UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally established in 1425). It is located in

Louvain-la-Neuve Louvain-la-Neuve (; French for "New Leuven"; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house th ...

, which was expressly built to house the university, and has smaller campuses in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

and

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. Since September 2018, the university uses the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with

Saint-Louis University, Brussels UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels is an autonomous university campus specialized in social and human sciences part of UCLouvain and based in Brussels, Belgium. Established in 1857, Saint-Louis University, Brussels (officially, in French Universi ...

. The original University of Louvain (''Universitas Lovaniensis'') was founded at the centre of the historic town of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

(or ''Louvain'') in 1425, making it the first university in Belgium and the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, and abolished by law in 1797. This university was the centre of Baianism,

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

and Febronianism in Europe. A new university, the State University of Louvain, was founded in 1817 and abolished by the law in 1835. A new catholic university was founded in Mechlin in 1834, the ''Catholic'' University of Mechlin and moved to Leuven in 1835 that is frequently, but controversially, identified as a continuation of the older institution. In 1968 the Catholic University of Leuven

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

into the Dutch-language ''

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its main camp ...

'', which stayed in Leuven, and the French-language ''Université catholique de Louvain'', which moved to Louvain-la-Neuve in

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, 30 km southeast of Brussels. Since the 15th century, ''Leuven/Louvain'', as it is still often called, has been a major contributor to the development of Catholic theology.

History

The

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

, based in

("''Louvain''" in French), 30 km east of

, provided lectures in French from its founding in 1834, and in Dutch from 1930. In 1968, the

Dutch-language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...

section became the independent

, which remained in Leuven, while the French-speaking university was expelled to a greenfield campus and town,

, 30 km south-east of Brussels, in a part of the country where French is the official language. This separation also entailed dividing existing library holdings between the two new universities. With the democratization of university education already stretching existing structures, plans to expand the French-speaking part of the university at a campus in

were quietly discussed from the early 1960s, but it was not anticipated that the French-speaking section would become an entirely independent university and lose all of its buildings and infrastructure in

. The first stone of the new campus at Louvain-la-Neuve was laid in 1971, and the transfer of faculties to the new site was completed in 1979. Louvain-la-Neuve Halles

According to a 2007 agreement, the University of Louvain was to absorb three smaller French-speaking catholic colleges: the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix ( FUNDP) located in

, the Facultés universitaires Saint-Louis ( FUSL) located in Brussels (later called Saint-Louis University, Brussels) and the Catholic university of Mons ( FUCaM) located in

and

. The negotiations for a full merger aborted by an insufficient vote by the general assembly of the FUNDP in December 2010. The result was a merger between the University of Louvain and the FUCaM in

, effective from 15 September 2011. The Mons campus is denoted UCLouvain FUCaM Mons. The three universities still collaborate in consortium, the Académie Louvain. Within this group, member universities have coordinated their masters programmes in the fields of economics, management, political sciences and sciences as well as the doctoral programmes in all disciplines. In September 2018, the University of Louvain (or UCL until then) and

'' de facto'' merged, founding the ''UCLouvain'', a denomination they currently share.

Chronology

In 1425, Dukes of Brabant created the University of Louvain (Université de Louvain), which was suppressed under Joseph II, reopened in 1790, and was finally closed under the French Republic in 1797. In 1817, the State University of Louvain (''Université de l'Etat de Louvain'') was founded, which closed 15 August 1835. In 1834, the Catholic bishops of Belgium created the Catholic University of Belgium (Université catholique de Belgique) in

Mechlin Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

, also known as the Catholic University of Malines (Université catholique de Malines). A law passed on 27 September 1835 stated that there would be only one university funded by the State of Belgium in Louvain. The same year, shortly after the suppression of the State University, the Catholic University of Belgium moved to Louvain. It took advantage of the reputation of the city as an ancient university centre and adopted a new name: Catholic University of Louvain (Université catholique de Louvain). In a Catholic spirit inspired by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

, the promoter and first rector of the university, Monseigneur de Ram, wanted to create a shield that would repulse religion's enemies and block every doctrine weakening the base of Catholic society. The pharmacy school was founded in 1845 and the engineering school in 1865. In 1884 the Catholic University of Louvain celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. In 1968, as a result of linguistic issues, the university was divided into two different universities: one French speaking, which moved to the province of

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...

