Catholic University Of Leuven

About KU Leuven

The KU Leuven is a strongly research-oriented university. Among its many accolades is to be reckoned among the top universities of Europe. In the 2015-2016 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) university ranking, the KU Leuven was ranked 35th in the world and 12th in Europe, making it the highest ranked university from the low countries (The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) in either category. Its current 2015-2016 QS World University Ranking position is 82nd. KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy current ranks 24th in the world. In 2016, KU Leuven was ranked first on the Reuters' list of Europe's most innovative universities.KU Leuven Law School currently ranks 26th in the world.

The University of Leuven was founded at the centre of the historic town of Leuven in 1425, making it Belgium's first university. After being closed in 1797 during the Napoleonic period, the Catholic University of Leuven was "re-founded" in 1834, and is frequently, but controversially, identified as a continuation of the older institution.A In 1968 the Catholic University of Leuven split into the Dutch-language Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the French-language Université catholique de Louvain, which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve in Wallonia. Since the fifteenth century, Louvain, as it is still often called, has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology. It is considered the oldest Catholic university still in existence.

In the 2014-2015 Academic Year, 55,484 students were attending classes at the 15 faculties of the KU Leuven, 9,930 of whom were foreign students, many of whom were able to follow courses offered in English. Most courses, however, are taught in Dutch. The KU Leuven is a member of the Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities) as well as of the LERU Group (League of European Research Universities). Since November 2014, KU Leuven's Faculty of Economics and Business is accredited byEuropean Quality Improvement System, which is a leading accreditation system specializing in higher education institutions of management and business administration.

Since August 2013, the university has been led by Rik Torfs who replaced former rector Mark Waer. The Belgian archbishop, André-Joseph Léonard is the current Grand Chancellor and a member of the university board.

The KU Leuven is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, under her traditional attribute as 'Seat of Wisdom', and organizes an annual celebration on 2 February in her honour. On that day, the university also awards its honorary doctorates. The seal used by the university shows the medieval statue of the Sedes Sapientiae, Leuven, in a vesica piscis shape. Despite its Catholic origin, the university welcomes students from different faith communities.

In Flanders, the KU Leuven has a Catholic origin, whereas the University of Ghent and the University of Antwerp are officially neutral on issues of religious/philosophical orientation, and the Free University of Brussels is Freethinking.

• Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

  Our Faculty is one of the oldest theological faculties in the world. Since 1432 the Faculty has touched the lives of countless students, who are now working and living all over the world. The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies conceives itself as situated at the crossroads of the academy, the Church, and present-day culture and society, with a special place for the Catholic tradition. The Faculty’s research and teaching is always characterised by a careful handling of the past, a profound commitment with regard to the present, and a hopeful belief in a better future.

  This was never more so the case than in this present day and age. A committed group of professors and researchers is striving to educate all students (international or otherwise) in such a way that it prepares them for any future professional job in the many domains our programmes grant access to. The professional possibilities are diverse: our alumni work in education, research, pastoral care, social organisations, etc. Their work really makes a difference. That is why the Faculty is intent on proceeding with the study of Christian theology in dialogue with other world religions and other human sciences. A modern theology needs to be interested in the cultures of which religions are a part. Where other world religions are concerned, special attention is paid to the ‘religions of the book’: Islam and Judaism.

  The Faculty is keenly interested in the relevant and distinctive contribution to society of all, students, professors, and staff members, each in their own way. It provides a vibrant environment for theological research, teaching and service, for which the Faculty receives international recognition and appreciation. Our Faculty welcomes each year many new international students to partake in the complete programme in English offered by our Faculty. Thanks to the rich diversity in background and heritage these students add their own flavour to an already stimulating multiplicity of ideas and opinions.

  These students and many other foreign researchers are aware of the fact that our Faculty has at its disposal one of the richest and largest theological libraries in the world. Situated in the heart of the city, our Faculty is also a great location for the many conferences and symposia organised by our colleagues.

