The more opportunities a child has to learn and develop, the stronger his or her future position in society. Leiden University investigates how the brain picks up information, and how learning processes can be influenced positively.

Parents often see that when their sweet, socially-minded children become adolescents they change into selfish 'hotel guests' who think only of themselves. But adolescents become increasingly better at weighing up one another's interests. This discovery has been made by development psychologist Rosa…

At the FSW New Year’s reception 2020, the Faculty honoured prize winners Claire Vergerio, Shirley van der Maarel and Camila Espinoza Chaparro raised a glass to a new year with energetic education and research in an open and trust-based academic culture together with Dean Paul Wouters and his FGGA counterpart…

She bridges the gap between research and practice, has excellent research skills and is pleasant to work with: these words of praise were lavished on Sabine van der Asdonk (29) when she won the Gratama Science Prize 2021 in June. In this interview she explains more about her research into vulnerable…

When a pupil applies for a place at a school and is admitted, a legal relationship is established between them. The exact nature of this legal relationship however is unclear. The law is silent in this area and case law provides no definite answer either. According to PhD Candidate Stijn Voskamp, contract…

The documentary ‘De Stem van het Kind’ (The Voice of the Child) gives an impressive insight into the work of juvenile court judges. Documentary maker Pieter Fleury, Professor of Children’s Rights Ton Liefaard and juvenile court judge Johan Visser worked together for the past seven years to make the…

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A master in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

Bachelor, Master

Leiden University provides ambitious students with the most recent and innovative areas of knowledge, and offers them the freedom to develop their own area of expertise.

The CADS Research Cluster Diversity aims to further theoretical and methodological debates on the classifications of human difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, age, ability, religion, level of development, time, etc., and the way these classifications organize social life.

Plant researchers have been wrong for years about how plant growth and development are regulated, as Yao Xiao pointed out during his PhD project. They overlooked the role of a protein that turns out to be essential, just as it is in the development of animals and yeasts. In plants, it regulates the…

What is the role of stress and stress-related hormones in emotion regulation?

Welcome from the Rector Magnificus of Leiden University

In the past few years, an increasing number of multinationals have made the news for large-scale use of tax planning opportunities. The Organisation for Economic Collaboration and Development (OECD) and the European Commission are studying these cases closely and investigating whether the current concepts…

The Terrorism Research Initiative (TRI) seeks to support the international community of terrorism researchers and analysts by facilitating coordination and engaging in cooperative projects. The globally-circulated online journal Perspectives on Terrorism has 9,400 regular subscribers and is viewed…

All coronavirus updates published in December 2021.

What is the origin of educational ideas, e.g., the idea that intervention in infancy has long-lasting effects on development.

In a longitudinal study, Eichengreen and colleagues explored how the certain aspects of emotional intelligence impact the development of adolescents’ mental health, thus identifying potential warning signs and targets for intervention programs. Despite a higher risk for mental health issues and lesser…

This project investigates generational dialogues about the legacies and memories of labour, student and communist movements in the Arab world. The research focuses in particular on video and installation art by young makers born in the 1980s that address the generation of their parents and the events…

Positive friendships are characterised by understanding mutual wishes and intentions, respect for each other’s boundaries and pro-social behaviour. Qualities that might be more challenging for autistic adolescents.

Leiden University’s Master of Laws in International Children’s Rights (LL.M.) looks at human rights laws for children from a comparative perspective.

Brenda M.S. da Silva and colleagues designed and validated the “Moral Emotions Questionnaire” (MEQ) for identifying three major moral emotions in preschoolers – allowing to separately measure guilt, shame and pride at the youngest ages.

The scientists at Babylab Leiden ensure that important knowledge is gathered about how babies learn to understand the world around them. Meet our Babylab Team and get to know our researchers!

Hitchhiking spores, bacteria propelling themselves towards nutrients and a microbial predator with possibly a sword. Bachelor’s student Flory Olsthoorn studied microbial interactions. ‘The microbial world is rich and varied in its interactions. Understanding them is crucial to expand our knowledge of…

In a podcast of the Netherlands Internet Governance Forum (NL GF) and the Safer Internet Centre Nederland, Simone van der Hof, Professor of Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University and Thijs Hannema, a lawyer at Kennedy van der Laan, discuss online privacy of children.