, and one Dutch speaking, which remained in the same location. In 1970, these two universities were established by law as the ''Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven'' and ''Université catholique de Louvain''. In 1971, the first foundation stone was laid in Louvain-la-Neuve, a new city constructed for the French-speaking university.

Student population

Evolution of the number of students at the University of Louvain, including the FUCaM in Mons that integrated the UCL in 2011,

that formally integrated the university in 2023.

Faculties and schools

Sector of Human Sciences (SSH)

* Faculty of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

(DRT),

** School of Criminology * Saint-Louis Faculty of Law (DRTB), Saint-Louis Brussels * Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Literature (FIAL), Louvain-la-Neuve **

Higher Institute of Philosophy The Institut supérieur de Philosophie (ISP) (French for: Higher Institute of Philosophy) is an independent research institute at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. It is a separate entity to the UCLouvain School ...

(ISP) ** School of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(EFIL) ** Department of Languages and

the Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

*** French and Romance languages and literature (ROM) *** Modern Languages and Literatures (LMOD) *** Ancient languages and literatures (classical and oriental) (GLOR) *** Modern and ancient languages and literature (LAFR) ***

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

(LING) *** Louvain School of

Translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

and

Interpreting Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

(LSTI) ** Department of History, Art History and Archaeology ***

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

(HIST) ***

Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

Musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

(ARKE) ** Department of Information and Communication *** Multilingual communication (MULT) ***

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

(THEA) ***

Information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

and

Communication Sciences Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

and Technologies (ICTS) * Saint-Louis Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Human Science (PHLB), Saint-Louis Brussels * Marie Haps Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (TIMB), Saint-Louis Brussels * Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication (ESPO), Louvain-la-Neuve,

** Commission for the Aggregation and In-service Training of Teachers (AGES) ** School of

Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

(COMU) **

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

School of Louvain (ESL) ** Interfaculty School of

European Studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on the History of Western civilization and the evolution of Western culture, as well as on current developments in European integration. Some ...

(EURO) ** Hoover Chair - Teaching Commission (HOOV) ** Open Faculty of Economic and Social Policy (FOPES) ** Louvain School of

Political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

(PSAD). **

Undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

Bureau (ESSP) ** School of Labour Sciences (TRAV) * Saint-Louis Faculty of Economic, Social and Political Sciences and Communication (ESPB), Saint-Louis Brussels * Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (PSP), Louvain-la-Neuve ** School of

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

(EPSY) ** School of

Speech Therapy Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

(ELOG) ** School of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and Training (EDEF) ** School of

Sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, Human sexual activity, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social crit ...

and Family Sciences (ESFA) * Faculty of Theology (TECO), Louvain-la-Neuve ** Doctoral School of

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

Biblical Studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

(EDT) ** Departement of

(THEO) ** Department of Bible Studies (EBIB) ** Department of

Religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

(SREL) * Louvain School of Management (LSM), Louvain-la-Neuve, Mons,

* Saint-Louis Institute for European Studies (IEEB), Saint-Louis Brussels The faculties of Philosophy, Arts and Human Sciences, Economic, Social, Political and Communication Sciences (ESPB), Law (DRTB), the Institute for European Studies (IEEB) and the Marie-Haps Faculty of Translating and Interpreting of autonomous UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles campus are not attached to their corresponding counterparts of UCLouvain. JP2017 234

Sector of Health Sciences (SSS)

* Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (MEDE),

** Louvain Medical School (MED) ** School of

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

and Stomatology (MDEN) * Faculty of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (FASB), Brussels ** School of

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

(FARM) ** School of

Biomedical Sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

(SBIM) * Faculty of

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

(FSP), Brussels * Faculty of Motor Sciences (FSM), Louvain-la-Neuve

Sector of Science and Technology

* Louvain School of Engineering (EPL), ''École polytechnique de Louvain'', Louvain-la-Neuve ** School of Urban and

Spatial Planning Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...

