History
- The University of Leuven is founded on 4 December 1425
- Taking the lead, the city offers buildings and pays professors. Classes begin in October 1426. Leuven is one of the few comprehensive universities, with five faculties: theology (established in 1432), civil law, canon law, medicine and the arts. Until 1816 it remains the only university on the territory that becomes present-day Belgium.
Education
Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) offers 43 bachelor's programmes and 187 master's programmes
Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) faculties:
- Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication
- Faculty of Law and Criminology
- Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
- Faculty of Motor Sciences
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
- Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
- Faculty of Public Health
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Theology
- Faculty of bioscience engineering
- Faculté d'architecture, d'ingénierie architecturale, d'urbanisme
- Louvain School of Engineering
- Louvain School of Management
Research
- UCL is a comprehensive university, with a wide range of subjects taught at all levels, and has the largest number of students in the French-speaking Community of Belgium.
- The research carried out within its three sectors of activity cover various fields of humanities, medical science and science and technology. Both fundamental (or undirected) and applied (or directed) research is conducted at UCL with the same unwavering enthusiasm.
- The University follows an interdisciplinary approach through numerous joint activities involving different research teams, research institutes and sectors, and also works with several other universities and research centres in Belgium and abroad.
UCLouvain Scholarships
Below you will find scholarships related to UCLouvain. Distinction can be made between scholarships provided by the University and those provided by independent providers.
Independent provider
Grant
Various benefits
Deadline
Not specified
DFL Scholarship Program
Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
Various benefits
Deadline
Not specified
Erasmus+ - Grants for study mobility
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
10000 USD
Deadline
01 Sep 2025
The PhD Prep Fellowship
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
5000 USD
Deadline
25 Aug 2025
Women Scholarship for International Students
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
3000 USD
Deadline
30 Jun 2025
Essay Writing Contest from EduLegit
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
1000 USD
Deadline
09 Jul 2025
Dream Chaser Scholarship
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
90000 AUD
Deadline
Not specified
World Universities Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
3000 USD
Deadline
31 Dec 2025
Scholarship for students with disabilities
Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
3000 USD
Deadline
Not specified
AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
1500 USD
Deadline
Not specified
The Annual IELTS from 6 to 9 Scholarship
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
1000 USD
Deadline
30 Jun 2025
$1,500 Annual Essay Writing Contest Scholarship
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
1000 USD
Deadline
20 May 2025
PlagiarismSearch 2025 Essay Contest
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
500 USD
Deadline
30 Apr 2025
Biotin Xtreme Hair Care Annual Scholarship: Empowering The Future Of Hair Care
General Scholarships
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
5000 USD
Deadline
Not specified
International Conference Scholarship
Merit-based
Read more about eligibility
Independent provider
Grant
5000 USD
Deadline
Not specified
“The Hope For Healing” Scholarship
Merit-based Need-based
Read more about eligibility
University Ranking
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
175 -7
2024
168 2
2023
170
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
201
2023
201
2022
201
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
203 -23
2024
180 15
2023
195
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
201 -30
2023
171
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Housing services
- Room in a shared flat
- Room in an project-based accomodation
- Bedsit
- Studio
- Family accomodation
Library services
Arts and Letters Library
- Health Sciences Library
- UCL Mons Library
- Law Library
- Psychology and Educational Sciences Library
- Louvain Learning Center Hippocrate
- Louvain Learning Center Montesquieu
- Louvain Learning Center Saint-Georges
- Philosophy Library
- Psychology, Education and Motor Sciences Library
- Political, Social and Economic Sciences and Communication Library
- Science and Technology Library
- Theology Library
ICT services
All students and staff are entitled to a UCLouvain email address and access to computer labs and libraries. Moreover, all UCLouvain accommodations are equipped with a cable television connection with internet access.
Uniform wireless network using the latest security and ID technology for universal use.
Medical services
- Students enrolled at UCLouvain benefit from accident cover while pursuing academic activities (including when travelling between accommodation and the university, during study trips and internships, etc.) and third-party liability cover while they are pursuing academic activities.
- This kind of insurance must be taken out privately.
Campus life
- Louvain-La-Neuveshow
- Bruxelles Woluweshow
- Mons
- Tournai
- Bruxelles Saint-Gilles
Sports facilities
The UCLouvain Sport and Fitness Service offers more than 100 sports and fitness activities as well as modern fitness facilities. Gifted athletes can join the university teams (the Wolves) and compete at inter-university level. Louvain-la-Neuve is home to French-speaking Belgium’s largest sport and fitness centre: 25 sports rooms, 1 indoor fitness room, 1 indoor athletics track, 2 pools and 3 hectares of outside pitches which include 1 outdoor fitness area.
Student clubs
Student associations have formed around four types of activities:
- Student representation is assured by the Louvain Student General Assembly (AGL) at the university level; student offices at the faculty level; and the General Coordination of International Students (CGEI).
- An original idea that involves students sharing a flat and working together on a social, cultural or sport-related project in which they have a special interest, the so-called ‘kots à projet’ are home to nearly a thousand students each year.
- Regional organisations (‘Les Régionales’) reunite students of the same geographical region and promote their local folklore on campus.
- Faculty groups (‘Les Cercles’) bring together students of the same faculty.
Accreditation
Louvain School of Management receives a five-year accreditation in EQUIS.