Exchange students

Information for students who would like to come to Leuven in the frame of an ERASMUS agreement between K.U.Leuven and their home university.

• ECTS-courses 2010-2011
• ECTS-courses 2011-2012
• Search for course descriptions (use Course number or Title course of the ECTS-courses document)

1. General structure of the Faculty
2. General description
3. Exam Schedule and Exam System
4. The Leuven grading scale and system

The Faculty of Business and Economics is member of The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). EFMD is one of the key business schools networks in the world and being a part of the network will bring many opportunities for faculty and student exchanges, knowledge sharing and collaboration.

1. General structure of the Faculty

The Faculty of Business and Economics is one of the largest faculties in terms of student population. The faculty offers education leading to the degrees of:

• Bachelor/Master in de Economische Wetenschappen (3 + 1 year);
• Bachelor/Master of Economics Bachelor/Master in de Toegepaste Economische Wetenschappen (3 + 1 year);
• Bachelor/Master of Business Economics Bachelor/Master in de Toegepaste Economisiche Wetenschappen: Handelsingenieur (3 + 2 years);
• Bachelor/Master of Business Economics: Business Engineering Bachelor/Master in de Toegepaste Economische Wetenschappen: Handelsingenieur in de Beleidsinformatica (3 + 2 years);
• Bachelor/Master of Business Economics: Information Systems Engineering.

Furthermore the faculty runs two doctoral programs: Economics and Applied Economics. The Leuven School of Business and Economics of the faculty offers a variety of Master's programmes:

• Master of Advanced Studies in Economics
• Master of Financial Economics
• Master of Advanced Business Studies
• Master of Financial and Actuarial Engineering (in cooperation with the Faculty of Science).
• Master of Information Management

HEAD OF THE FACULTY

Professor Dr. Luc Sels, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics

THE ECTS COORDINATORS FOR THE FACULTY ARE:

Professor Dr. Maarten Goos, Coordinator Economics
Professor Dr. Chris Lefebvre, Coordinator Business Studies

Mrs. Lieve Smets, administrative coordinator ERASMUS/EXCHANGE PROGRAMME,
Faculty of Business and Economics, Naamsestraat 69 - 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Phone: 32 16 32.66.28
Fax: 32 16 32.67.33
E-mail: Lieve.Smets@econ.kuleuven.be
Room HOG 00.120 (main building - reception / student secretariat)
 

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2. General description

• Where to go ?

Since August 1994 our faculty is located in the restored historical buildings on Naamsestraat 69, in the heart of the city. They partly date back to the 15th century, and over the years private people as well as university colleges and even a secondary school were housed in them.  The ERASMUS Coordination Office and some class rooms can be found at this address. The whole complex named "Hogenheuvelcollege" (i.e. "College of the High Hill"), also comprises a huge new building with a.o. the library of the Faculty of Economic and Applied Economic Sciences and the professors' offices.

Students should have no trouble finding the Van Dalecollege, the University's reception house on the Naamsestraat 80 and the Faculty of  Economics and Applied Economic Sciences, Naamsestraat 69.  The simplest route from the station to the Naamsestraat is to follow the Bondgenotenlaan (main street in front of the station) to the Fochplein/Grote Markt, and then take the Naamsestraat from the Grote Markt. The distance is roughly 1.5 kilometre, for which the taxi fare should be about 5 EURO. You can also take city busses (No. 2 direction Campus Boskant) to St. Michael's Church (Naamsestraat) and walk up the hill for approximately 200 m.  A bus ride costs 1 EURO.

• What to do ?

Upon arrival, first contact your Faculty Administrative Coordinator Mrs. Lieve Smets, to obtain permission for registration as an ERASMUS-student at K.U. Leuven.

All practical matters and administrative procedures should be taken care of by Mrs. Smets. Mrs. Smets is your contact person for all ERASMUS/EXCHANGE related matters.

Upon arrival, you will get:

1. Your letter of acceptance indicating that you are an ERASMUS/EXCHANGE student at our Faculty. You will need this letter for inscription at the University Hall - Naamsestraat 22.
2. Your Learning Agreement. You are obliged to fill out this form as it indicates which courses you'll take in the 1^st and in the 2^nd semester (if you’re staying for the entire Academic Year).
   We need this form in threefold + 2 passport photographs:
   • 1 copy remains at the ERASMUS office
   • 1 copy is for your home-coordinator
   • 1 copy is for yourself

Note

You can only attend the courses indicated on your Learning Agreement.

