About KU Leuven
KU Leuven is a prestigious Catholic research university located in Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the Low Countries, with a rich history spanning nearly 600 years. KU Leuven is renowned for its cutting-edge research, diverse academic programs, and international outlook. The university offers a comprehensive range of degree programs across 15 faculties, covering various fields of study. KU Leuven's main campus is in Leuven, but it also has satellite campuses in several other Belgian cities, including Kortrijk, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels. The university is known for its strong emphasis on research and innovation, attracting top minds in academia and fostering partnerships with industry to benefit society. KU Leuven operates independently from the Church despite its Catholic heritage and is open to students from all backgrounds. The university's primary language of instruction is Dutch, but it also offers numerous programs in English, particularly at the graduate and postgraduate levels. KU Leuven is consistently ranked among the top universities globally and is the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries.
63
QS World University Rankings
65000
Total enrollment
21%
International students
Accreditations and Rankings
63
QS World University Rankings
65000
Total enrollment
21%
International students
Accreditations and Rankings
KU Leuven Highlights
Career Outcomes and Placement Information
KU Leuven offers comprehensive career services to support students in their professional development and job search. The university's career center provides a range of resources and programs designed to help students transition from academic life to the workforce. These services include personalized career counseling, workshops on resume writing and interview skills, and job search strategies. KU Leuven also organizes career fairs and networking events, connecting students with potential employers from various industries. The university's strong ties with industry partners and its extensive alumni network provide valuable opportunities for internships and job placements. Additionally, KU Leuven offers entrepreneurship support for students interested in starting their own businesses. The career services team works closely with academic departments to ensure that students are well-prepared for the specific demands of their chosen fields. International students receive tailored support to navigate the Belgian job market and work visa requirements. KU Leuven's commitment to career development extends beyond graduation, with ongoing support and resources available to alumni as they progress in their careers.
Faculties
These are the expert instructors who will be teaching you throughout the course. With a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience, they're here to guide, inspire, and support you every step of the way. Get to know the people who will help you reach your learning goals and make the most of your journey.
Dr. Christophe Matthys serves as Professor of Human Nutrition at KU Leuven and Scientific Coordinator of the Clinical Nutrition Unit at University Hospitals Leuven. His academic credentials include a bio-science engineer degree and Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from Ghent University. His career path includes positions at Massey University New Zealand, ILSI Europe, and various research roles before joining KU Leuven in 2011. His research focuses on translational aspects of primary and secondary nutritional care, with particular emphasis on metabolic imbalance and nutrition as adjuvant therapy. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, co-authored 3 books, and contributed to 9 book chapters. His teaching responsibilities span 14 courses, reaching approximately 1,200 students annually in both Dutch and English. As a member of various international scientific and governmental working groups on nutrition, he contributes significantly to nutrition policy and research development
Dr. Ann Mertens serves as an Associate Professor and Endocrinologist at KU Leuven and the Department of Endocrinology at University Hospitals Leuven. After graduating from KU Leuven in 1995, she specialized in internal medicine and endocrinology until 2003, later obtaining her Ph.D. from the same institution. Her clinical expertise focuses on treating complex metabolic disorders, including lipid disorders, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, with particular emphasis on bariatric surgery patients. In her academic role, she contributes to medical education at KU Leuven's Faculty of Medicine while also serving as a supervisor and mentor for trainees in internal medicine and endocrinology. Her research has contributed to understanding cardiovascular complications in metabolic disorders, and she has published extensively on topics related to metabolic health and endocrine disorders
Dr. Tim Vanuytsel serves as Associate Professor at KU Leuven and clinical gastroenterologist at University Hospitals Leuven. As medical lead of the Leuven Intestinal Failure and Transplantation unit (LIFT), he oversees Belgium's primary center for intestinal failure treatment and transplantation. His clinical and research work focuses on understanding and treating functional gastrointestinal disorders and chronic intestinal failure, with particular emphasis on clinical nutrition. His expertise spans both clinical practice and academic research, contributing to the advancement of gastroenterological treatment methods and nutritional interventions for patients with severe intestinal conditions
