Oudheidstudies (research)

The research master in Hebrew and Aramaic Studies is delivered by internationally-acclaimed experts at Leiden University. Leiden University’s Chair of Hebrew and Aramaic actively contributes to scholarship in the field, and classes regularly reflect ongoing research. You will benefit from a broad range of relevant adjacent disciplines for the study of ancient languages and civilisations – many of them rarely taught elsewhere – as well as from Leiden’s famous up-to-date library resources.
Focus on your area of interest
The programme can be tailored towards your specific needs and is known for its close attention to individual interests. Languages and primary sources constitute the backbone; they equip you with a lasting set of tools. You may focus on the literature and culture of Ancient Israel against the backdrop of the world of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible/Ancient Judaism, from its emergence in around 1200 B.C.E. until its disappearance as a political entity in 135 C.E.
Expanding your scope
You may also expand your scope by putting a stronger focus on cognate languages: a great variety of pre-modern forms of Aramaic, Phoenician, Ugaritic, and other small corpus idioms, and their contribution to the region's wider cultural history. Electives from other fields offer additional possibilities for specialisation (e.g., Linguistics, Ancient History, etc.).

The research master's in Egyptology, a specialisation of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) programme, at Leiden University provides you with a multidisciplinary study of the languages, literatures and cultures of Ancient Egypt. The Egyptology (Research) programme gives you the opportunity to study with internationally acclaimed academics immersed in the latest research and engaged in actively expanding our knowledge of the field. Your teachers are experts in languages, literatures and cultures of Ancient Egypt and active researchers working on innovative projects that constantly build bridges to the courses offered in your programme.
Focus on your area of interest
You will be able to tailor your study programme to your personal interests by creating your own combination of courses from the Egyptology programme or from other research master’s programmes within the Faculties of Humanities and of Archaeology.
Study abroad
We encourage all student to consider applying for a study time abroad. The specialisation Egyptology (Research) programme welcomes initiatives by students, e.g. to follow research programmes in Cairo or in another European university, to join excavations in Egypt or to do an internship in a museum.

The research master's in Assyriology, a specialisation of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) programme, at Leiden University provides you with a multidisciplinary study of the languages, literatures and cultures of the Ancient Near Eastern world. The Assyriology (Research) programme gives you the opportunity to study with internationally acclaimed academics immersed in the latest research and engaged in actively expanding our knowledge of the field. Your teachers are not only experts in languages and cultures of the ancient Middle East, but also active researchers engaged in innovative projects that constantly build bridges between cutting-edge research and the courses in your programme.
You will be able to tailor your study programme to your personal interests by creating your own combination of courses from the Assyriology programme or from other research master’s programmes within the Faculties of Humanities and of Archaeology.
Study at one of our partner universities
We encourage all student to consider applying for a study time abroad. The Assyriology research master’s programme offers opportunities to follow research programmes at one of our partner universities – including SOAS, University College London, Münster, and Heidelberg.