The Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), founded in 1425, is a comprehensive university of the French Community of Belgium. Its forteen faculties and twenty three doctoral schools offer degrees and research opportunities to more than 30,000 students in almost all fields of study, including 44 bachelor's programmes and 198 master's programmes-26 taught in English. Uclouvain professors are encouraged to make innovative techniques central to their teaching approach. The primary goal is to prepare students for their future careers, by helping them grow into inquisitive problem-solvers and open-minded worl citizens.
Uclouvain enjoys an ideal location in the heart of Europe, with its main campus in Wallonia's most economically dynamic province and six additional locations in Wallonia and Brussels. Its 23 research institutes, 39 technology platforms, 2 university hospitals and 3 science parks, which include 2 incubators and host more than 280 companies and 84 spin-offs and start-ups, are a testament to UCLouvain's dedication to conducting fundamental and applied research. They also, along with UCLouvain's faculties and schools, exercise a cross-disciplinary research tradition personified by such former professors as Georges Lemaître, the father of the Big Bang theory, and Christian de Duve, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Uclouvain is a diverse and open community. One-third of its professors are women (and that percentage is growing every year) and nearly the same proportion are internationals. One-fifth of its studets are international; representing more than 120 nationalities. UCLouvain partners with higher education institutions throughout the world. Hence, it participates in several international initiatives that open doors to new teaching and research projects.