The Utrecht University Network for Mediterranean Studies (NMS) provides a platform for cross-regional, multidisciplinary, and longue durée approaches to a complex and contested macro-region. It brings together researchers from the Faculties of Humanities and Law, Economics and Governance, and seeks to strengthen collaboration across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Historians, philosophers, lawyers, archaeologists, philologists, scholars of religion and culture, and political theorists contribute complementary perspectives to understanding the Mediterranean as a space shaped by mobility, governance, economic exchange, environmental conditions, and cultural production.

Beyond fostering internal collaboration, the Network serves as a hub for knowledge exchange between academia and society. It enhances the visibility of Mediterranean expertise at Utrecht University; facilitates connections between researchers and societal partners—including heritage institutions, policy organisations, NGOs, think tanks, and educational bodies; and provides media outlets with informed and accessible expertise on Mediterranean developments, past and present. By combining internal cohesion with external engagement, the Network positions Utrecht University as a recognisable centre of Mediterranean research in national and international contexts.