Jump to content

Leiden University

Coordinates:52°9′25″N4°29′7″E/ 52.15694°N 4.48528°E/52.15694; 4.48528
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromUniversity of Leiden)
Leiden University
Universiteit Leiden
Former names
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
Motto
Libertatis Praesidium(Latin)
Motto in English
Bastion of Freedom
TypePublicresearch university
Established8 February 1575;449 years ago(1575-02-08)[1]
FounderWilliam of Orange
Academic affiliation
TPC
Budget€777 million (2021)
PresidentAnnetje Ottow
RectorHester Bijl
Academic staff
1,862 (2021)[2]
Administrative staff
1,573
Students37,136 (2021–22)[3]
Undergraduates24,496 (2021–22)[3]
Postgraduates12,395 (2021–22)[3]
886 (2021)[2]
Location
LeidenandThe Hague
,
South Holland
,
Netherlands

52°9′25″N4°29′7″E/ 52.15694°N 4.48528°E/52.15694; 4.48528
CampusUrban and College town
LanguageEnglish,Dutch
(Additional languages for language programmes)
ColoursLEI Blue[4]
Websiteuniversiteitleiden.nl
Leiden University is located in Netherlands
Leiden University
Location in Netherlands
Leiden University is located in Europe
Leiden University
Leiden University (Europe)

Leiden University(abbreviated asLEI;[5][6]Dutch:Universiteit Leiden) is apublicresearch universityinLeiden,Netherlands.It was founded as aProtestantuniversity in 1575[7]byWilliam, Prince of Orangeas the first university in the Netherlands.

During theDutch Golden Agescholars from around Europe were attracted to theDutch Republicfor its climate of intellectual tolerance. Individuals such asRené Descartes,Rembrandt,Christiaan Huygens,Hugo Grotius,Benedictus Spinoza,and laterBaron d'Holbachwere 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 inThe Haguehouses a liberal arts college (Leiden University College The Hague) and several of its faculties. It is a member of theCoimbra Group,theEuropaeum,and a founding member of theLeague of European Research Universities.

The university has produced twenty-sixSpinoza Prize Laureatesand sixteenNobel Laureates.Members of theDutch royal familysuch as QueenJuliana,QueenBeatrix,and KingWillem-Alexanderare alumni, and tenprime ministersof the Netherlands includingMark Rutte.US PresidentJohn Quincy Adamsalso studied at the university.[8]

History[edit]

Foundation and early history[edit]

William the Silent,founder of the university, in the 16th century.
The academy building of Leiden University in 1614.
Leiden anatomical theatre

In 1575, the emergingDutch Republicdid not have universities in its northern heartland. The only other university in theHabsburg Netherlandswas theUniversity of Leuvenlocated in an area under firm Spanish control.Prince Williamfounded 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.[9][10]It is said the choice fell on Leiden as a reward for the heroicdefence of Leidenagainst Spanish attacks in 1574. The name ofPhilip II of Spain,William's adversary, appears on the official foundation certificate as he was still thede jurecount of Holland.[11]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 ofCistercian nuns,a site which it still occupies, though the original building was destroyed by a fire in 1616.[9]

Leiden University's reputation was created in part by the presence of scholars such asJustus Lipsius,Joseph Scaliger,Franciscus Gomarus,Hugo Grotius,Jacobus Arminius,Daniel Heinsius,andGerhard Johann Vossiuswithin fifty years of its founding. By the 1640s, over five hundred students were enrolled from all across Europe, making it the largest Protestant university.[12][10]Baruch Spinozadiscovered Descartes's work partly at Leiden University,[13]which he visited for periods of study multiple times.[14]In the 18th century,Jacobus Gronovius,Herman Boerhaave,Tiberius Hemsterhuis,andDavid Ruhnkenwere among the renowned academics of the university.

In 1896, theZeeman effectwas discovered at the institution byPieter Zeemanand shortly afterward explained byHendrik Antoon Lorentz.[15]In the world's first university low-temperature laboratory, ProfessorHeike Kamerlingh Onnesachieved a temperature only one degree aboveabsolute zero.In 1908, he was also the first to succeed inliquifying heliumand has played a role in the discovery ofsuperconductivityin metals.[16]

Modern day[edit]

Leiden University Library in 1610

TheUniversity Libraryhas more than 5.2 million books and fifty thousand journals. It also has collections of Western and Orientalmanuscripts,printed books, archives, prints, drawings, photographs, maps, andatlases.It houses the world's largest collections onIndonesiaandthe Caribbean,collected by theScaliger Institutewhich studies various aspects of knowledge transmissions and ideas through texts and images from antiquity to the present day. In 2005, the manuscript ofEinsteinon the quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas (theEinstein-Bose condensation) was discovered in one of Leiden's libraries.[17]

Partnerships[edit]

In 2012 Leiden entered into a strategic alliance withDelft University of TechnologyandErasmus University Rotterdamfor the universities to increase the quality of their research and teaching. The university is also the unofficial home of theBilderberg Group,a meeting of high-level political and economic figures from North America and Europe. Leiden University partnered withDuke University School of Lawstarting in 2017 to run a joint summer program on global and transnational law from its Hague campus.

