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{{Short description|Public university in the Netherlands}}{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Leiden University
 | native_name            = {{lang|nl|Universiteit Leiden}}
 | image                  = Leiden University seal.svg
 | image_size             = 175px
 | motto                  = {{native phrase|la|Libertatis Praesidium}}
 | motto_lang             = la
 | mottoeng               = Bastion of Freedom
 | established            = {{start date and age|1575|2|8|df=yes}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://historiek.net/de-tachtigjarige-oorlog-en-het-ontstaan-van-universiteiten-in-de-noordelijke-nederlanden/69044/ |title=De Tachtigjarige Oorlog en het ontstaan van universiteiten in de Noordelijke Nederlanden |language=nl |website=Historiek |date=16 May 2017 |access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref>
 | founder                = [[William the Silent|William of Orange]]
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]] [[research university]]
 | campus                 = Urban and College town
 | language               = [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[English language|English]]<br>(Additional languages for language programmes)
 | academic_affiliation   = [[Transatlantic Policy Consortium|TPC]]
 | budget                 = [[Euro|€]]777 million (2021)
 | president              = [[:nl:Annetje Ottow|Annetje Ottow]]
 | rector                 = [[Hester Bijl]]
 | faculty                = 1,862 (2021)<ref name="Facts and figures">{{Cite web|url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/about-us/facts-and-figures|title=Facts and figures |publisher=Leiden University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330203044/https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/about-us/facts-and-figures|archive-date=
2023-03-30|access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref>
 | administrative_staff   = 1,573
 | students               = 37,136 (2021–22)<ref name="allecijfers">{{Cite web|url=https://allecijfers.nl/wo/universiteit-leiden/|title=Universiteit Leiden in cijfers en grafieken |publisher=AlleCijfers.nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329165908/http://allecijfers.nl/wo/universiteit-leiden/|archive-date=
2023-03-29|access-date=2023-12-28}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 24,496 (2021–22)<ref name="allecijfers" />
 | postgrad               = 12,395 (2021–22)<ref name="allecijfers" />
 | doctoral               = 886 (2021)<ref name="Facts and figures" />
 | city                   = [[Leiden]] and [[The Hague]]
 | province               = [[South Holland]]
 | country                = [[Netherlands]]
 | latin_name             = Academia Lugduno-Batava<ref>{{Cite book |title=Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney |date=1903 |publisher=William Brooks and Co. |isbn=9781112213304 |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]] |language=en-AU }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Records of The Tercentenary Festival of Dublin University |date=1894 |publisher=[[Hodges Figgis|Hodges, Figgis & Co.]] |isbn=9781355361602 |publication-place=[[Dublin]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]] |language=en-IE }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Actes du Jubilé de 1909 |date=1910 |publisher=Georg Keck & Cie |isbn=9781360078335 |publication-place=[[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] |language=fr-CH }}</ref>
 | former_names           = Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
 | website                = [https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en universiteitleiden.nl]
 | colours                = {{color box|#001158}} [[Dark blue (color)|University blue]]<ref name="Leiden University Colors">{{cite web |url=https://huisstijl.universiteitleiden.nl/huisstijl/kleuren#hoofdkleur |title=Huisstijl: Kleuren - Hoofdkleur |access-date=9 October 2025 |language=nl |trans-title=Corporate Identity: Colors - Main Color}}</ref>
 | logo                   = UniversiteitLeidenLogo.svg
 | pushpin_map            = Netherlands#Europe
 | coordinates            = {{WikidataCoord|display=it}}
}}

