Leiden University offers a BA, MA and Research MA degree in Assyriology, as well as a PhD program taught at the graduate school of the Leiden Faculty of Humanities. Our BA program is taught in Dutch and English and consists of language courses in Akkadian, Sumerian and Hittite, combined with modules on the cultural history of the ancient Near East, epigraphy, museology and material culture. BA students also take modules in Egyptian, Levantine and Greco-Roman history and in critical area studies. The MA in Assyriology is a one year program taught in English within the framework of a degree in Classics and Ancient Civilizations. This internationally oriented program allows students to gain basic as well as advanced training in language, script and history. The Research MA prepares students for a research career and includes, besides modules in Assyriology, training in one of the Netherlands’ many research schools. The graduate school admits students who wish to pursue a PhD in Assyriology, and area studies such as Egyptology and Middle Eastern Studies. At all levels, staff and students work closely with the NINO, benefiting from its library and collection of cuneiform texts, and from its lively academic and social calendar (lectures, conferences, book warmings etc.).

Within the Faculty of Archaeology, one of the most pre-eminent centers of archaeology worldwide, we focus on Archaeological Heritage, Archaeological Sciences and Archaeological Area studies. One of the Areas that defines the Faculty of Archaeology is that of Western Asia, in which we have a long and distinguished track record with numerous fieldwork projects across Western Asia (currently in Turkey, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, and Oman). Courses on the region, fieldwork opportunities, and thesis projects are offered within the BA World Archaeology, the MA Global Archaeology, and the Research MA in Archaeology. Students interested in this field of archaeology benefit from the NINO library and the activities that take place at the NINO and in the RMO.

The Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO), founded in 1939, aims to advance research in the history, archaeology, languages and cultures of Egypt, Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia. From its location at Leiden University, NINO organizes lectures and conferences, and provides research facilities and a variety of funding instruments (fellowships, grants, and subsidies) to support students and scholars in- and outside of the Netherlands. NINO maintains an internationally renowned open-shelf library (curated by the Leiden Universities Libraries), which holds one of the most complete study collections in the fields of Egyptology, Assyriology, Hittitology, archaeology of the Near East and related studies. NINO further owns several collections, including the De Liagre Böhl Collection: the largest collection of cuneiform inscriptions in the Netherlands. With Peeters Publishers (Leuven), NINO publishes several monographs series and journals. For more information, please visit our website: https://nino-leiden.nl.

The Netherlands Institute in Turkey, founded in 1958, is a research center dedicated to the study of Turkey and surrounding regions through the ages. It conducts historical and archaeological research, and aims to support studies in the humanities and social sciences that have a bearing on Turkey, by scholars as well as students, from the Netherlands and other countries. The institute is located in the central district of Beyoğlu in Istanbul. Its premises are in Merkez Han, a complex of Koç University that houses the university’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED). NIT organizes conferences, lectures, workshops and intensive (summer) courses for university students. It further conducts and hosts several long-term research projects in archaeology, architectural history and heritage studies. Its well-equipped scientific library has served several generations of students and researchers and continues to serve the scholarly community in Istanbul. For more information, please visit our website: www.nit-istanbul.org.  

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers interdisciplinary BA and MA programmes in Ancient Studies jointly with the University of Amsterdam. The programmes operate within the collaborative framework of the Amsterdam Centre for Ancient Studies and Archaeology (ACASA), which allows students to enrol either at the VU or the UvA and follow the same dynamic and multifaceted curriculum. The objectives of ACASA are to provide broad-based but rigorous training, to encourage students to make connections between the civilizations of the Mediterranean world and the Ancient Near East and to apply approaches and discourses developed in the broader humanities. In our BA programme (taught in Dutch and English), it is possible to specialize in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and study Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian literature, as well as cultural and intellectual history. ACASA students benefit from a close relationship with the Allard Pierson Museum and the Van der Meer-Cools Collection of cuneiform texts at the VU. The Graduate Schools of the VU and the UvA admit students from all over the world (of more than 60 nationalities) each year at the Master’s and Doctorate level. Both the one-year MA and the two-year Research MA in Classics and Ancient Civilizations are taught in English and allow students to choose between a track in Ancient Studies or Classics. The Research MA is designed to prepare candidates to successfully pursue research-oriented positions in academia or in professional fields. 

Useful links: 

ACASA: https://acasa.uva.nl/en  

Our BA programme:  

https://acasa.uva.nl/en/education/bachelors-programmes/bachelors-programmes.html   

Our MA programmes:  

https://vu.nl/en/education/master/classics-and-ancient-civilizations   

https://vu.nl/en/education/master/classics-and-ancient-civilizations-research