Leiden University logo.

nl en

Study at LUC The Hague

Students are welcome to come to LUC as an exchange (non-degree) student for either one semester or a full year. Please realise that choosing LUC as your sermester abroad destination means you take up all of your courses at LUC.

Information on this webpage is intended for students currently registered at another partner University and would like to study at LUC for one or two semesters.

The application procedure for incoming exchange students goes through the central Student and Educational Affairs Office (SEA) in Leiden. In order to start your application, your home university coordinator has to nominate you via the Leiden University nomination portal. Instructions will be sent to your home university directly. As soon as your nominated is approved by SEA, you will receive instructions to visit the Leiden University application portal to start your application. As the honours college of Leiden University, LUC has stricter admission requirements than the standard Leiden University requirements.

Once your application file is completed it will be forwarded to LUC’s admissions committee for a final decision on admission.  This procedure can take up to 4 weeks to complete.  The required documents for all students are:

  • Letter of motivation;
  • Official and Certified transcripts as issued by your home university’s Registrar. If you have attended any university or college prior to your current university enrolment, you will need to submit original certified copies of these as well.
  • Copy of your passport (only the page with your personal details)

In some cases, LUC’s admissions committee might request additional documents.  You will be contacted by the international office of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (LUC’s Exchange Office) in case you need to submit these documents as well (see below).

The application deadline for fall semester (start late August) is 1 April.

The application deadline for spring semester (start late January) is 15 October.

After you have been offered admission, the SEA Dept. will assist you further with e.g. visa, registration at the University, and housing.  LUC will inform you more about the course registration, start of the semester (including introduction activities), etc.

The procedure from application to admission takes about 4 to 6 weeks.

More information can be found on our web pages: Study abroad/exchange admission and application

In order to qualify for exchange at LUC there needs to be an agreement in place between your home university and either LUC in a specific agreement or a university-wide agreement with Leiden University as a whole. Please realise that choosing LUC as your semester abroad destination means you take up all of your courses at LUC.

All exchange students need to satisfy the minimum academic entry requirements for admission. 

Note that admission to LUC’s Exchange Programme is competitive, meaning that even if you meet the minimum entry requirements, there is no guarantee that you will be offered admission.

If you study at an LUC direct exchange partner (see list here), check with the the Study Abroad Office(r) of your home university whether you satisfy these requirements.

If you are from an exchange partner of Leiden University (so-called “university-wide” exchange agreement, see list here), the following minimum admission requirements apply:

  • Completed at least 3 semesters at your home university beforecommencing at LUC as an exchange student;
  • A minimum GPA of 3.2/4.0 (or its equivalent);
  • Overall IELTS band score (preferred) of 7.0 or higher with at least a 7.0 in all individual components OR an overall TOEFL (iBT) score of 100 or higher with a minimum score of 25 in each individual component OR Cambridge (CAE/CPE) Advanced or Proficiency with an overall score of 185 or higher and a 185 on each item. Students attending a partner university located in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or the USA will be waived from this requirement.  Students who have completed an IB diploma (English taught), will also be waived from this requirement.

For prospective exchange students from partner universities in Mainland China the following minimum requirements apply:

  • Completed at least 4 semesters before commencing at LUC as exchange student;
  • A minimum GPA of 85/100 or 3.2/4.0
  • Overall IELTS band score (preferred) of 7.0 or higher with at least a 7.0 in all individual components OR an overall TOEFL (iBT) score of 100 or higher with a minimum score of 25 in each individual component.
  • Two letters or recommendation (in English) of professors that are currently teaching or have taught you recently (up to 2 previous semesters) and can comment on your academic performance and potential.
  • Sample essay or paper submitted during student’s study for grading and in English (between 800 – 1500 words), including a signed statement of the instructor who had graded the paper in which s/he declares that the paper has not been altered after grading.  If you have not written an essay or paper in English, you are allowed to submit an (own) translation, as long as you also submit the original one as well.

In some cases, you will need to submit additional documents in order to support your application. The following additional documents may be requested for submission:

  • One or two letters of recommendation (in English) of professors who have taught you recently and can comment on your academic performance and potential.
  • Sample essay or paper submitted during student’s study for grading and in English (between 800 – 1500 words), including a signed statement of the professor who had graded the paper in which s/he declares that the paper has not been altered after grading.  If you have not written an essay or paper in English, you are allowed to submit an (own) translation, as long as you also submit the original one.

As of 1 January 2018, LUC will only accept exchange students with which Leiden University or LUC has an Exchange, ISEP or SAP agreement with.  Independent study abroad students (so-called “freemovers”) will no longer be admitted to LUC’s Exchange Programme.  If you are interested to study at other Faculties of Leiden University as an independent study abroad student, please contact Leiden University’s Central Admissions Office at exchange@sea.leidenuniv.nl.

Course Offerings

LUC offers a total of 350 courses and all courses are offered in English. If you decide to spend a semester or year studying abroad at LUC The Hague, please bear in mind that you will be required to take all you courses at LUC.  It will not be possible to take courses at other faculties or programmes of Leiden University. In our e‐Prospectus you will find all relevant academic information about available courses, including detailed course outlines, timetables, the LUC attendance policy, and the LUC grading policy.

This website uses cookies.