  Our Faculty webpages have a lot to offer: practical information, but also information on the Faculty and its history, a history we are proud of, so proud that today we are working hard to keep up the tradition to combine in-depth research, excellent education, and meaningful service, in the project that is called the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. 

• Faculty of Canon Law

  The faculty of Canon Law in Leuven, which  has an internationally renowned staff, has students from all over the world. Both in research and in education, a special emphasis is laid on social relevance and commitment with particular attention to themethodology of law. Special care is shown of distance learning students in an open and ambient atmosphere.

  As the faculty does not have an extensive permanent staff, it gets the opportunity to attract international experts and field-workers. Instructors and students from all over the world meet together in concentrated lesson weeks to share their knowledge and expertise in an interactive and stimulating atmosphere.

  A characteristic of the ‘Leuven school’ of canon law is the attention which is paid to  ‘law’ in the study of canon law. Primarily, canon law is the study of rules which control the life of an ecclesiastical community and its position in civil law. Specific to canon law as ‘law’ is that its foundations are rooted in the life of the Church and its theology.

• Institute of Philosophy

  The Institute of Philosophy offers full programmes in English leading to BA, MA and PhD degrees. Research at the Institute of Philosophy is organised through five research centres. With some 30 full-time teaching staff, nearly 130 adjunct faculty members, post-docs and doctoral students, the Institute of Philosophy is among the largest research groups in philosophy on the continent. 

• Faculty of Law

  Our Law Faculty offers a unique range of possibilities. If you prefer a smaller campus with more intensive student support, you can do the first two years of your Bachelor of Law programme at KULAK, Kortrijk or at HUB in Brussels, where we even offer a unique bilingual course. It is even possible to combine your training in Law with another major: for instance, you can combine Law with Economics and Business Studies, with Political Science or with Governmental Management and Policy. A combination of Law and Criminology is possible as well. KU Leuven also offers a special programme for working students, consisting of digital learning resources, such as web lectures for distance learning. We also organise a few Advanced Master’s programmes with specializations in notarial studies, company law, fiscal studies, intellectual property law and ICT law, as well as a few English-language programmes. Feel free to come and check out what our Faculty has to offer on one of our information days or during the open week.

  Our staff, consisting of more than 300 professors, researchers and assistant lecturers, have a unique and extensive know-how. Our Faculty is renowned for the wide practical experience of its professors, who are prominent lawyers, criminologists, or notaries. Our staff also includes diplomats, politicians, prison directors, directors of listed companies and magistrates in the highest national and international courts of law. This allows us to offer a broad spectrum of pathways and electives on the most diverse subjects. We make special efforts to keep track of our first-year students through the tutorial service in order to facilitate the transition from secondary school to university.

• Faculty of Economics and Business

  The primary missions of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) are education and research.

  A FEB education aims to prepare students for successful entrepreneurial endeavours and careers in the corporate world, in national and international public policy-making, or in research. To achieve this the FEB offers high-quality, research-based degree programmes in the fields of both economics and business, and from Bachelor to PhD.

  Secondly, the FEB wants to foster research with high academic and societal impact, and high visibility in the corporate world. The FEB’s ambition is to be the leading learning and research community in Belgium and to excel in the different research subfields the school hosts, thereby deserving its high rank among the top of European schools of Economics and Business.

  To achieve these twin primary objectives, FEB wants to develop a stimulating environment for staff and students, in which they feel free to develop their innovative, ethical and entrepreneurial expertise in education, research and business, whilst emphasizing the role of economic policy and business in the greater society and keeping a global focus through international exchanges and cooperation.

• Faculty of Social Sciences

  The Faculty of Social Sciences at KU Leuven is home to approximately three thousand students, about fifty professors and two hundred research assistants. The faculty’s objective is to contribute to the quality of society and analyse and inform societal trends through its education and research. Our programmes are thus closely linked to current events. As a student, you will closely track the developments of contemporary, fast-paced and changing society.