'''Leiden University''' (abbreviated as '''''LEI''''';<ref>[https://www.medewerkers.universiteitleiden.nl/communicatie-en-marketing/richtlijnen-en-ondersteuning/schrijven-en-vertalen/schrijfwijzer/rechtsgeleerdheid#Afkortingen Schrijfrichtlijnen: Afkortingen] – website of Leiden University</ref><ref>[https://www.rathenau.nl/sites/default/files/Acronyms%20related%20to%20the%20Dutch%20universities.pdf Acronyms related to the Dutch universities] – website of [[Rathenau Institute]]</ref> {{langx|nl|Universiteit Leiden}}) is a [[Public university|public]] [[research university]] in [[Leiden]], Netherlands. Established in 1575 by [[William the Silent|William, Prince of Orange]] as a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] institution,<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Efwrjmp9iwC&dq=leiden+university+protestant&pg=PA84 | isbn=9789051833638 | title=The Great Emporium: The Low Countries as a Cultural Crossroads in the Renaissance and the Eighteenth Century | year=1992 | publisher=Rodopi }}</ref> it holds the distinction of being the oldest surviving university in the Netherlands.{{Efn|During the period of the [[Habsburg Netherlands]], which included the present-day Netherlands, the [[Old University of Leuven|University of Leuven]] (1425–1797) was the oldest university. After the separation of the northern Netherlands, the University of Leiden (founded in 1575) became the first and oldest university in the [[Dutch Republic]] and later in its successor, the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]].}}

During the [[Dutch Golden Age]] scholars from around Europe were attracted to the [[Dutch Republic]] for its climate of intellectual tolerance. Individuals such as [[René Descartes]], [[Rembrandt]], [[Christiaan Huygens]], [[Hugo Grotius]], [[Benedictus Spinoza]], and later [[Baron d'Holbach]] were active in Leiden and environs.

The university has seven academic faculties and over fifty subject departments, housing more than forty national and international research institutes. Its historical primary campus consists of several buildings spread over Leiden, while a second campus located in [[The Hague]] houses a liberal arts college ([[Leiden University College The Hague]]) and several of its faculties. It is a member of the [[Coimbra Group]], the [[Europaeum]], and a founding member of the [[League of European Research Universities]].

The university has produced twenty-six [[Spinoza Prize|Spinoza Prize Laureates]] and sixteen [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel Laureates]]. Members of the [[House of Orange-Nassau|Dutch royal family]] such as Queen [[Juliana of the Netherlands|Juliana]], Queen [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Beatrix]], and King [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|Willem-Alexander]] are alumni, and ten [[Prime minister|prime ministers]] of the Netherlands including [[Mark Rutte]]. US president [[John Quincy Adams]] also studied at the university.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-07 |title=John Quincy Adams {{!}} Biography, Facts, & Presidency |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Quincy-Adams |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

==History==

===Foundation and early history===
[[File:William_the_Silent_16th_century.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[William the Silent]], founder of the university, in the 16th century.]]
[[File:Academia Leidensis (cropped).jpg|thumb|The academy building of Leiden University in 1614.]]
[[File:Anatomical theatre Leiden.jpg|thumb|[[Leiden anatomical theatre]]]]

In 1575, the emerging [[Dutch Republic]] did not have universities in its northern heartland. The only other university in the [[Habsburg Netherlands]] was the [[Old University of Leuven|University of Leuven]], located in an area under firm Spanish control. [[William the Silent|Prince William]] founded Leiden University to give the Northern Netherlands an institution that could educate its citizens in religion and provide the government with educated men in all fields.<ref name="WOI">{{cite book| last = Otterspeer| first = Willem| title = Groepsportret met Dame: de Leidse universiteit, 1575–1672| year = 2000| isbn = 978-90-351-2240-6 |publisher=[[Uitgeverij Prometheus|Bert Bakker]] }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Aldersey-Williams |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7n7VDwAAQBAJ |title=Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the Making of Science in Europe |date=2020-09-03 |publisher=[[Pan Macmillan]] |isbn=978-1-5098-9332-4 |language=en}}</ref> It is said the choice fell on Leiden as a reward for the heroic [[Siege of Leiden|defence of Leiden]] against Spanish attacks in 1574. The name of [[Philip II of Spain]], William's adversary, appears on the official foundation certificate as he was still the ''de jure'' [[count of Holland]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foundation documents |url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/dossiers/history-of-leiden-university/foundation-documents |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Leiden University |language=en}}</ref> Philip II forbade all his subjects to study in Leiden. 

