is the only one of its kind in the world.

If you want to continue your academic education, the logical next step after obtaining your bachelor’s degree is to follow a master’s. You can do so in a university inside or outside the Netherlands, including several options right here at Leiden University!

Do you have a question about studying at Leiden University or student life in Leiden? Do you want more information about the Heritage and Museum Studies master's specialisation? Chat with a current student for answers to your questions!​​​​​​​

The master’s programme in Book and Digital Media Studies introduces you to the history of the written and printed word, and to theories and practices of publishing as well as textual media.

Museum Boerhaave amplifies its collection with original letters and pictures from Einstein and Lorentz. Professor by special appointment Dirk van Delft, also director of Boerhaave, accepted the documents on 12 March.

Conference

This research cluster centres on regional, national, and global intersections between a variety of artistic and cultural expressions and their role in society from 1800 onwards.