Two-dimensional materials and their van der Waals heterostructures offer unforeseen potential for electronics and spintronics. At present, the available two-dimensional material repertoire covers semiconductors, ferromagnets, superconductors, and topological insulators, which already feature highly interesting physics. Remarkably, one can manipulate the properties of a two-dimensional material by proximity effects, while still preserving a great degree of its own autonomy. The ability to

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... and modify the electronic, spin, and optical properties of two-dimensional materials is extremely valuable for investigating novel physical phenomena, as well as a potential knob for device applications. In this thesis, we investigate graphene, bilayer graphene, and transition-metal dichalcogenides in proximity to various two-dimensional materials. We quantify the spin-orbit and magnetic proximity effects by fitting suitable model Hamiltonians, which capture the relevant low energy electronic and spin properties, to realistic first-principles calculations. As we show, the obtained results can be used for calculating charge and spin transport or optical properties, and are vital for the interpretation of experiments.