Shell Nigeria is liable for damages from oil spills in Nigeria. The Hague Court of Appeals gave this ruling in a case that was brought by four Nigerian farmers.

Commissioned by ‘Politie en Wetenscahp’, Pauline Aarten, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, and Marieke Liem, Associate Professor at Leiden University, published their new research last week. The study

May 12 is Mother's Day in many countries. Becoming a mother is no mean feat: brain scientist Elseline Hoekzema has shown that a woman's brain changes drastically during pregnancy. She explained how in TV show De Kennis van Nu.

On Tuesday 26th September Jessica Hill will defend her thesis ‘On the road to adulthood. Delinquency and desistance in Dutch emerging adults’. The defence will begin at 13.45 hrs, in the Academy Building of Leiden University, Rapenburg 73. The supervisor is Professor Arjan Blokland.

A pregnant woman from Drenthe will lose her baby directly after it is born. A juvenile court has already ruled during her pregnancy that the infant will go to a foster family. The court believes that the child would risk physical neglect.

In its broadcast of 28 April 2019, TV programme Medialogica (Human) looked at television programme Ontvoerd (Abducted). Leiden professors Mariëlle Bruning and Jannemieke Ouwerkerk contributed to the broadcast.

Thirty bright young schoolchildren from the Schilderswijk district of The Hague came to Leiden on Saturday. They attended a lecture by Judi Mesman, Professor of Diversity in Upbringing and Development. The aim: to boost their self-confidence.

When abusive mothers hear crying babies, their autonomous nervous system does not react strongly enough. This is the conclusion reached by Sophie Reijman, PhD candidate in Child and Family Studies, in her research. This finding may provide leads for reducing child abuse. Defence on 16 December.

Research by Leiden University, LUMC and the Public Health Department (GGD Haaglanden) in The Hague has shown that over a quarter of the families in the city who took part in the survey experience some form of food insecurity. Some families have too little money to make a healthy meal or are worried…

School pupils are all different, which is why there is differentiation in our education system. This can be seen in pre-university education and lower vocational schools, and also takes the form of ability groups in junior schools. But according to Professor by Special Appointment Eddie Denessen, differentiation…

Anke Klein and her team have devised a fun and useful app to help anxious children. In the app, children can upload a video of themselves showing, for example, something that went well for them and share their success with parents, granny or grandad. Developmental psychologist Klein talks about the…

The rights of children born through international commercial surrogacy are at risk of being overlooked or even violated. Lawmakers, judges and commissioning parents should be more aware of this and take protective action throughout the surrogacy procedure. This is the conclusion reached by lawyer and…

Shuai Guo, PhD candidate at Company Law and the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law, has been awarded the Silver Medal in the competition of the International Insolvency Institute (III) 2018 Prize in International Insolvency Studies. III is a non-profit, limited membership organization dedicated to advancing…

This publication examines the issues regarding the cross-border resolution of financial institutions, focusing on the power allocation between the home and host resolution authorities, i.e. the jurisdiction rule.

In Europe, the Netherlands is in middle position when it comes to the placement of children in care. The consequences of such a placement in care are often disastrous, says Mariëlle Bruning.

It is not possible for juvenile courts to properly assess whether it is necessary to place a child in care. This is evident from a fact sheet that has been prepared by legal scholars from Leiden University, commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives and others.

Seven Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

On 2 March 2020 the report Kind in proces: van communicatie naar effectieve participatie (Children in proceedings: from communication towards effective participation) was published. This multidisciplinary research report is the outcome of an inspiring collaboration between various departments at Leiden…

A master's degree in Psychology at Leiden University combines theoretical knowledge with academic and professional skills, making you an attractive candidate for many employers.

A research into homicide.

Rembrandt van Rijn was enrolled as a student of the arts at Leiden University, but he was more interested in becoming a painter. What traces now remain of this famous phantom student?