The new institution was initially located in the Convent of Saint Barbara, then moved to the Faliede Bagijn Church in 1577 (now the location of the university museum) and in 1581 to a former convent of [[Cistercian nuns]], a site which it still occupies, though the original building was destroyed by a fire in 1616.<ref name="WOI" />

Leiden University's reputation was created in part by the presence of scholars such as [[Justus Lipsius]], [[Joseph Justus Scaliger|Joseph Scaliger]], [[Franciscus Gomarus]], [[Grotius|Hugo Grotius]], [[Jacobus Arminius]], [[Daniel Heinsius]], and [[Gerhard Johann Vossius]] within fifty years of its founding. By the 1640s, over five hundred students were enrolled from all across Europe, making it the largest Protestant university.<ref>{{cite book |first=H. |last=Schnappen |title=Niederländische Universitäten und deutsches Geistesleben von der Gründung der Universität Leiden bis ins späte 18. Jahrhundert |location=Münster |year=1960 |series=Neue Münstersche Beiträge zur Geschichtsforschung |volume=6 |oclc=3783378 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[Baruch Spinoza]] discovered Descartes's work partly at Leiden University,<ref>{{Citation |last=Kambouchner |first=Denis |title=Spinoza and Descartes |date=2021-04-15 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119538349.ch6 |work=A Companion to Spinoza |pages=56–67 |editor-last=Melamed |editor-first=Yitzhak Y. |access-date=2023-07-07 |edition=1 |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781119538349.ch6 |isbn=978-1-119-53834-9|s2cid=241336237 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> which he visited for periods of study multiple times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Spinoza, Benedict De {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/spinoza/ |access-date=2023-07-07 |language=en-US}}</ref> In the 18th century, [[Jakob Gronovius|Jacobus Gronovius]], [[Herman Boerhaave]], [[Tiberius Hemsterhuis]], and [[David Ruhnken]] were among the renowned academics of the university.

In 1896, the [[Zeeman effect]] was discovered at the institution by [[Pieter Zeeman]] and shortly afterward explained by [[Hendrik Antoon Lorentz]].<ref>A.J. Kox, [https://akox.nl/wp-content/uploads/EPJPaper.pdf ''The discovery of the electron: II. The Zeeman effect''], Eur. J. Phys. '''18''', 139–144 (1997).</ref> In the world's first university low-temperature laboratory, Professor [[Heike Kamerlingh Onnes]] achieved a temperature only one degree above [[absolute zero]]. In 1908, he was also the first to succeed in [[Liquid helium|liquifying helium]] and has played a role in the discovery of [[superconductivity]] in metals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1913 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1913/onnes/facts/ |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=[[NobelPrize.org]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Modern day===
[[File:Leiden 1610.jpg|thumb|Leiden University Library in 1610]]

The [[Leiden University Library|University Library]] has more than 5.2 million books and fifty thousand journals. It also has collections of Western and Oriental [[Manuscript|manuscripts]], printed books, archives, prints, drawings, photographs, maps, and [[Atlas|atlases]]. It houses the world's largest collections on [[Indonesia]] and [[Caribbean|the Caribbean]], collected by the [[Leiden University Library#Scaliger Institute|Scaliger Institute]] which studies various aspects of knowledge transmissions and ideas through texts and images from antiquity to the present day. In 2005, the manuscript of [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]] on the quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas (the [[Einstein-Bose condensation]]) was discovered in one of Leiden's libraries.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4170212.stm BBC NEWS | Europe | Student unearths Einstein paper<!-- Bot generated title -->].</ref>

==== Partnerships ====
In 2012 Leiden entered into a strategic alliance with [[Delft University of Technology]] and [[Erasmus University Rotterdam]] for the universities to increase the quality of their research and teaching. The university is also the unofficial home of the [[Bilderberg Group]], a meeting of high-level political and economic figures from North America and Europe. Leiden University partnered with [[Duke University School of Law]] starting in 2017 to run a joint summer program on global and transnational law from its Hague campus.

