Ancient History: Empires, Societies and Cultures Leiden University

Overview

This programme offers a deep dive into the political, social, and cultural dynamics of the Graeco-Roman world between 400 BC and AD 400. You’ll study empire-building from the Hellenistic kingdoms to the Roman Empire, examining not only political structures but also how imperial rule affected local cultures, religions, and identities. A key feature of this track is its emphasis on documentary and artefactual evidence—like inscriptions, papyri, coins, and material culture —giving you access to the voices of ordinary people often absent from elite literary sources.

You’ll benefit from small seminars and access to exceptional material, library and archival collections. Leiden’s interdisciplinary approach and its integration with archaeology and classics also provide a rich intellectual environment. The university’s scholarly networks further enhance your academic development and open doors to international research collaborations.

What you will learn

The curriculum of MA History is characterised by the guiding principle ‘Global Questions, Local Sources’, referring to our aim to follow the international developments in historiography and to teach students to critically analyze source materials. In our MA History students develop their academic skills by a thorough orientation on international debates, by analyzing historical sources, and by discussing these insights with professors and co-students. In the range of subjects that is on offer, the Leiden MA History is the broadest and most international History MA in the Netherlands.

Future employers are interested not only in the subject-related knowledge that you acquired during your study programme, but also in ‘transferable skills’. These include cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, reasoning and argumentation and innovation; intrapersonal skills, such as flexibility, initiative, appreciating diversity and metacognition; and interpersonal skills, such as communication, accountability and conflict resolution. In short, they are skills that all professionals need in order to perform well.

The skills you may encounter in the various courses are:

• Collaboration
• Persuasion
• Research
• Self-directed learning
• Creative thinking

Career prospects

Because of the extensive curriculum and specialisations, the career opportunities after completing the History specialisation in Ancient History are broad. Our graduates have landed jobs in various sectors of the job market, such as research institutes, international organisations, the cultural and recreational sector, and academia. Examples of the diverse roles of our graduates include:

• Researcher at the Centre for People and Buildings
• PhD candidate at various universities
• Curator at Maritime Museum Rotterdam
• Political analyst at a ministry of defence
• Concern controller at the Customs Administration of the Netherlands

Accreditation

Accredited by NVAO, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders.