KU Leuven

Overview

KU Leuven is a research university located in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Officially known as the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven, the school is currently the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries.

The university comprises three main academic groups—Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Engineering and Technology, and Biomedical Sciences—each with faculties and departments that offer bachelor's, master's, and doctoral academic programs. Most courses are taught in Flemish or Dutch, but many of the university's academic programs are offered in English. This is particularly true for KU Leuven's graduate programs. Students can pursue these programs at the university's main campus in Leuven or its satellite campuses in several cities in Flanders, including Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent.

KU Leuven is one of the oldest universities in Europe and one of the oldest extant Catholic universities in the world. The university traces its roots to the Old University of Leuven, established in 1425, which comprised faculties of humanities, canon law, civil law, and medicine. The school attracted thousands of students and renowned scientists throughout the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s before the French government closed it down in 1797. The school was reopened as the State University of Leuven in 1817, and it became a Catholic institution again in 1834. Despite its Catholic heritage, the university operates independently from the Church.

Today, KU Leuven continues to foster an environment of scientific and scholarly research. Research activities at KU Leuven focus on nine key areas, which include Human Health, Matter, Materials and Energy, and Economy, Law and Society. The university's researchers have filed more patents than any other European university, making it one of the most innovative schools in Europe.

To support university research and its applications, KY Leuven has established a number of entities and research facilities. The Rega Institute for Medical Research, for instance, accommodates biomedical and pharmacological research and is known for its role in the discovery of anti-HIV compounds. The university also makes its research available to the public through Metaforum, the university's interdisciplinary think-tank.

Research is also at the core of KU Leuven's Strategic Plan, which aims to promote the university's international reputation, provide future-oriented education, and promote interdisciplinarity and sustainability. As such, KU Leuven has partnered up with numerous universities and research institutions around the world, offering mobility scholarships to students.

The university also encourages entrepreneurship among its students. KU Leuven KICK provides students with a community for coaching and funding opportunities. Meanwhile, Leuven Research and Development has led to the founding of numerous spin-off companies.