==Location and buildings==
[[File:Leiden - Rapenburg - universiteit.JPG|thumb|The academy building of Leiden University in modern days]]

The university has no central campus; its buildings are spread over the city. Some buildings, like the Gravensteen, are very old, while Van Steenis, Lipsius and Gorlaeus are much more modern.<ref>[http://media.leidenuniv.nl/legacy/vier-eeuwen-geschiedenis-in-steen.pdf ''Vier eeuwen geschiedenis in steen. Universitaire gebouwen in Leiden''. Leiden, 2005] {{ISBN|90-9018052-4}}</ref>

Among the institutions affiliated with the university are The [[KITLV]] or Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (founded in 1851), the Leiden Observatory 1633; the Natural History Museum, with a very complete anatomical cabinet; the ''[[Rijksmuseum van Oudheden]]'' (National Museum of Antiquities), with especially valuable [[Egypt]]ian and Indian departments; a museum of Dutch antiquities from the earliest times; and three ethnographical museums, of which the nucleus was [[Philipp Franz von Siebold]]'s Japanese collections. The [[anatomy|anatomical]] and [[pathology|pathological]] laboratories of the university are modern, and the museums of geology and [[mineralogy]] have been restored.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

The [[Hortus Botanicus Leiden|Hortus Botanicus]] (botanical garden) is the oldest [[botanical garden]] in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world. Plants from all over the world have been carefully cultivated here by experts for more than four centuries. The Clusius garden (a reconstruction), the 18th-century Orangery with its monumental tub plants, the rare collection of historical trees hundreds of years old, the Japanese [[Siebold Memorial Museum]] symbolising the historical link between East and West, the tropical greenhouses with their world-class plant collections, and the central square and Conservatory exhibiting exotic plants from South Africa and southern Europe.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

===''Zweetkamertje''===
[[File:Zweetkamertje4.JPG|thumb]]

The "Sweat Room" ({{langx|nl|Zweetkamertje}}) is a small chamber in the university's Academy Building, traditionally used by doctoral candidates awaiting the results of their PhD defenses. The room is renowned for its walls covered with the signatures of graduates, including notable figures such as [[Winston Churchill]], [[Nelson Mandela]], and members of the Dutch royal family.<ref>{{cite web
 | title = Leiden Classics: the ‘Sweat Room’
 | website = Leiden University
 | date = 19 October 2017
 | url = https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2017/10/leiden-classics-the-%E2%80%98sweat-room%E2%80%99
 | access-date = 3 May 2025
}}</ref> Originally serving as a meeting room for university curators, the Zweetkamertje became associated with doctoral examinations in the 18th century. Candidates would wait in this room before defending their dissertations, often experiencing considerable anxiety, hence the name. Over time, it became customary for successful candidates to inscribe their names on the walls as a rite of passage.<ref>{{cite web
 | title = Zweetkamertje (Sweat Room)
 | website = Atlas Obscura
 | url = https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zweetkamertje-sweat-room
 | access-date = 3 May 2025
}}</ref> The tradition of signing the Zweetkamertje walls is a cherished aspect of Leiden University's heritage. The room features thousands of signatures, including those of honorary doctorate recipients. In 2014, a crowdfunding campaign successfully raised funds to restore the room's deteriorating plaster, ensuring the preservation of this unique historical record.<ref>{{cite web
 | title = Save your signature
 | website = Steun Leiden
 | url = https://www.steunleiden.nl/project/het-zweetkamertje-is-gered?locale=en
 | access-date = 3 May 2025
}}</ref>

===Campus The Hague===
[[File:Wijnhaven Lecture Hall.jpg|thumb|220x220px|A lecture hall in the Leiden University campus in the Hague.]]