  The topical and innovative aspect of our programmes is also to be found in our modern infrastructure. Our campus is equipped with advanced teaching technology, Wi-Fi, a library exclusively devoted to social sciences, a media centre with a usability lab and observation mirror and a meeting centre with video conferencing equipment. Via the interactive digital learning environment (Toledo) and our online student portal, you can check the online notice board, consult study materials and contribute to the discussion forum.

  Our programmes also have a strong international orientation, both as a result of their content and through international student exchange. The faculty also offers English language Advanced Master’s programmes.

• Faculty of Arts

  This faculty groups a large amount of cultural sciences, such as history, archeology, art history, musicology, linguistics and literature, area studies and applied linguistics.

  At this faculty, education and research address the cultural development of humanity from prehistory up to the present, in the Western as well as in the non-Western world. 11 academic bachelor programmes, 19 master programmes and 6  post-initial master programmes are organised. Research focuses on the (historical and contemporal) intercultural relations in Northwestern Europe (with special attention to the Low Countries) and the Eastern Mediterranean region.

• Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences

  The mission of our faculty is to provide academic education, to conduct innovative research and to offer scientific and societal services in the fields of psychology and educational sciences. Some 80 professors, 400 researchers, some 80 support staff, and approximately 180 volunteers realize this mission with great commitment and enthusiasm.

  Our faculty conducts innovative scientific research, often in an interdisciplinary and international context. The research is driven both by fundamental and practical and policy-oriented issues. This results in numerous successful PhD’s, scientific publications, and new project applications. The faculty strives to belong to the excellent research centres in Europe and the world in the domains of psychology and educational sciences.

  Our faculty offers a challenging and dynamic study environment to more than 4,400 students. In our programs of study and courses we strive to offer diverse, attractive and research-based education of high academic quality. The various undergraduate and graduate programmes integrate scientific and practice components in a broad ethical, cultural and social education. Next to this we give special attention to the formation of researchers in the doctoral schools, to teacher training and to various postgraduate courses.

• Faculty of Architecture

  The Faculty of Architecture takes the international dimension as the basis for its own quality assessment. It positions itself squarely within the international field of qualitative architectural education. The faculty’s international activities are extensive and diversified: student mobility and staff exchange on a European and intercontinental level, internationally oriented programmes for incoming students, international workshops and competitions, international research projects, international internships, development cooperation, etc.

  The faculty works hard to consolidate and enrich its network of cooperative associations with professionals and universities in Europe, Australia, the United States, Latin America, Africa and Asia. It offers its students access to this international forum of spatial design activities. The faculty sees this as a catalyst for creativity and as an added value to the student’s future professional career.

• Faculty of Science

  The Faculty of Science is a place of cutting edge craftsmanship and groundbreaking scientific research, where creative people, driven by knowledge and skills, connect, collaborate, and lead change. Our 650 researchers and 150 faculty members are passionate, decisive people who practise their research activities with a sense of devotion and an excellent eye for detail. People who break new ground in their domain, collaborate across disciplines and develop students to become independent, critically thinking professionals.

  The Faculty of Science is home to over 3150 students - of which 600 international students - spread across 5 academic departments (listed below) and 27 research divisions, covering numerous cutting edge research domains.

• Faculty of Engineering Science

  The Faculty brings the intellectual and human capital of each individual student to a higher leven by offering him a research based education in scientific and engineering fundamentals. The Faculty stimulates students to practice in-depth learning by addressing and challenging their “disciplinary future self”, to make them aware of who they wish to become as a professional (Beruf) and as members of society in general (Bildung). In order to stimulate the development of the students’ disciplinary future self, the Faculty provides multidisciplinary programmes that acquaint students with the engineering profession and with related disciplines. We value both breadth and depth of knowledge, expanding the reasoning, communication and problem-solving abilities, in order to prepare students for life-long learning. Our research-oriented education is based on research programmes which are defined and developed in close collaboration with recognised international peers and with industry.

• Faculty of Bioscience Engineering

  Are you motivated to try to better understand complex systems and search for creative solutions for the current changes e.g. global warming, biofuels, limited resources? Then this website is what you were looking for and I’m sure you will find a suitable programme at our Faculty!

  On our Campus, around the castle of Arenberg, you will be able to study and conduct research in a green, pleasant and inspiring environment. Leuven itself is a real student-town, with 36,000 students over a population of 100,000. It’s a charming small city, only 30 minutes drive from Brussels, the capital of Europe.

  The broad range of educational programmes in bioscience engineering at Bachelor and Master level reflects the all-round character of our Faculty. For these educational programmes it is important to rely on the strengths of the scientific and innovative research. This is carried out in three departments: the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Department of Biosystems and the Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems. For educational and research purposes, the Faculty can use various facilities such as the Centre of Fruit Culture, the Experimental Farm for Animal Breeding, and the Greenhouse Facility with as well moderate as (sub)tropical environments.

  We will provide you not only with scientific knowledge, but also with management skills and we will motivate you to explore yourself. You will meet a lot of other international students. We are one of the most European and international faculties in Leuven! Each year we receive and send students from/to universities all over the world; from Stellenbosch to Stockholm; Valencia to Varadero; Mekele to Melbourne.

• Faculty of Engineering Technology

  The Faculty of Engineering Technology gathers all Industrial Sciences programmes offered by the KU Leuven at campuses throughout Flanders. In addition to the faculties of Science, Engineering Science, Bioengineering Science and Architecture, the Engineering Technology Faculty is one of the five faculties within the KU Leuven's Science, Engineering & Technology Group.

  Education at the Faculty of Engineering Technology is organized in a unique way. Students can choose to follow their programme of choice at no less than 7 locations throughout Flanders: from Ostend, Ghent, Aalst, Sint-Katelijne-Waver or Leuven, to Geel or Diepenbeek. The Faculty of Engineering Technology ensures that the unique approach and quality of the programmes taught at each of these campuses is guaranteed, while bearing in mind common goals and interests. Research is conducted in collaboration with the departments of the Science, Engineering & Technology Group and is organized in so-called technology clusters.

• Faculty of Medicine

  The Faculty of Medicine here at KU Leuven University is dedicated to training future professionals that can handle these ever-changing environments. We provide our students with the scientific background to respond to the challenges in a creative, critical and flexible manner. Our superb staff are practising medical professionals, passing on their knowledge and frontline experience of the most recent developments in the discipline.
  
  One particularly important asset we provide is our close collaborative relationship with the University Hospital Leuven as well as the presence of various research centres. This offers students first-hand experience and the chance to encounter complicated disease patterns; to learn about the sensitivities of patients and their families and to embark upon research of their own.Thanks to this approach, we prepare the next generation of doctors, dentists, nurses, biomedical researchers, speech therapists, audiologists, sexologists, and policy makers.

• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

  The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers educational programmes in the broad area of drug development and pharmaceutical care. It offers one bachelor’s, two master’s, and three advanced master’s programmes. It also participates in various postgraduate interdisciplinary programmes. Our dynamic educational programmes keep up with the fast-growing knowledge and expertise in all medical areas, their use in patients, and their relation with society and healthcare systems.
  The intense participation of the faculty members in basic and applied research ensures the high quality of our programmes,
  as do close collaborations with departments from the Faculty of Medicine, the University Hospitals Leuven (the hospital pharmacists in particular), the Faculty of Psychology, the Faculty of Economics, the pharmaceutical industry, and many others. International collaborations of faculty members with other universities or research centres throughout the world provide ample opportunities for international student exchanges.

• Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences

  The Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences trains professionals and researchers in a variety of areas within exercise and health, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, physical education, sports and performance. We offer diverse studyprogrammes at undergraduate and graduate level. All faculty staff members participate in basic and/or applied research programmes according to international standards. Their expertise and the availability of excellent facilities guarantee high-quality educational and research programmes, as well as intensive interdisciplinary collaboration with: other faculties/departments (psychology, medicine, engineering, …), the University Hospitals (UZ Leuven) and several international partners. 

