
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

KU Leuven is a public university in Leuven, Belgium, founded in 1970, with about 62,700 students.
Data from the official website · last checked 18 Oct 2026 · How we collect data · Report an error · Is this your university? Claim it to update
Logo: KU Leuven, Public domain
KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a research university in Leuven, Flanders, Belgium. It traces its origins to the University of Leuven founded in 1425, making it one of the oldest universities in the Low Countries. Its current Dutch-speaking form dates from the 1968 split from the French-speaking university, now UCLouvain.
KU Leuven is organised into groups for humanities and social sciences, science, engineering and technology, and biomedical sciences, with campuses in Leuven, Brussels, Kortrijk, Ghent, Antwerp and other Flemish cities. Its university hospitals, UZ Leuven, are among the largest in Europe. Notable figures include Erasmus, who helped found its Collegium Trilingue, and Georges Lemaître, who proposed the Big Bang theory.
Most bachelor's programmes are in Dutch, while a large number of master's programmes are taught in English. Tuition is relatively low for EU students, with higher fees for non-EU students.
Thinking of applying? Send your question straight to KU Leuven.
Ask the UniversityCourses at KU Leuven are taught in Dutch, English.
KU Leuven was founded in 1970.
Ask KU Leuven about admissions, fees, scholarships or courses. You'll get a reply by email.