Dr. Patrick Pasture serves as Full Professor of European and Global History and Co-Director of the master program in European Studies at KU Leuven, bringing extensive expertise in religious history, European integration, and global perspectives. His distinguished career includes visiting positions at multiple prestigious institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Kobe University, and UC Berkeley, while leading major research projects like the H2020 RETOPEA on religious toleration. His scholarly work focuses on the intersection of Christianity, European history, and postcolonial perspectives, with notable publications including "Imagining European Unity since 1000 AD" and "Religious Diversity in Europe: Mediating the Past to the Young." Currently working on "History of Christendom: Church, State and Religious Freedom in the West," he continues to contribute significantly to understanding the complex relationships between religion, society, and historical developmen
Dr. Frederik (Fred) Truyen is a professor of Cultural Studies at KU Leuven's Faculty of Arts, where he serves as program director of the MSc in Digital Humanities. His work spans digital cultural heritage, information science, and online publishing, with particular focus on the digital transformation of cultural heritage institutions. As president of Photoconsortium and coordinator of projects like Fifties in Europe – Kaleidoscope, he has been instrumental in developing digital approaches for museums, libraries, and archives. His expertise includes open educational resources, photographic heritage digitization, and e-learning methodologies. He actively contributes to the field through his role as technical editor of the peer-reviewed journal Image & Narrative and through involvement in numerous European projects focused on cultural heritage digitization and open education initiatives.
Dr. Lien Verpoest serves as Associate Professor at KU Leuven's research group Modernity and Society 1800-2000, where she also directs the History Department's program. Her multifaceted expertise spans diplomatic history, East-West relations, and comparative politics, with particular focus on the Eurasian continent. She holds significant positions including membership in the Steering Committee of Metaforum, senior membership at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, and board membership at the Leuven Institute of Advanced Studies. Her current research includes leading the CONNECTIVITY project examining international norm contestation and a CELSA project on heritage diplomacy in Eastern Europe. She is particularly noted for her work on "unacknowledged diplomats" and is currently writing a biography of Marie-Caroline Murray, while also contributing to understanding heritage preservation challenges in Ukraine through the HER-UKR project
A distinguished academic and criminology expert pursuing her PhD at the University of Cambridge, she brings extensive expertise in criminal justice and human rights through her advanced degrees from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Chile. Her leadership extends to heading the Criminological Studies Group at Diego Portales University's Law Faculty, while also serving as the university's Law Degree Director since 2018. Her professional impact includes significant consultancy work with UNICEF, where she developed a "Restorative Justice Model for Adolescents in Conflict with the Criminal Law," and valuable contributions to the Center for Justice Studies of the Americas (CEJA), demonstrating her commitment to advancing criminal justice reform and human rights initiatives.
Dr. Hilde Heynen serves as a Professor of Architectural Theory at KU Leuven, Belgium, where she has made significant contributions to understanding the relationships between architecture, modernity, and gender. Her influential work "Architecture and Modernity: A Critique" examines the complex relationship between critical theory and modern architecture. Her research spans architectural theory and criticism, modernism, and gender studies in architecture, resulting in notable publications including "Negotiating Domesticity," "Sage Handbook of Architectural Theory," and a recent intellectual biography of Sibyl Moholy-Nagy. Through her work, she continues to explore how architecture reflects and shapes social and cultural dynamics, particularly focusing on the intersection of modernism, gender, and architectural theory.
Dr. Katja Biedenkopf serves as Professor of Sustainability Politics at KU Leuven, where she chairs the Leuven International and European Studies (LINES) research group and leads the Sustainable Futures research group. Her research focuses on environmental and climate policy, particularly examining EU environmental initiatives, carbon pricing policies, climate diplomacy, e-waste management, and chemicals regulation. As Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded PolyCarbon project and leader of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU External Action, she contributes significantly to understanding global environmental governance. Her teaching portfolio includes Global Environmental Policy, qualitative research methods, and international negotiation skills. She currently leads work packages in the Horizon Europe project on EU multilateralism and serves as chair of the working group on international relations at the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development, while also contributing to KU Leuven's sustainability initiatives through her membership in the university's Sustainability Council.