  The faculty has its own campus in the green park of Arenberg, located within walking distance of the historical city center of Leuven and other campuses of KU Leuven, and close to the University Hospitals (UZ Leuven). It is an inspiring meeting place for students, researchers, professors, athletes and patients.

History of KU Leuven

Situated in the heart of Western Europe, KU Leuven has been a centre of learning for almost six centuries. Founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, KU Leuven bears the double honour of being the oldest extant Catholic university in the world and the oldest university in the Low Countries.

In its early days, our university was modelled on the universities of Paris, Cologne, and Vienna. In a short time, it grew into one of the largest and most renowned universities in Europe. Its academic fame attracted numerous scholars who made valuable contributions to European culture. In the sixteenth century the humanist Desiderius Erasmus lectured here, where he founded the Collegium Trilingue in 1517 for the study of Hebrew, Latin, and Greek - the first of its kind. The tutor of the young emperor Charles V, Adriaan Cardinal Florensz of Utrecht, was a professor here before being elected in 1522 as the last non-Italian Pope before Pope John Paul II. The philologist, legal scholar, and historian Justus Lipsius taught here for many years.

The mathematician Gemma Frisius helped to lay the foundations of modern science and tutored many famous scientists, including the cartographer Gerard Mercator, whose map projection is still in use, the botanist Rembert Dodoens, and the father of modern anatomy, Andreas Vesalius. In a later period, the theses of the Leuven theologian Cornelius Jansenius provoked a large and heated controversy both inside and outside the Church. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, KU Leuven was an important training centre for Roman Catholic intellectuals from Protestant countries. At the end of the Age of Enlightenment, in 1783, the chemist Pieter Jan Minckelers discovered the suitability of coal gas for lighting. In the nineteenth century, at the instigation of Pope Leo XIII, KU Leuven became an important centre of Thomist philosophy.

Not all has been trouble-free, though, in the university's illustrious history. It has had its share of difficulties during the various social and political upheavals in this region from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. More recently, the two World Wars of the twentieth century deeply scarred the university. In 1914, the University Hall with its precious library was set in flames by German troops and 300,000 books were reduced to ashes. Afterwards, an international solidarity campaign with a major American contribution helped construct a new library on the present Ladeuzeplein. Unfortunately, this library was burned down in 1940 during the Second World War and this time only 15,000 of its 900,000 volumes were saved. Since then, the university library, and in fact the entire university, has undergone a thorough reconstruction.

The university is located in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium. With the Dutch language's steady rise to renewed prominence, 1968 saw the university split into two new universities. The French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain moved to the newly built campus in Louvain-la-Neuve. The Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven remained in the historic town of Leuven.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation or Recognition - Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs en Vorming, België

Rankings

• In 2015, the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven as the world's 90th best university
• The Times Higher Education ranked KU Leuven 35th best university
• QS World University Rankings ranked KU Leuven 82nd overall in the world.
• In 2016, KU Leuven was ranked first on the Reuters' list of Europe's most innovative universities.

Student Life @KU Leuven

Leuven is a relatively small city, with close to 30,000 inhabitants living in its city centre. Add to this a large university with more than 40,000 students at its Leuvenbased campus and the result is a truly unique environment far more international and youthful than a ‘normal’ city of similar size. Leuven is also home to several university colleges.

KU Leuven’s Housing Service helps students find a comfortable place to live while in Leuven. With several thousand student rooms under university management, KU Leuven offers extensive housing options for all living situations. Many students also find housing on the private market. 

Many students take their meals at an Alma. The university’s network of student restaurants serves nearly 2 million meals each year at very affordable prices.

In Leuven, you are never far from A to B. Getting around is easy on foot, by bicycle, or by bus. The city centre is decidedly pedestrian-friendly, which makes walking a pleasure and driving somewhat of a pain.