In 1998, the university has expanded to The Hague which has become home to [[Campus The Hague]], with six of the seven faculties represented and exclusive home to the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, International Studies and [[Leiden University College The Hague]], a liberal arts and sciences college. Here, the university offers academic courses in the fields of law, political science, public administration and medicine. It occupied a number of buildings in the centre of the city, including a college building at [[Lange Voorhout]], before moving into the new 'Wijnhaven' building on Turfmarkt in 2016.

The Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs was established in 2011, together with the University College, and one of the largest programmes of the Faculty of Humanities, International Studies.

Since 2017 [[Leiden University Medical Center]] also has a branch at Campus The Hague.

==Organisation==
[[File:Leiden163.JPG|thumb|right|The Leiden University Medical Centre]]
[[File:Leiden92.JPG|thumb|right|Entrance of Gorlaeus building of the Faculty of Science]]
[[File:Huygens and Oort Buildings.JPG|thumb|right|Huygens and Oort Buildings of the Faculty of Science]]
[[File:Leiden University - Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium 7007.jpg|thumb|right|Faculty of Law, in the building that once housed Heike Kamerlingh Onnes' laboratory]]

The university is divided into seven major faculties which offer approximately 50 undergraduate degree programmes and over 100 graduate programmes.

* [[Archaeology]]
* [[Campus The Hague|Governance and Global Affairs]]
* [[Humanities]]
* [[Leiden Law School|Law]]
* Medicine / [[Leiden University Medical Centre|LUMC]]
* Science
* Social and [[Behavioural sciences]]

==Academic profile==

===Undergraduate studies===
Most of the university's departments offer their degree programme(s). Undergraduate programmes lead to either a B.A., B.Sc., or [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]] degree. Other degrees, such as the [[Bachelor of Engineering|B.Eng.]] or [[Bachelor of Fine Arts|B.F.A.]], are not awarded at Leiden University.
<!-- DO NOT LIST PROGRAMMES HERE, SEE [[WP:NOTDIRECTORY]] -->

===Graduate studies===
Students can choose from a range of graduate programmes. Most of the above-mentioned undergraduate programmes can be continued with either a general or a specialised graduate program. Leiden University offers more than 100 graduate programs leading to either [[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Master of Science|MSc]], [[Master of Philosophy|MPhil]], or [[Master of Laws|LLM degrees]]. The MPhil is the most advanced graduate degree and is awarded by select university departments (mostly in the fields of Arts, Social Sciences, Archeology, Philosophy, and Theology). Admission to these programmes is highly selective and primarily aimed at those students opting for an academic career or before going into law or medicine. Traditionally, the MPhil degree enabled its holder to teach at the university levels as an associate professor.

[[File:Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen Leiden.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Pieter de la Court]]-building, the main building of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences]]

===Doctorate programmers===
[[File:Leiden-Sterrewacht-06.jpg|thumb|Leiden Observatory of the university.]]

In addition, most departments, affiliated (research) institutes, or faculties offer doctorate programmes or positions, leading to the Ph.D. degree. Most of the Ph.D. programmes offered by the university are concentrated in several research schools or institutes.

===Research schools and affiliated institutes===
[[File:Onderzoeksgebouw LUMC Leiden.jpg|thumb|right|Research building of the Leiden University Medical Centre]]

