She studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Human Rights at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki. She received a Master in European and International Public Law from the University of Tilburg (cum laude). In 2007, she joined the department of Criminal Law and Criminology of Maastricht University as a PhD researcher and lecturer and defended her PhD in 2015. Her dissertation, which was financed by the NWO, develops a theory for the principle of legality in European criminal law. Dr Peristeridou is a qualified member of the Bar of Thessaloniki.