The university also provides various services for students seeking financial, legal, and employment advice. The Social Services Office provides information and guidance regarding student finances, including need-based scholarships. The Legal Office specialises in fielding social-juridical questions about students’ particular socio-legal status. The Student Employment Office helps place students in part-time, temporary, and holiday jobs. The service also provides information on laws governing the social and fiscal aspects of student employment.

For primary medical care, student walk-ins are welcome at the Student Health Centre, which is staffed by excellent general practitioners with decades of experience treating young adults. The centre also provides health information and education tailored to a student audience. 

Additionally, the centre offers outpatient psychotherapy and psychiatric care for individuals and groups. Students visit the centre with study-related issues such as exam anxiety, chronic procrastination, and concentration problems. Students experiencing depression, anxiety, and relationship issues can also seek support here.

The Ombudsperson provides support and guidance to students experiencing harassment and violence of a sexual or non-sexual nature.

Culture

Leuven’s cultural landscape is as varied as it is rich. From large-scale to small-scale, highbrow to art-house, classical to techno, the city has something to fit everyone’s fancy. The university strives to do its part to nurture this and gives students and staff every opportunity to participate in the rich cultural life of the city.

The city’s thoughtful cultural policy – the result of a cooperative effort by the city, its cultural organisations, and the university – and a widely varied infrastructure create an excellent framework for active participation and expression.

Two university carillons, eight ensembles, museum-calibre exhibitions, a centuries-old patrimony, performances by rising and established stars, awards for creative achievements: the cultural richness of the city and the university literally fills volumes. 

Students can enjoy cultural activities at various locations. Particularly worth noting is STUK, a centre for the arts that has recently adopted a new mission: to become a House for Dance, Image, and Sound. 

Sport

Tucked away in the green Arenberg Park is the University Sports Centre. This expansive and modern complex offers students and staff members access to numerous indoor and outdoor sports, both recreational and competitive, ranging from tennis to climbing and basketball to speleology and paragliding.

For fitness enthusiasts, personal trainers are on staff at the fully equipped fitness centre. There is also a swimming pool, tennis courts, several soccer fields, and an all-weather track, among other facilities.

Topsport ABC, which includes a high-altitude simulation room among its facilities, provides sports medicine expertise (exercise physiology, nutrition, sports rehabilitation) for Belgian and international elite athletes. Student-athletes who excel in a specific discipline can make arrangements to combine their studies with a competitive sport.

The Bakala Academy Athletic Performance Center is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to sport science research and testing. It helps elite athletes optimise their performance. 

Stura and LOKO

Stura (the KU Leuven Student Council) and LOKO (KU Leuven’s umbrella student organisation) play a central role in student life at the university. 

Stura represents all KU Leuven students, including the students from the university colleges that integrated into KU Leuven (e.g. in Mechelen and Antwerp). The Stura representatives defend student interests in various governing bodies of KU Leuven, particularly when it comes to educational matters. In addition, the KU Leuven Student Council also reflects on internationalisation, ICT, and diversity.

LOKO, also known as ‘Campus Council Leuven’, mainly focuses on social issues (with representatives in, for instance, Alma and Velo) as well as on culture and sport. Activities including the 24-Hour Relay Race and Lokomotion are co-organised by LOKO.

Services of KU Leuven

Library

When the university was split, those books that could not be divided otherwise (e.g. according to the wishes of the benefactors who donated them) were divided as follows: those with an odd-numbered shelfmark stayed in Leuven, while the even-numbered ones moved to Louvain-la-Neuve. This gave rise to the widespread myth that every other volume was separated - splitting up runs of journals and volumes of encyclopedias - but since such series each had a single shelfmark this was never in fact the case. The Central Library alone now owns about 1,300,000 works.

Inside Room 07.30 of the Faculteit Letteren is the Belgian Association of Japanese Language Teachers (ベルギー日本語教師会 Berugi Nihongo Kyōshikai; BNK) book case of materials for teaching the Japanese language.