Leiden University has more than 50 research and graduate schools and institutes. Some of them are fully affiliated with one faculty of the university, while others are interfaculty institutes or interuniversity institutes.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!align=left|Institute
!
|-
|ACPA
|Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
|-
|ASC
| [[Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden|African Studies Centre Leiden]]
|-
|CML
|[[Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cml.leiden.edu/ |title=Institute of Environmental Sciences |publisher=Cml.leiden.edu |date=2012-09-20 |access-date=2012-09-26}}</ref>
|-
|-
|CRC
| Crisis Research Centre<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.mastersinleiden.nl/programmes/crisis-and-security-management1/en/introduction/ |title=Crisis and Security Management |publisher=En.mastersinleiden.nl |access-date=2012-09-26}}</ref>
|-
|CTI
| Centre for Language and Identity
|-
|CWTS
| Centre for Science and Technology Studies
|-
|The Meijers Research Institute
| Research School for Legal Studies
|-
|eLaw@Leiden
| Centre for Law in the Information Society
|-
|[[Hugo Grotius|Grotius]] Centre
| Research Centre for International Legal Studies
|-
|GSS
| Leiden Graduate School of Science
|-
|Historical Institute
| Leiden University Institute for History
|-
|[[Johan Huizinga|Huizinga]] Instituut
| Research Institute and Graduate School for Cultural History
|-
|IBL
| Institute of Biology Leiden
|-
|IIAS
| International Institute for Asian Studies
|-
|IIASL
| [[International Institute of Air and Space Law]]
|-
|IOPS
| Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics
|-
|ITC
|International Tax Centre (ITC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itc-leiden.nl/ |title=International Tax Centre |publisher=Itc-leiden.nl |access-date=2012-09-26}}</ref>
|-
|LACDR
| The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Researchs
|-
|LCMBS
| Leiden Centre for Molecular BioScience
|-
|LEAD 
| Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Programme, Faculty of Science<ref>[http://science.leidenuniv.nl/index.php/lead/index/ Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Programme, &#91;], [http://science.leidenuniv.nl/index.php/lead/index/ LEAD&#93;]</ref>
|-
|Leyden Academy
|Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leydenacademy.nl |title=Leiden Academy on Vitality and Ageing |publisher=Leydenacademy.nl |access-date=2015-07-16}}</ref>
|-
|LGSAS
| Leiden Graduate School for Archeology
|-
|LIACS
| Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.liacs.nl/home-en/ |title=LIACS (Advanced Computer Science) |publisher=Liacs.nl |access-date=2012-09-26 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|-
|LIAS
| Leiden Institute for Area Studies
|-
|LIBC
|[[Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libc-leiden.nl |title=Brain & Cognition |publisher=Libc-leiden.nl |access-date=2012-09-26}}</ref>
|-
|LIC
| Leiden Institute of Chemistry
|-
|LION
| Leiden Institute of Physics
|-
|LISOR
| Leiden Institute for the Study of Religion
|-
|LUCAS
| Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society
|-
|LUCL
| Leiden University Centre for Linguistics
|-
|LUMC
| Leiden University Medical Centre
|-
|Mediëvistiek
| Netherlands Research School for Medieval Studies
|-
|MI
| Mathematical Institute<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-institutes/science/mathematical-institute |title=Mathematical Institute |access-date=2021-11-17}}</ref>
|-
|NIG
| Netherlands Institute of Government
|-
|NINO
| Netherlands Institute for the Near East
|-
|NOVA
| [[Netherlands Research School for Astronomy]]
|-
|N.W. Posthumus Instituut
| Netherlands Research Institute and School for Economic and Social History
|-
|OIKOS
| National Research School in Classical Studies
|-
|Onderzoekschool Kunstgeschiedenis
| Dutch Postgraduate School for Art History
|-
|OSL
| Netherlands Research School for Literary Studies
|-
|PALLAS
| Pallas Institute for Cultural Disciplines
|-
|[[Leiden Observatory|Sterrewacht Leiden]]
| Leiden Astronomical Observatory
|-
|The Europa Institute
| Leiden Law School
|-
|Van Vollenhoven Institute
|Research Institute for Law, Governance and Society
|}