Remember: you have to take our exam of all courses mentioned on this form, without any exception.

It is possible however , if you insist, to talk to the ECTS-Coordinators themselves. Prof. Erik BUYST (Economics) and Prof. Chris LEFEBVRE (Business Studies) will receive ERASMUS/EXCHANGE-students during their office hours.

Another event we recommend attending is the ORIENTATION days. In the week before the opening of the academic year, and in the week before the start of the second semester, an orientation programme is offered to all new international students at K.U.Leuven. In addition to practical information on how to find your way round the university and round the city of Leuven, the orientation offers lectures on Flanders, Belgium and Europe, and social events which provide an opportunity to meet fellow students, as well as a trip to Brugge. As an exchange student, you will receive a registration form from your contact person in Leuven. Participation in the Orientation Days is free, except for the trip to Brugge.

Visit the Orientation Days website

Facilities and assistance for Erasmus/EXCHANGE students

The Faculty Coordinator, Lieve Smets is entirely at your disposal for any question you might have. Students can communicate directly to her during office hours or via E-mail.

All important information concerning courses, changes of hours – rooms, schedules of exams will be advertised via an electronic valvas system, the Toledo platform. Toledo is the instrument for internet based communication among students and between students and teacher(s).

The computer facilities of the K.U. Leuven include three PC rooms (Dekenstraat 2, Celestijnenlaan 200C and de Croylaan 52a) available for students to give them access to applications, database facilities and of course internet. The PC room in the center of town (Dekenstraat 2) is equipped with 300 PC’s (Dell) with Windows XP and a standard set of applications (JDK, Matlas, SAS, Office XP, …).

Furthermore the Faculty of Business and Economics has computing facilities in the library and in PC labs for students. Students are invited to make intensive use of the available information processing capabilities. All PC’s have internet access. Several hotspots for Wireless Internet (IEEE 802.11b or 802.11g) are available in libraries and university restaurants.

A substantial part of the courses offered, use information systems for analysis of business data in case studies and research papers. By means of computer projection in class-rooms, software applications for various business areas are used to provide the students with a thorough understanding of business concepts based on real data.

Students are invited to make intensive use of the available information processing capabilities.

The library of the Faculty of Economics and Applied Economic possesses almost 100,000 volumes, mainly about macro- and micro-economics. Its collection of periodicals contains about 1,000 current periodicals and an important historical collection on economics. Special attention is given to statistical publications. The library also houses an important collection of publications by international institutions such as the EU, OECD, UNO, WTO, World Bank. All these publications can be found on open shelves.

The library of the Faculty of Business and Economics intends to make the following available:

• bibliographies and reference books in its field
• governmental publications of national and international institutions
• publications of its scientific personnel
• theses and doctoral theses presented at the Faculty of Business and Economics.

The library is especially proud of its collection “working and discussion papers” from the best universities and international institutions throughout the world.

Access to the library is free for everybody. To borrow books you need your student card, which you need to present together with the desired publications at the registration desk till 15 minutes before closing time.

The library is equipped with five photocopy machines. Copy cards are for sale at the reception desk.

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3. Exam Schedule and exam system

ERASMUS/EXCHANGE students who are just staying for the Autumn semester do not have a problem taking exams. The exams for Autumn term courses are scheduled in January. Exams from the Junior programme, are normally scheduled in December. The courses in the second term follow the official KU. Leuven calendar and have exams in June.

Exams can either be written or oral. Written exams usually take two to three hours, and the questions need to be answered in essay-style or contain exercises to be solved. Oral exams last from 10 to 25 minutes per person; students are allowed a preparation period of minimum 15 minutes after receiving the exam questions. For oral exams, students have to register their names on lists, posted before exams.

Students must follow the exam schedule organized by the Faculty of Economics and Applied Economic Sciences. They are therefore not allowed to make private arrangements with the instructor. No holiday arrangements should be made before a student's exam schedule is complete and final. During exams, ERASMUS students will be treated in the same way as their Belgian colleagues.

By the end of the first semester (or by the end of the Academic Year - for students who are staying for the complete Academic Year) the following documents will be forwarded to your Home University:

• copy of your Learning Agreement
• an academic record (mentioning your marks of the courses)
• official certificate (original in Dutch and duplicate in English - mentioning all the courses you followed during the 1st and 2nd semester)

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4. The Leuven grading scale and system

The KULeuven uses a grading scale from 0 (minimum) to 20 (maximum). For the Faculty of Business and Economics this scale should be interpreted as follows:

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