(URBA) * Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning (LOCI),

& Louvain-la-Neuve * Faculty of Bioengineering (AGRO), Louvain-la-Neuve ** Department of

Applied Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

and

Agricultural Production Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food ...

(BAPA) ** Department of

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and Bioindustries (CABI) ** Cluster in Environmental Sciences * Faculty of Science (SC), Louvain-la-Neuve ** School of

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

(BIOL) ** School of

(CHIM) ** School of

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

(GEOG) ** School of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

(PHYS) ** School of

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

(MATH) ** School of

Veterinary Medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

(VETE) ** School of

Statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

Biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

and Actuarial Sciences (LSBA)

Campuses

While the main

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

of the University of Louvain is based in

, it also comprises a campus in Brussels, UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe, in

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert Woluwe-Saint-Lambert ( French, ) or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe ( Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). In French, ...

, which until recently was called "Louvain-en-Woluwe" hosting the university's sector of medical science and primary academic hospital (8000 students), a campus in

called

UCLouvain FUCaM Mons UCLouvain FUCaM Mons is a satellite campus of the Université catholique de Louvain, University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Mons, Belgium, Mons, Wallonia, Belgium founded in 1896. Until 2011, it was an independent institution known as the Catholi ...

(2300 students), a minor installation in

with 133 students (as of 2011) at

UCLouvain Charleroi UCLouvain Charleroi is a campus of the Université catholique de Louvain, University of Louvain in Charleroi, Belgium. Consisting of 3 faculties and a series of research centers and institutes, UCLouvain Charleroi consists of the Maison Georges Le ...

, an architectural school in

, UCLouvain Tournai, with 540 students (as of 2011), and an architectural school in

, UCLouvain Bruxelles Saint-Gilles, with 570 students (as of 2011). With the merger with Saint-Louis University, it also comprises an independent campus specialized in education and research of social and human sciences in the center of the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

UCLouvain Saint-Louis - Bruxelles UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels is an autonomous university campus specialized in social and human sciences part of UCLouvain and based in Brussels, Belgium. Established in 1857, Saint-Louis University, Brussels (officially, in French Universit ...

and the Marie-Haps Faculty of Translating and Interpreting in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

' European quarter, next to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

(4150 students).

Hospitals

UCLouvain's main medical implementation is in UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe,

, where the faculty of medicine is installed. * Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc,

* CHU UCLouvain Namur,

* CHU UCLouvain Dinant-Godinne,

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

and

Yvoir Yvoir (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 8,450 inhabitants. The total area is 56.84 km2, making it a population density Population density (in agriculture: ...

. * Centre Hospitalier Neurologique William Lennox,

Museums and collections

The UCLouvain hosts Belgium's largest university museum in Louvain-la-Neuve; the '' Musée L''. It exhibits part of the university's 32,000 piece wide collection of art and scientific objects including works of Dürer,

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, Magritte or Alechinski,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

objects or specimens of

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. The

campus also owns the extended collection of the Convent of the Black Sisters in the city-center of

, where the university has placed its ''Ateliers des FUCaM'' campus. UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels also owns a classical and modern art collection, primarily paintings recovered from its original campus in

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

Rankings

The University of Louvain educates around 27,261 students from 127 nationalities in all areas of studies at its different campuses. It has educated a large part of Belgium's elite and is still considered, with its Dutch-speaking sister, as a centre of excellence in many fields. In 2006, it was ranked 76th in the world universities ranking established by the Times Higher Education supplement (24th in Europe). In the 2011

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

the University of Louvain was ranked 125th overall in the world, moving up one place from its position of joint 126th in the 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings (in 2010

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

and

parted ways to produce separate rankings). An overview of the THE-QS Rankings:

Student activities

Cercles

''Cercles'' are

Student Societies A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university, college, or other educational institution, whose membership t ...

Fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

based around each faculty. The Cercles, along with the Régionales (which are based around their respective regions of origin) coordinate and manage most of the students' animation and nightlife. Most Cercles run small bars to fund their activities, and also jointly operate a larger nightclub, "La Casa". Cercles and Régionales are run exclusively by member students known as the committee. These members are elected every year, usually by voting from all members (active or otherwise) wishing to participate, although some Cercles restrict the number of possible voters in some cases. Aside from promoting student folklore and coordinating student animation, Cercles also offer academic aid to students in their respective faculties and organize more cultural activities, such as visits to museums and/or other cities, conferences, and low-cost trips for students (for example skiing in the Alps during the Winter Break). Every Cercle and Régionale has its own customs and traditions, but some are practiced by all: The Baptême () is a

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

ceremony used by most to induct new members, who then participate in a number of trials and activities involving eggs and other foodstuff, paint, demeaning chants etc. Baptized members (les Baptisés) are among the most common type of members, and some Cercles and Régionales try to only accept new members this way, although it is in no way an obligation to be baptized in order to be a part of a Cercle or to frequent them. The calotte is a Belgian student cap worn by students attending Catholic universities. They are emblems of student folklore dating back to the late 19th century. Nowadays, most calottes are passed by way of a ceremony known as the coronae. How they are passed and what must be known or done to deserve it depends on the Cercle or Régionale. One thing that is universally known, is that there is a lot of singing involved. Cercles are notorious for their generally high intake of alcohol (especially beer) and low level of cleanliness. Students tend to wear old clothes that they don't mind damaging or dirtying as a consequence, and the overall ambiance is more akin to a rave or a frat-party than a nightclub or sports bar.

Kots

Student accommodation in Belgium comes in the form of a " kot", a term having

Belgian Dutch Flemish ( ) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is sp ...

origin. A "kot" can be translated as den or hut. The French way to form the plural of "kot" is "kots" (in Dutch, the plural of "kot" is "koten"). In the bilingual region of Brussels, where there are both Dutch- and French-speaking universities and their students, it is common that "for rent" signs are in French only, with the French plural of "kot".

Kot-à-projet

Unique to UCLouvain a Kot-à-projet (kap) is a kot whose inhabitants have similar interests and who organise activities for the general student population, they are similar to

Fraternity and sorority houses North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas in which fraternity and sorority members live and work together. In addition to serving as housing, fraternity and sorority housing may also serve to ...

, but smaller in size with only the committee living in the kot. Being small several Kots can be situated in the same, university owned, apartment building. One of them is "le kap contes", a kot promoting the art of storytelling. Another is called "Kap Délices" which suggests varied activities such as theme buffets, cooking lessons, and material renting.

Student Union

The AGL (General Assembly of Louvain students) is the UCLouvain's

Students' union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizat ...

. The body comprises an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Committee, and a

legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

Council. The Committee consists of ex-officio members: President, Vice-Presidents for Education & Welfare, VP for the Medicine faculty (situated in UCLouvain Brussels Woluwe), General Secretary, Activities Officer, Communications Officer, Operations Officer, Foreign student's Officer, Cultural Officer,

Editor-in-Chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

& Deputy Editor-in-Chief as well as the president of the council.

Publications

''Quinzaine'' a university produced newsletter, ''La Savate'' produced by the AGL and the monthly ''l'étincelle'' by the Kot-à-projet KAP Etincelle. Cercles also produce publications.

24h Vélo

The 24 Hour Cycle (24h Vélo) is, nominally, a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

endurance road race held in October, organised by ''CSE Animations'' (Centre Sportif Etudiant). While there is an elite race with teams of two, Student groups enter novelty themed multi-bike vehicles, in the shape of a Van or Whale for example, for prizes. The quality of these designs range in terms of artistic merit, and ability to stay intact over the duration of the race. A 240-minute race also takes place for teenagers. The event is probably best known for what happens off the track. Concurrent with the race is

's largest student event, with concerts and stands lasting the full 24hrs.

Notable people

Faculty

* Paul Pascon, sociologist

Alumni

* (b. 1966),

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

* Nimer Assy, (b. 1961) hepatologist * Irene Bertschek, economist, Professor at

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

, head of ZEW (Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research) * Thierry Braspenning Balzacq, professor of political sciences and international relations *

Rafael Correa Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado (; born 6 April 1963) is an Ecuadorian politician and economist who served as the 45th president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. The leader of the PAIS Alliance political movement from its foundation until 2017, Corr ...

