Leiden University

Two cities, one university

Leiden University was founded in 1575 and is spread over locations in Leiden and The Hague. Leiden is a canal town where faculty buildings are scattered through the historic centre, with the sciences and medicine clustered near the station and the Bio Science Park. The Hague campus, close to Den Haag Centraal, hosts programs connected to governance, international relations and global affairs, and Leiden University College The Hague, an English-taught liberal arts and sciences college.

English-taught bachelor programs at Leiden include International Studies in The Hague and the liberal arts program at Leiden University College, along with several others listed in the bachelor search. Other programs are taught in Dutch.

Deadlines that matter for North American applicants

A Canadian or US citizen who needs a Dutch residence permit should treat 1 April as the latest date for most programs, and 15 January for numerus fixus ones. Housing and scholarship deadlines can come earlier still.

Admission requirements

Admission to any Leiden bachelor program requires a diploma at least equal to the Dutch pre-university (VWO) diploma. Applicants with a non-Dutch diploma are generally not admitted automatically; you apply, and the admissions office checks your diploma against its list of common foreign qualifications and the program-specific requirements. Science programs set extra subject requirements. English-taught programs require proof of English, and test results may not be older than two years. Numerus fixus programs add a selection procedure, which may include tests or assignments.

For a US or Canadian student, it is worth contacting the admissions office early about AP, IB or SAT expectations for your program, because Leiden publishes these in separate documents rather than on one page.

Costs

EU and EEA students pay the Dutch statutory fee (2,694 euros in 2026-27; 2,771 euros in 2027-28). Students from outside the EU and EEA usually pay Leiden’s institutional fee; the exact amount is on Leiden’s tuition fee page. Leiden University College has its own fee structure.

Study tips and resources

Leiden programs in the social sciences and humanities rely on reading-heavy seminars and essays. The academic writing course and our citation deck are useful preparation. For a selective program, practise structured answers with the critical reading and reasoning deck. See the Netherlands guide for how Dutch selection works.