Location and buildings[edit]

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.[18]

Among the institutions affiliated with the university are TheKITLVor 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; theRijksmuseum van Oudheden(National Museum of Antiquities), with especially valuableEgyptianand Indian departments; a museum of Dutch antiquities from the earliest times; and three ethnographical museums, of which the nucleus wasPhilipp Franz von Siebold's Japanese collections. Theanatomicalandpathologicallaboratories of the university are modern, and the museums of geology andmineralogyhave been restored.[citation needed]

TheHortus Botanicus(botanical garden) is the oldestbotanical gardenin 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 JapaneseSiebold Memorial Museumsymbolising 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]

Campus The Hague[edit]

A lecture hall in the Leiden University campus in the Hague.

In 1998, the university has expanded to The Hague which has become home toCampus The Hague,with six of the seven faculties represented and exclusive home to the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, International Studies andLeiden 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 atLange 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 2017Leiden University Medical Centeralso has a branch at Campus The Hague.

Organisation[edit]

The Leiden University Medical Centre
Entrance of Gorlaeus building of the Faculty of Science
Huygens and Oort Buildings of the Faculty of Science
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.

Academic profile[edit]

Undergraduate studies[edit]

Most of the university's departments offer their degree programme(s). Undergraduate programmes lead to either a B.A., B.Sc., orLL.B.degree. Other degrees, such as theB.Eng.orB.F.A.,are not awarded at Leiden University.

Graduate studies[edit]

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 eitherMA,MSc,MPhil,orLLM 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.

ThePieter de la Court-building, the main building of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Doctorate programmes[edit]

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[edit]

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.

Institute
ACPA Academy of Creative and Performing Arts
ASC African Studies Centre Leiden
CML Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)[19]
CRC Crisis Research Centre[20]
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
GrotiusCentre Research Centre for International Legal Studies
GSS Leiden Graduate School of Science
Historical Institute Leiden University Institute for History
HuizingaInstituut 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)[21]
LACDR The Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research
LCMBS Leiden Centre for Molecular BioScience
LEAD Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Programme, Faculty of Science[22]
Leyden Academy Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing[23]
LGSAS Leiden Graduate School for Archeology
LIACS Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science[24]
LIAS Leiden Institute for Area Studies
LIBC Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition[25]
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[26]
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
Sterrewacht Leiden Leiden Astronomical Observatory
The Europa Institute Leiden Law School
Van Vollenhoven Institute Research Institute for Law, Governance and Society

Rankings and reputation[edit]

University rankings
Global – Overall
ARWUWorld[27]101-150 (2023)
CWURWorld[28]88 (2023)
CWTSWorld[29]89 (2023)
QSWorld[30]=126 (2024)
ReutersWorld[31]71 (2019)
THEWorld[32]77 (2024)
USNWRGlobal[33]56(tie)(2024-25)
Global – Law
QSLaw[34]23 (2023)
THELaw[35]17 (2024)
Global – Liberal arts
ARWUSocial science[36]40 (2022)
QSArts & Humanities[37]31 (2022)
QSPolitics[38]20 (2022)
THEArts and Humanities[39]24 (2022)

Notable alumni and professors[edit]

Main article:List of Leiden University people

Of the 107Spinoza Prizelaureates (the highest scientific award of The Netherlands), twenty-six were granted to professors of Leiden University. Literary historianFrits van Oostromwas 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 linguistsFrederik Kortlandtand Pieter Muysken, mathematicianHendrik Lenstra,physicistsCarlo Beenakker,Jan Zaanen,Dirk Bouwmeesterand Michel Orrit, astronomersEwine van Dishoeck,Marijn FranxandAlexander Tielens,transplantation biologistEls Goulmy,clinical epidemiologist Frits Rosendaal, pedagogueMarinus van IJzendoorn,archeologistsWil RoebroeksandCorinne Hofman,neurologistMichel Ferrari,classicistIneke Sluiter,social psychologistNaomi Ellemers,statisticianAad van der Vaart,cognitive psychologistEveline Crone,organisation psychologistCarsten de Dreu,chemical immunologistSjaak Neefjes,parasitologist Maria Yazdanbakhsh, electrochemist Mark Koper and astrophysicist Ignas Snellen.

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.[40]Among other leading professors areWim Blockmans,professor of Medieval History, andWillem Adelaar,professor ofAmerindian Languages.

Nobel laureates[edit]

Kamerlingh Onneswas awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1913. Three other professors received the Nobel Prize for their research performed at Universiteit Leiden:Hendrik Antoon LorentzandPieter Zeemanreceived the Nobel Prize for their pioneering work in the field of optical and electronic phenomena, and the physiologistWillem Einthovenfor his invention of the string galvanometer, which among other things, enabled the development of electrocardiography.