Dr. Elise Muir serves as Head of the Department for International and European Law and Head of the Institute for European Law at KU Leuven, while also holding a position as Visiting Professor at the College of Europe. Her expertise focuses on EU fundamental rights, institutional law, and social anti-discrimination legislation. She leads RESHUFFLE, a European Research Council-funded project examining the constitutional implications of the EU's expanding role in fundamental rights law. Her academic journey includes positions at Maastricht University, where she was Associate Director of the Maastricht Centre for European Law, and visiting roles at prestigious institutions including Columbia Law School as a Fulbright scholar. She has authored numerous influential publications on EU law and fundamental rights, including "EU Equality Law: The First Fundamental Rights Policy of the EU" and "An Introduction to the EU Legal Order," contributing significantly to the understanding of European legal frameworks and constitutional development.
Dr. Bert Keirsbilck serves as Professor of Law at KU Leuven's Faculty of Law and Criminology, where he co-directs the Institute for Consumer Competition Market (CCM). His teaching portfolio spans Commercial Law, EU Law, and European Economic Law across multiple campuses including Brussels, Leuven, and Kortrijk. His research expertise focuses on sustainable production and consumption, circular economy, and servitization, contributing significantly to understanding the legal frameworks of modern business practices. He has co-authored important works including 'Commercial Practices and Consumer Contracts' and serves as co-editor of the CCM series. His academic service includes membership on several editorial boards including DAOR, DCCR, and TEP, while also serving on the Faculty's doctoral and culture committees. Through his research and teaching, he continues to shape understanding of commercial and European law, particularly in relation to sustainability and circular economy initiatives.
Dr. Jan Wouters serves as Full Professor of International Law and International Organizations at KU Leuven, where he holds the Jean Monnet Chair ad personam in EU and Global Governance. He is the founding Director of both the Institute for International Law and the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies. His academic background includes studies in law and philosophy at Antwerp University, an LL.M. from Yale University, and research experience at Harvard University. His expertise spans international law, EU law, global governance, and international organizations. He has published extensively, with over 500 publications including 80 books and 150 journal articles. As coordinator of major research projects like RECONNECT and FRAME, he has contributed significantly to understanding the relationship between EU governance and citizen engagement. Beyond academia, he serves as a Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts, advises international organizations, trains international officials, and regularly provides expert commentary on international events in media.
Dr. Mia Leijssen serves as Professor of Person-centered/Experiential/Existential Psychotherapy at KU Leuven, bringing extensive expertise in positive psychology, humanistic psychotherapy, and body-oriented approaches. Born in 1951, she has developed significant contributions to the field of psychotherapy, particularly in areas of existential well-being and spirituality-integrated therapy. As an International Focusing Trainer and Coordinator of the New York Focusing Institute, she has helped shape therapeutic approaches that combine verbal and non-verbal techniques. She currently serves as Director of KU Leuven Online Training Counseling Existential Well-being, making therapeutic education more accessible to a global audience. Her work encompasses ethical dilemmas in therapy, spirituality integration, and body-oriented therapeutic approaches. Beyond her professional achievements, she is married with two children and five grandchildren, bringing personal experience to her understanding of family dynamics and well-being.