University Hospital

UZ Leuven (Universitair ziekenhuis Leuven) is the teaching hospital associated with the KU Leuven. Its most well known and largest campus is Gasthuisberg (literally 'guest house hill') and also houses the majority of auditoria of the faculty of medicine and the faculty of Pharmaceutical sciences.

Social Service

The Social Service strives to ensure that every student can study 'care-free'. We want to be a 'steppingstone' where you can ask any question of a practical, legal or financial nature related to your stay as a student in Leuven and where you can find a sympathetic ear in case of personal or emotional troubles. The consultation is free of charge and confidential.

Study Advice Service

The Study Advice Service provides advice and support for both national and international students on study-related matters. You are welcome throughout your student career: before you enter the university, while you are studying at KU Leuven and after you have graduated.

Service for students with disabilities

Students with disabilities are supported by the Disability Office of the KU Leuven. This office assists students who have (clinically) documented impairments that limit their ability to participate in academic activities. The office assesses eligibility for accommodations relating to instructional settings and exams.
Every student has to follow the same procedure before having access to accomodations. The office has several disability officers, who are each responsible for a number of faculties. 

Why KU Leuven?

Today, international co-operation is regarded as essential for a modern university. Top-level research is judged according to international standards and implies interaction, co-operation, and exchange, both of researchers and results. As such, KU Leuven is a charter member of the League of European Research Universities, and European surveys rank KU Leuven among the top ten European universities in terms of its scholarly output. Likewise with regard to teaching, several quality surveys demonstrate that KU Leuven stands on par with internationally respected institutions in a large number of fields.

This academic reputation attracts students from all over the world. KU Leuven has been involved in the Erasmus student exchange programme since its launch in Europe in the late 1980s; the growing success of the Erasmus programme later on led to the launch of the Socrates programme, and today the University of Leuven has over 300 contracts under this programme. Each year around 600 international Erasmus students spend part of their study programme in Leuven, while more than 500 of our students share the same European experience at another university. The TEMPUS-PHARE programme was set up for students and researchers from Eastern Europe, while contacts with universities in the former Soviet Union are being built up through the TEMPUS-TACIS programme. The co-operation with universities in Latin America falls within the scope of the ALFA programme.

Besides these exchange programmes, the university has set up a number of international academic programmes aimed both at Belgian and international students. Unlike the regular Dutch-language programmes, the international academic programmes are taught in English. Most of these programmes confer master’s degrees: full bachelor’s degree programmes in English are offered only in the fields of theology andphilosophy.

At present, KU Leuven caters to more than 31,000 students, around 12% of whom are international students from more than 120 nations. In terms of its personnel, there are 5,287 academic staff, 2,730 administrative and technical staff, and 8,172 university hospital staff members. With regard to its physical facilities, the university occupies a total area of 1,058,445 square metres and it has a total of 26,606 rooms. On the academic side, the university is composed of fourteen faculties, fifty departments and about 240 sub-departments. Further, its network of thirty auxiliary libraries now houses a total of 4.3 million volumes, 14,500 magazines and journals, and 7,492 full text electronic magazines. And concerning its medical facilities, KU Leuven supports five hospitals and three affiliated hospitals, with a total of 2,057 hospital beds for the acutely ill.

Hopefully, this has given you a more vivid picture of KU Leuven. KU Leuven's rich history can be read not only from the city's street names, but also from the dozens of historical university buildings. The medieval cloth hall, near the famous gothic town hall, is the university's administrative centre. The beautifully restored Great Beguinage houses students and guest professors. And numerous other old colleges and residence halls give Leuven the stylish face of a university town with a tradition. Where else can you find a university within a town, and indeed a 'town' within a university, so dynamically integrated? Its rich historical tradition continues to serve as a solid foundation for top-level research and centres of academic excellence. To this day, KU Leuven thrives as a bustling student town with a strong international allure, where various cultures meet and experiences are exchanged.

• Science@Leuven Scholarship