Nobel laureates associated with Leiden include the physicistsAlbert Einstein,Enrico Fermi,andPaul Ehrenfest.Also: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,andNiels Jerne.[41]

Other notable Leiden researchers were the Arabist and Islam expertChristiaan Snouck Hurgronje,the law expertCornelis van Vollenhovenand historianJohan Huizinga,all during the 1920s and 1930s.Martinus Beijerinck,one of the founders of virology, finished his Ph.D. at Leiden in 1877.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"De Tachtigjarige Oorlog en het ontstaan van universiteiten in de Noordelijke Nederlanden".Historiek(in Dutch). 16 May 2017.Retrieved19 May2017.
  2. ^ab"Facts and figures".Leiden University. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-03-30.Retrieved2023-12-28.
  3. ^abc"Universiteit Leiden in cijfers en grafieken".AlleCijfers.nl. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-03-29.Retrieved2023-12-28.
  4. ^"Leiden University basic elements: Colours".Leiden University.Retrieved2021-01-07.
  5. ^Schrijfrichtlijnen: Afkortingen– website of Leiden University
  6. ^Acronyms related to the Dutch universities– website ofRathenau Institute
  7. ^The Great Emporium: The Low Countries as a Cultural Crossroads in the Renaissance and the Eighteenth Century.Rodopi. 1992.ISBN9789051833638.
  8. ^"John Quincy Adams | Biography, Facts, & Presidency".Britannica.2023-07-07.Retrieved2023-07-07.
  9. ^abOtterspeer, Willem (2000).Groepsportret met Dame: de Leidse universiteit, 1575–1672.Bert Bakker.ISBN978-90-351-2240-6.
  10. ^abAldersey-Williams, Hugh (2020-09-03).Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the Making of Science in Europe.Pan Macmillan.ISBN978-1-5098-9332-4.
  11. ^"Foundation documents".Leiden University.Retrieved2023-07-07.
  12. ^Schnappen, H. (1960).Niederländische Universitäten und deutsches Geistesleben von der Gründung der Universität Leiden bis ins späte 18. Jahrhundert.Neue Münstersche Beiträge zur Geschichtsforschung. Vol. 6. Münster.OCLC3783378.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^Kambouchner, Denis (2021-04-15), Melamed, Yitzhak Y. (ed.),"Spinoza and Descartes",A Companion to Spinoza(1 ed.),Wiley,pp. 56–67,doi:10.1002/9781119538349.ch6,ISBN978-1-119-53834-9,S2CID241336237,retrieved2023-07-07
  14. ^"Spinoza, Benedict De | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy".Retrieved2023-07-07.
  15. ^A.J. Kox,The discovery of the electron: II. The Zeeman effect,Eur. J. Phys.18,139–144 (1997).
  16. ^"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1913".NobelPrize.org.Retrieved2023-07-07.
  17. ^BBC NEWS | Europe | Student unearths Einstein paper.
  18. ^Vier eeuwen geschiedenis in steen. Universitaire gebouwen in Leiden.Leiden, 2005ISBN90-9018052-4
  19. ^"Institute of Environmental Sciences".Cml.leiden.edu. 2012-09-20.Retrieved2012-09-26.
  20. ^"Crisis and Security Management".En.mastersinleiden.nl.Retrieved2012-09-26.
  21. ^"International Tax Centre".Itc-leiden.nl.Retrieved2012-09-26.
  22. ^Leiden Ethnosystems and Development Programme, [,LEAD]
  23. ^"Leiden Academy on Vitality and Ageing".Leydenacademy.nl.Retrieved2015-07-16.
  24. ^"LIACS (Advanced Computer Science)".Liacs.nl.Retrieved2012-09-26.
  25. ^"Brain & Cognition".Libc-leiden.nl.Retrieved2012-09-26.
  26. ^"Mathematical Institute".Retrieved2021-11-17.
  27. ^"2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities".Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.Retrieved28 December2023.
  28. ^"CWUR – World University Rankings 2023".Center for World University Rankings.Retrieved7 July2023.
  29. ^"CWTS Leiden Ranking 2023 – PP top 10%".CWTS Leiden Ranking.Retrieved7 July2023.
  30. ^"QS World University Rankings 2024".Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.Retrieved7 July2023.
  31. ^"Reuters World's Top 100 Innovative Universities 2019".Thomson Reuters.Retrieved8 January2021.
  32. ^"World University Rankings 2024".Times Higher Education (THE).Retrieved28 December2023.
  33. ^"2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings".
  34. ^"World University Rankings by Subject(2023)".QS.Retrieved15 March2024.
  35. ^"Times Higher Education Rankings by Subject(2024)".THE.Retrieved15 March2024.
  36. ^"2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities".Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.Retrieved12 October2022.
  37. ^"World University Rankings by Subject(2022)".QS.Retrieved12 October2022.
  38. ^"World University Rankings by Subject(2022)".QS.Retrieved12 October2022.
  39. ^"Times Higher Education Rankings by Subject(2022)".THE.Retrieved12 October2022.
  40. ^"Leiden Spinoza and Stevin Prize laureates".Leiden University. 3 September 2021.Retrieved3 September2021.
  41. ^Leiden's Nobel Laureates– website of the Leiden University

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLeiden University.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leiden_University&oldid=1232237481"