Founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, the Catholic University of Louvain is the oldest Catholic university in the world. It is also the oldest university in the Low Countries. The quintessential humanist, Desiderius Erasmus, lectured at this school.
In 1968, this ancient university split into two parts: a Dutch-speaking (KU Leuven) and a French-speaking part (Université Catholique de Louvain). The French-speaking school subsequently relocated to the suburb of Louvain-la-Neuve.
KU Leuven is Belgium’s largest university, both in terms of students and research funding/expenditures. It attracts 41,000 students, 8,000 of whom are international. Also, 6,500 researchers from 120 countries work here. Combined, these groups represent 140 nationalities.
KU Leuven is a charter member of the league of European Research Universities. Its annual research expenditure is €418 million and the overall endowment is €950 million.
Despite the fact that its library burned down in both world wars, the school now has 30 auxiliary libraries with 4.3 million volumes. The school partners with a teaching hospital and has produced multiple Nobel Prize Laureates.