(b. 1963), Ex-President of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

* Xavier De Cuyper, agricultural engineer * Maryellen Fullerton, lawyer and professor and interim dean at

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

* Archduchess Maria-Anna, Princess Galitzine, (b. 1954), Catholic activist * Véronique Gouverneur, (b. 1964), professor of chemistry * Dyab Abou Jahjah, (b. 1971), Lebanese-Belgian political activist * Oly Ilunga Kalenga, (b. 1960), Minister of Health for the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

* Carlos Larraín, President of

National Renewal (Chile) National Renewal (, RN) is a liberal conservative political party in Chile. It is a member of Chile Vamos, a centre-right to right-wing coalition. Sebastián Piñera, the former President of Chile, was a member of the party. History National ...

Queen Mathilde of Belgium Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (; born 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen, and has four children. She formerly worked as a speech therapist. ...

(b. 1973) *

Joëlle Milquet Joëlle F.G.M. Milquet ( ; born 17 February 1961) is a Belgian politician from the Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH). Education She studied classics at the in Charleroi, before going on to graduate in law from the Université Catholique de Louv ...

(b. 1961), law, politician *

António Mascarenhas Monteiro António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro (; 16 February 1944 – 16 September 2016) was the first democratically elected President of Cape Verde from 22 March 1991 to 22 March 2001. Early life and education Born in Ribeira da Barca in 1 ...

(1944–2016),

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

(law) and first democratically elected president of

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

* Pierre De Muelenaere (b. 1958), entrepreneur * Philippe Van Parijs (b. 1951),

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

* David Payne (b. 1944), politician *

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...

, (b. 1960),

President of Colombia The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of Colombia, national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mil ...

2022 - 2026 *

Grégoire Polet Grégoire Polet (15 April 1978, Uccle) is a Belgian writer and poet. Biography Also a translator, Grégoire is a Doctor of Arts of the Université catholique de Louvain, specializing in Spanish literature. He is now a full-time writer and l ...

(b. 1978), French-speaking Belgian writer, laureate of several literary prizes * Arnoud de Pret de Calesberg, commercial sciences,

InBev InBev () was a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheu ...

* María Cecilia Rivara, Chilean computer scientist * Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I. (b. 1947), President of the Oblate School of Theology,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Páll Skúlason Páll Skúlason (4 June 1945 – 22 April 2015) was a professor of philosophy and former Rector of the University of Iceland. Born and raised in Akureyri, in northern Iceland, Páll Skúlason graduated from highschool in 1965. He studied phil ...

(b. 1945), philosopher and former Rector of the University of Iceland * Vera Songwe, economist * Walter Swennen, artist * Sophie Warny (b. 1969), Belgian Antarctic researcher * Nor Mohamed Yakcop, (b. 1947) Malaysian politician, Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, in charge of Economic Planning Unit. * Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, (b. 1957) climatology

Notes

:A. The Old University of Leuven (1425) is the oldest university in the low countries, and the Catholic University of Leuven (1834) is sometimes, controversially, identified as a continuation of it. Belgium's highest court, the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

has ruled that the (1834) Catholic University of Leuven cannot be regarded as continuing the old (1425) University of Leuven. See Old University of Leuven#History. :B. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1859 the university celebrated its 25th anniversary and issued a book celebrating the 25 anniversary of the founding of the Catholic University of Louvain, November 3, 1859. In 1884, the university celebrated its 50th anniversary, acknowledging its actual date of foundation.In the year 1887, the Catholic University of Louvain, has celebrated his 50th anniversary.... E. Descamps, in : ''Université Catholique de Louvain : Liber Memorialis : 1834-1884'', Louvain : Peeters, 1887, p. V : "''les fêtes du cinquantième anniversaire de l'Université catholique de Louvain ont eu un brillant éclat et un immense retentissement''". Only in 1968 did the new Catholic university add the date 1425 to its neo-gothic seal (created in 1909).

References

External links

Official web site of the University of Louvain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Universite Catholique De Louvain Education in Brussels Louvain, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Universite catholique de Louvain, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Universite Catholique de Forestry education 1968 establishments in Belgium Catholic University of Leuven Buildings and structures in Walloon Brabant Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve 1834 establishments in Belgium