KU Leuven: 60,592 students at KU Leuven
It comes as no big surprise that more international students are finding their way (again) to Leuven this year. “There has been an increase in the number of international students for several years. In 2020-2021, that increase leveled off somewhat, but this year the figures are again following the trend before the corona pandemic,” says Rector Luc Sels. “More than one in six students at KU Leuven is an international student. A figure that we owe, among other things, to our structural collaboration with various partners that strengthen the international character of our university. The ambition to make our university a first-choice university is gradually being realized. Foreign students who opt for an international adventure clearly also think of KU Leuven.”
New at KU Leuven
9,049 new bachelor students will follow their education at KU Leuven this year, 1.59% more than last year. “We are delighted to welcome so many new faces to our university. KU Leuven is doing everything it can to provide students with an exciting and valuable student time in which they can discover and develop themselves as a student and as a person,” said Vice Rector Education Policy Tine Baelmans.
Not only new faces in bachelor’s degree programmes, also students who already have a diploma and are starting their master’s are increasingly finding their way to KU Leuven. The so-called lateral entrants will be 2,267 (+17.89%). “The group of students who transfer from other universities or colleges to a master’s program at KU Leuven is growing every year,” says Rector Sels. “Various faculties are strongly committed to a renewed range of courses, which are often also offered in English. This broad range of education attracts students from all over the world to continue their studies at KU Leuven.”
Love for architecture
The Bachelor’s degree programs in Architecture and Interior Architecture already welcomed more new students last academic year and are gaining even more popularity this year (+26%). In addition to architecture, the Criminology (+25%), Political Science and Sociology (+16%), Law (Leuven campus) (+31%) and Kinesitherapy (+27%) programs are also popular with new students.
Bachelor: 26,706 students (+1.16%)
Master: 20,645 students (+4.38%)
Advanced master: 3,591 students (+2.28%)
Preparatory and Bridging Programmes: 3,916 students (-2.49%)
Postgraduates: 937 students (+6.12%)