leiden university notable alumni

Are you curious, critical and involved in the world around you? At Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands, you can make a valuable contribution to tackling the various national and international challenges facing modern society. Together with academics and fellow students from all over the world, you will actively address these challenges. We keep an open mind, do not shy away from difficult discussions and allow one another the space to disagree. We expect the same active, open-minded and critical attitude from you.

We challenge you to look beyond your own boundaries. Leiden University welcomes anyone who wants to achieve their full potential. Our modest community size in the historical cities of Leiden and The Hague creates a highly personal and committed atmosphere. Together, we map out a learning path that suits you and your ambitions. You will also be encouraged to conduct research in cooperation with eminent and enthusiastic scholars. The knowledge and skills you develop here will benefit you for the rest of your life, regardless of the career path you choose!

Leiden University – The facts

7 faculties spread across Leiden and The Hague
14 English-taught bachelor’s programmes
200+ English-taught master’s programmes
446 years of tradition and innovation
Top 100 research-focused university
16 Nobel Prize winners
130 nationalities
+31,000 students

Academic fields

Leiden has faculties in the fields of:

Archaeology
Governance and Global Affairs
Humanities
Medicine
Law
Science
Social and Behavioural Sciences

leiden university acceptance rate

Enrollment27,713TypeNon-profitFundingPublic-private
partnershipHighest DegreeDoctorateWebsitewww.universiteitleiden.nlLanguagesDutch;EnglishAcceptance rate51%*

* Leiden University is among the institutions that don’t provide data on acceptance rates. This might happen because a university has programs where an applicant only needs to meet admission requirements to enroll and doesn’t necessarily competes with others.

We estimate the above acceptance rate based on admission statistics of closely-ranked nearby universities with similar research profiles that do publish such data.

leiden university ranking

Using a group of refined bibliometric indicators, the ranking aims to make an accurate measurement of the degree to which we collaborate with other universities. In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2020 Leiden University is ranked 100th worldwide, and 6th in the Netherlands.

leiden university fees

The amount of tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors. These are your nationality, your study programme and whether you have already obtained a Dutch higher education diploma.

Your nationality, study programme and previous Dutch higher education qualifications determine the amount of tuition fee you have to pay. There are four categories of tuition fee:

The statutory tuition fee
The institutional tuition fee for students who are not nationals of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland.
The institutional tuition fee for a second Dutch degree programme

Statutory tuition fee

The statutory tuition fee applies if you are going to follow a government-subsidised study programme, which is not a second degree programme, and you are are a national of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden or Switzerland.

The statutory tuition fee applies if you are going to study full time or part time.

First year bachelor students The statutory tuition fee of the academic year 2021-2022 for first-year bachelor students is: €542*.
For students who have already started a bachelor study but starting a new study programme, the statutory tuition fee for the academic year in 2021-2022 is € 1084*
Students following the Liberal Arts and Sciences programme at Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) pay an additional institutional tuition fee of: €2,485 (2021-2022 academic year)

Tuition fee 2021-22: reduced tariff due to corona
Due to the coronavirus situation, the government has reduced the tuition fee for the academic year 2021-2022 by an amount of 1,084 euro. This reduction applies to both the statutory and institutional tuition fee, and also for non-EEA students and students following a second bachelor’s or master’s programme. The tuition fee amounts you see on this website are the reduced tariff.

**Statutory tuition fees halved for first-year bachelor students as of the academic year 2018-2019. Please visit the Government website for more detailed information.

Students who are not nationals of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland

If you are not a national of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland, you generally have to pay an institutional tuition fee. However, if, on the basis of your Dutch residence permit, you are eligible for student finance from the Dutch education agency (DUO), you are entitled to pay the statutory tuition fee. Information on qualifying residence permits can be found on the site of DUO.

If you do not qualify for Dutch student finance and you are not a national of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland, you can find the amount of tuition fee you are required to pay for your study programme here. These tariffs apply for both full-time and part-time study.

Tuition fee 2021-2022: reduced tariff due to corona
Due to the coronavirus situation, the government has reduced the tuition fee for the academic year 2021-2022 by an amount of 1,084 euro. This reduction applies to both the statutory and institutional tuition fee, and also for non-EEA students and students following a second bachelor’s or master’s programme. The tuition fee amounts you see on this website are the reduced tariff.

Please note! If you are going to study at Leiden University via a cooperation agreement, the tariffs stated in the agreement apply.Institutional tuition fee for students who are not nationals of an EEA country, Suriname or Switzerland

Second Dutch bachelor’s programme

If you are taking a second Dutch bachelor’s programme, you will generally have to pay an institutional tuition fee that is higher than the statutory tuition fee.

If you obtained a bachelor’s diploma, doctoraal, ingenieurs or HBO-diploma (bachelor’s from a university of applied sciences) from a Dutch educational institution after 1991, and you are a national of an EEA country (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), Suriname or Switzerland, the following institutional tuition fees apply.

leiden university tuition fees for international students

The tuition fees for the academic year 2021-2022 are: Dutch, EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese students: €1,084* per year. Non-EU/EEA students €18,016 per year.