Leiden University

Leiden University, located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt. The university is a division of Wageningen University & Research centre, which began its existance as an agricultural college.

Leiden University has seven faculties in arts, sciences and social sciences, spread over locations in Leiden and The Hague. In 2013 Leiden was the highest ranked university in the Netherlands in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, where it was rated as the 28th best university worldwide and 61st for international reputation.

The University is associated with ten leaders and Prime Ministers of the Netherlands including the current Prime Minister Mark Rutte, nine foreign leaders, among them the 6th President of the United States John Quincy Adams, a Secretary General of NATO, a President of the International Court of Justice and sixteen recipients of the Nobel Prize.

Leiden has elected to concentrate its research on 11 key profile areas, most of them with a strong multidisciplinary focus: Asian modernities and traditions; Bioscience: the science base of health; Brain function and dysfunction over the lifespan; Fundamentals of science; Global interaction of people, culture and power through the ages; Health, prevention and the human life cycle; Interaction between legal systems; Language diversity in the world; Political legitimacy: institutions and identities; Translational drug discovery and development; Vascular and regenerative medicine.

These areas offer many opportunities for first-class fundamental research, but they also have strong links with key issues prevalent in contemporary societies. In general, the University offers 20 bachelor programs. Fluency in Dutch is a prerequisite for all courses, except for the BSc in Tourism, which is English-taught. Non-native speakers of English must therefore provide proof of proficiency in English for this course, such as TOEFL, IELTS or the CAE.