The Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies offers three undergraduate degree programs, each studying religion from a historical, literary and an anthropological, philosophical point of view.

BA in Divinity
Language of instruction: Dutch
A three-year programme primarily for those preparing for ministry. In Leiden, Divinity is studied as a broad, classical-academic programme. During your studies you are introduced to the Old Testament, New Testament, History of Christianity, and Comparative Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion and Social Sciences. The study of primary sources and literature from a literary-critical perspective plays a central role. Learning Greek and Hebrew therefore is an essential element of your training. During the last part of the bachelor's programme you can choose your own subjects. The vast academic resources of Leiden University, such as one of the biggest academic libraries in the country, unique collections and internationally recognised staff provide the necessary inspiration and material to get a deeper insight into all aspects of Christian sources and traditions. Therefore, subjects as diverse as, e.g., the transmittance of the Old or the New Testament, ethical questions of contemporary society, the social role of religion, or the archaeology of the ancient Near East, can be studied on the best possible academic basis.
The Leiden Institute for Religious Studies offers the ideal environment for preparing you for various denominational Master programmes.

Prospective Students Website

BA in World Religions
Language of instruction: Dutch 
This three-year programme students will be trained in the history and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, New Religious Movements, as well as Religions of Antiquity. Subjects addressed include concepts, stories, customs and the historical, cultural and social background of these religions. In addition, you are introduced to comparative religious studies, psychology of religion and philosophy. In their second year students choose one religion as specialization, besides paying attention to ethics, anthropology of religion and the problems regarding the interpretation of texts. In addition to their specialization student can choose to acquire proficiency in the language in which the religious sources were written, thus enabling you to study the sources of that religion in their most original form, or to acquire anthropological methods to study how religion shapes human cultures and societies.
Prospective Students Website

BA in Islamic Theology
Language of instruction: Dutch 
In this three-year program students acquire in-depth knowledge of Islam. A large part of the first year is taken up by the acquisition of  Arabic, the language of Koran and Islam’s traditions. Furthermore, you are introduced into the History of Islam and the comparative study of religion. In the second year the focus is on the study of Koran and Hadith. You will read, for instance, the famous biography of the prophet Muhammed, written by Ibn Hisham. Also, attention is given to the study of Ibādāt (the section in sharia dealing with the five pillars of Islam) and to philosophical issues concerning faith and theology. In the third year the focus is on Islam in the present-day situation, in particular in the context of Western Europe. The course Islamic Sources features the history of Koranic exegesis and its different approaches in modern times. Students also follow lectures on the Mu‘āmalāt (the section in sharia dealing with aspects of social intercourse) and on Comparative Religion.
Prospective Students Website

Diplomas
Students should have a diploma which is equivalent to the Dutch VWO ("preparatory academic education") diploma. The International Office evaluates your diplomas and formulates an advice on admissibility. The Equivalence Table of Foreign Diplomas (or download as pdf) gives you an idea of the value of your diploma. 

Dutch
A strong knowledge of Dutch is essential for successful study, including the ability to understand and express thoughts quickly and clearly. We require the results of the Dutch Level III exams for all international candidates applying for a BA program. The Leiden University Language Centre offers a one-year preparatory course for the national Dutch as a second language exam ("Staatsexamen NT2 programma 2").

English
Good command of English is required for all our BA-programs, as a large component of the academic literature is in English. Students need to demonstrate their proficiency in English, preferably by means of an IELTS test*. (Also acceptable are: TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English). 

- Only Academic modules are accepted; we do not accept Institutional TOEFL scores.
- The certificates need to be recent: not older than 2 years.
- Minimum score: IELTS 6.0 or 213/550 (computer-based/paper-based) (scores may vary per course)

* This requirement does not apply if you have completed your education in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia or if you have obtained an International Baccalaureate or European Baccalaureate diploma.

Read more about the admission requirements>>