==Rankings and reputations==
{{Infobox university rankings
| ARWU_W = 101-150 | ARWU_W_year = 2025 | ARWU_W_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2025|title=2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities|access-date=24 August 2025|publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy}}</ref>
| CWTS_W = 72 | CWTS_W_year = 2024 | CWTS_W_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.leidenranking.com/ranking/2024/list|title=CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024 – PP top 10%|access-date=23 February 2025|work=CWTS Leiden Ranking}}</ref>
| CWUR_W = 88 | CWUR_W_year = 2025 | CWUR_W_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://cwur.org/2025.php|title=CWUR – World University Rankings 2025|access-date=19 July 2025|work=Center for World University Rankings}}</ref>
| QS_W = =119| QS_W_year = 2026 | QS_W_ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings|title=QS World University Rankings 2026|access-date=19 July 2025|publisher=Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.}}</ref>
| Reuters_W =71 | Reuters_W_year = 2019 | Reuters_W_ref =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/innovative-universities-2019|title=Reuters World's Top 100 Innovative Universities 2019|access-date=8 January 2021|work=Thomson Reuters}}</ref>
| THE_W = =73 | THE_W_year = 2025 | THE_W_ref = <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2025/world-ranking#!|title=World University Rankings 2025|access-date=23 February 2025|work=Times Higher Education (THE)|language=en}}</ref>
| USNWR_W = 56 | USNWR_W_year = 2025-26 | USNWR_W_ref = <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings|title=2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings|access-date=19 July 2025|work=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>
|-
| QS_W_Law = 25 | QS_W_Law_year = 2025 | QS_W_Law_ref =<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/law-legal-studies |title=QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Law & Legal Studies |work=Top Universities |access-date=19 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
|THE_W_Law=21 | THE_W_Law_year=2025 | THE_W_Law_ref=<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2024/subject-ranking/law|title=World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Law|work=THE|access-date=23 February 2025|language=en}}</ref>
|-
| ARWU_W_SOC= 27 | ARWU_W_SOC_year = 2024 |ARWU_W_SOC_ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/gras/2024/RS0512|title=2024 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects - Political Sciences|access-date=23 February 2025|publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy}}</ref>
| QS_W_Arts = =46 | QS_W_Arts_year=2025 | QS_W_Arts_ref=<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/arts-humanities|title=QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Arts and Humanities |work=QS|access-date=19 July 2025|language=en}}</ref>
| QS_W_Politics = 17 | QS_W_Politics_year=2025 | QS_W_Politics_ref=<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings/politics|title=QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Politics |work=QS|access-date=19 July 2025|language=en}}</ref>
| THE_W_Arts=21 | THE_W_Arts_year=2025 | THE_W_Arts_ref=<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2025/subject-ranking/arts-and-humanities|title=World University Rankings by Subject 2025: Arts and Humanities | work=THE | access-date=23 February 2025 | language=en}}</ref>
}}

===Notable alumnis and professors===
{{Main|List of Leiden University people}}

Of the 110 [[Spinoza Prize]] laureates (the highest scientific award of The Netherlands), twenty-eight were granted to professors of Leiden University. Literary historian [[Frits van Oostrom]] was the first professor of Leiden to be granted the Spinoza award for his work on developing the NLCM centre (Dutch literature and culture in the Middle Ages) into a top research centre. Other Spinoza Prize winners are: 

* [[Frederik Kortlandt]], linguist 
* [[Hendrik Lenstra]], mathematician 
* [[Carlo Beenakker]], physicist
* [[Jan Zaanen]], physicist
* [[Dirk Bouwmeester]], physicist
* [[Michel Orrit]], physicist
* [[Ewine van Dishoeck]], astronomer
* [[Marijn Franx]], astronomer
* [[Alexander Tielens]], astronomer
* [[Els Goulmy]], transplantation biologist
* [[Marinus van IJzendoorn]], pedagogue 
* [[Wil Roebroeks]], archeologist
* [[Corinne Hofman]], archeologist
* [[Michel Ferrari]], neurologist 
* [[Ineke Sluiter]], classicist 
* [[Naomi Ellemers]], social psychologist
* [[Aad van der Vaart]], statistician 
* [[Eveline Crone]], cognitive psychologist 
* [[Carsten de Dreu]], organisation psychologist
* [[Jacques Neefjes|Sjaak Neefjes]], chemical immunologist
* [[Maria Yazdanbakhsh]], parasitologist 

The [[Stevin Prize]] laureates who have achieved exceptional success in knowledge exchange and impact for society include the following Leiden professors: health psychologist [[Andrea Evers]], immunology technologist [[Ton Schumacher]] and psychologist [[Judi Mesman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/academic-staff/leiden-spinoza-prize-laureates |title=Leiden Spinoza and Stevin Prize laureates |publisher=Leiden University |date=3 September 2021 |access-date=3 September 2021}}</ref>

Other notable Leiden researchers were the Arabist and Islam expert [[Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje]], the law expert [[Cornelis van Vollenhoven]] and historian [[Johan Huizinga]], all during the 1920s and 1930s. [[Martinus Beijerinck]], one of the founders of virology, finished his Ph.D. at Leiden in 1877.

===Nobel laureates===
[[Heike Kamerlingh Onnes|Kamerlingh Onnes]] was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1913. Three other professors received the Nobel Prize for their research performed at Universiteit Leiden: [[Hendrik Antoon Lorentz]] and [[Pieter Zeeman]] received the Nobel Prize for their pioneering work in the field of optical and electronic phenomena, and the physiologist [[Willem Einthoven]] for his invention of the string galvanometer, which among other things, enabled the development of electrocardiography.

Nobel laureates associated with Leiden include the physicists [[Albert Einstein]], [[Enrico Fermi]], and [[Paul Ehrenfest]]. Other Leiden-affiliated Nobel laureates include [[Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff]], [[Johannes Diderik van der Waals]], [[Tobias Asser]], [[Albert Szent-Györgyi]], [[Igor Tamm]], [[Jan Tinbergen]], [[Nikolaas Tinbergen]], [[Tjalling Koopmans]], [[Nicolaas Bloembergen]], and [[Niels Jerne]].<ref>[https://www.universityleiden.nl/en/academic-staff/nobel-prize-laureates Leiden's Nobel Laureates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116021354/https://www.universityleiden.nl/en/academic-staff/nobel-prize-laureates |date=2020-11-16 }} – website of the Leiden University</ref>

==See also==
* [[The Leiden school|Leiden school]]
* [[Leiden University College The Hague]]
* [[List of early modern universities in Europe]]
* [[List of rectores magnifici of Leiden University]]
* [[LSV Minerva]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}{{reflist|group=fn}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |first1=Th. |last1=Lunsingh Scheurleer |first2=G.H.M. |last2=Posthumus Meyjes |first3=Alfred Gustave Herbert |last3=Bachrach |title=Leiden University in the seventeenth century: an exchange of learning |publisher=E.J. Brill |publication-place=Leiden |publication-date=1975 |isbn=9789004042674 |oclc=1676723}}
* {{cite book |last=Otterspeer |first=Willem |title=The Bastion of Liberty. Leiden University Today and Yesterday |year=2008 |publisher=Leiden University Press |hdl=1887/21147 |publication-place=Leiden |publication-date=2008 |isbn=9789048507740 |oclc=567980024 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/1887/21147 |access-date=21 June 2024 }} 
* {{cite book |last=Otterspeer |first=Willem |title=Good, Gratifying and Renowned: A Concise History of Leiden University |publisher=Leiden Publications |translator-first=John R.J. |translator-last=Eyck |publication-place=Leiden |publication-date=2015 |isbn=9789087282356 |oclc=945894132}}
* {{cite book |last=Schneppen |first=Heinz |title=Niederländische Universitäten und deutsches Geistesleben von der Gründung der Universität Leiden bis ins späte achtzehnte Jahrhundert |publication-place=Münster |publication-date=1960 |series=Neue Münstersche Beiträge zur Geschichtsforschung Bd. 6 |oclc=504114304}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Leiden University}}
* {{official website|https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en}} {{in lang|en}}
* {{official website|https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/}} {{in lang|nl}}

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