About
KU Leuven (KU) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven in Belgium. It is the largest university in the country and has been consistently ranked in the top 100 universities globally. Founded in 1834 by the Catholic church, today close to 60,000 students are enrolled at KU, and the university is known particularly for its schools of law, politics and theology.
Consult KU Leuven on QS World Rankings to learn more about their current world ranking and academic reputation in different subject areas.
Location
Leuven is a small city roughly 15 miles outside of Brussels, with a population of roughly 100,000 – most of whom are students and academics. The city is the capital of Flanders (the Flemish region of Belgium) and has a good transport network for both the local area and other destinations, such as Brussels. The city has a historic feel with many public buildings in the gothic or neo-gothic style. Find out more about the city of Leuven here.
The campus is also close to the European Union central headquarters and NATO headquarters, ideal for any students wishing to pursue careers or internships with these organisations.
KU Leuven has several campuses outside the city as well as the main campus in Leuven’s city centre.
Level of competitiveness
This exchange is only open to students in the School of Law, and only for Masters level modules.
School of Law - Competitive
The level of competitiveness (Less competitive * / Competitive ** / Very competitive ***) refers to one's chances of being allocated an exchange space at this partner. This is an approximation determined by the number of applications received for this destination during the last academic year versus the total number of exchange spaces available to Queen Mary students.
Language of Instruction
All courses as part of this exchange are taught in English.
Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. All KU Leuven campuses (except for the Brussels campus) are located in Flanders, where Dutch is the official language. Accordingly, Dutch is the official administrative language of KU.
KU advises that students will be able to express themselves on campus and within the city in English without difficulty. However, they may still wish to learn Dutch. ILT, the Leuven Language Institute, offers language courses to students at a discounted rate.
Academic Calendar
Semester One: September to February, with classes ending in December.
Semester Two: February to July, with classes ending in May.
Find the full KU academic calendar here.
Find information on KU orientation days for international students here.
Courses
A full list of modules available to exchange students, including requirements and timetable advice, can be found on this page.
Students should please note that only Master level modules may be taken as part of this exchange.
Credits
KU Leuven uses the ECTS credits system, with each module being equal to roughly 6 ECTS credits. Students take 60 ECTS a year, which is equivalent to a year at Queen Mary.
KU Leuven uses a grading system of 0-20, with 10 being the pass mark and 20 being the full mark. To see the percentage rates of grade distribution, click here. A Law-specific grading table can also be found here.
Queen Mary student feedback
Blog posts on Queen Mary Global Bloggers:
Accommodation
KU provides extensive information and services on their website about renting in the city, including an illustrated list of a range of typical student-rented rooms and their prices. The majority of students (80%) rent privately, but some rent in the limited amount of university-owned student accommodation (20%).
Ku also provides a guide to Flemish rental contracts, including information about local rental laws.
KU notes that due to the competitive nature of Leuven as a student city, students are advised to start their housing search in good time and to secure housing before arrival.
Renting Privately
KU strongly recommends students search for housing using Kotwij. Kotwij is an online renting platform approved by the university; all accommodation meets KU’s minimum requirements concerning housing quality, fire safety, student friendliness and contract terms. Students can also filter accommodation by what faculty they are nearest. Start your search using Kotwij.
Kotwij is so called because all housing will have a Kotlabel affixed to it. These labels come in either blue or green and are affixed to the outside of housing to show it has been inspected and approved by the university. Find out more about the Kotlabel here.
Renting in halls of residence
Residence halls at KU are large student houses usually split up into 20 to 470 rooms, with 10-15 students per unit. These include certain themed buildings that are based around a certain social aspect – for example, assisted living support, Parish services, or international interaction. Find out more about KU halls of residence.
Cost of living
KU Leuven provides information on the cost of living as a student here. You can find more general, up-to-date information about the cost of living in Leuven here.
Please consult the estimated minimum and maximum cost of living figures for this destination country available in our “Estimated Costs of Living” document available on our Finance page.
Support services
KU has a range of support services available for students, including a counselling service. There are plenty of resources for student wellbeing located here.
As a current Queen Mary student you will be able to find a summary sheet for this partner university on our QMplus page, with an overview of the local student support services available on the following topics: specific learning differences, physical impairments, sensory impairments, long term medical conditions, autism spectrum conditions, mental health and wellbeing difficulties, special accommodation provision, non-emergency health care, emergency services, harassment and trauma and suicide prevention
Student life
There are a great range of student societies at KU, both academic and social.
A list of KU academic societies can be found here.
All other student societies open to international students can be found here.
KU also offers a range of sporting facilities, including a large student sports centre. Information about this, including prices, dates and teams, can be found here.