Dr. Siebrecht Vanhooren serves as Associate Professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, where he combines clinical practice with academic research and teaching. He is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in person-centered, focusing-oriented, and existential psychotherapy. As co-director of KU Leuven's Meaning and Existence research initiative and member of the Research Group Clinical Psychology, he conducts research on existential concerns, posttraumatic growth, and therapeutic relationships. His work includes directing postgraduate training programs in experiential-existential psychotherapy and existential well-being counseling. His research contributions include significant publications on meaninglessness, existential empathy, and therapeutic relationships in person-centered psychotherapy. He also serves as a committee member of the Eugene T. Gendlin Center for Research in Experiential Philosophy and Psychology at the International Focusing Institute
Dr. Monique Snoeck serves as Full Professor of Management Information Systems at KU Leuven's Faculty of Economics and Business, while also holding a visiting professorship at the University of Namur. Her research focuses on requirements engineering, conceptual modeling, and model-driven engineering. Her most significant contribution is the development of MERODE (Model-driven Enterprise and Requirements-Oriented Development Environment), an enterprise information systems engineering approach, along with its companion e-learning and prototyping tool JMermaid. This innovative platform supports conceptual modeling education and software development through automated code generation and model validation. Her work has advanced the field of model-driven engineering by creating more user-centric approaches and integrating agile development methodologies. She has published extensively on business process modeling, model quality assessment, and e-learning technologies, contributing significantly to both academic research and practical applications in software engineering education
Dr. Nicole van Lipzig serves as Full Professor in Geography at KU Leuven's Faculty of Science, where she heads the Geography Division and leads Leuven Sustainable Earth, the university's sustainability research center. Her expertise spans climate modeling, urban climate dynamics, and polar climate systems. Over the past fifteen years, she has coordinated major research projects across Europe and Antarctica, with particular focus on climate impacts, extremes, and the effects of urbanization on local climate patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her research has contributed significantly to understanding urban heat stress, climate adaptation, and the Antarctic Peninsula climate system. As a leading expert in climate science, she has delivered more than 60 outreach presentations to stakeholders and the public, while actively supporting environmental sustainability initiatives. Her work combines fundamental research with practical applications in climate-proof building and urban development.
Dr. Bart Muys serves as Full Professor of Forest Ecology and Management at KU Leuven's Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, where he leads the Forest Ecology and Management (FORECOMAN) research group. His research focuses on ecosystem functioning of tree diversity, forest restoration ecology, and sustainability evaluation in forests and bioenergy systems. Since earning his Ph.D. from Ghent University in 1993 on earthworms and litter decomposition in Flemish forests, he has become one of the most cited scientists in silviculture and forest management. His work examines biodiversity's role in forest ecosystem services, particularly in the context of restoration and climate change resilience. He has made significant contributions to understanding Jatropha curcas as a sustainable biofuel source and has demonstrated the cooling effects of forests on local climates. His research combines ecological principles with practical forest management approaches, contributing to both academic knowledge and sustainable forestry practices.
Dr. Koenraad Van Meerbeek serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at KU Leuven, where he leads the sGLOBE research lab focusing on developing global change-robust solutions to address the biodiversity crisis in the Anthropocene era. His research methodology combines fieldwork, long-term research platforms, drone technology, and computational modeling to understand how global change impacts biodiversity and natural ecosystem functioning. Through his leadership of the sGLOBE lab, he has contributed significantly to understanding microclimate conditions and their effects on forest ecosystems, while developing innovative approaches to studying thermal differences in various environments. His work aims to create climate-smart landscapes that support both biodiversity preservation and climate change mitigation.
Dr. Ronald Cools serves as Full Professor in the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven, where he earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences - Computer Science in 1989. His research focuses on numerical approximation of multivariate integrals, spanning basic integration rules, adaptive methods, and error estimates. His most significant contributions include the development of the Encyclopaedia of Cubature Formulas and pioneering work on component-by-component construction of lattice rules. As research coordinator for KU Leuven's Science, Engineering & Technology Group since 2019, he previously served as department chair from 2010 to 2018. His academic impact includes over 125 published articles in international journals with more than 55 co-authors. His teaching portfolio includes courses in linear algebra, scientific software, and both deterministic and stochastic integration methods.
Dr. Daan Huybrechs serves as Professor in the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven, where he earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences in 2006. His research focuses on scientific computing and numerical simulation of wave phenomena, particularly using integral and differential equation methods. Since 2020, he has served as program director of the Master of Science in Mathematical Engineering program. His significant contributions include pioneering work on computing highly oscillatory integrals and developing new approaches to frames and numerical approximation. His excellence in the field has been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the Richard C DiPrima award for his Ph.D. thesis, a New Talent Award, and a Leslie Fox prize in Numerical Analysis. He combines his research with a strong commitment to teaching mathematics and applied mathematics to engineering and science students at various educational levels.