KU Leuven

KU Leuven, in full the Catholic University of Leuven, is a publicly funded Catholic research university in Leuven, Belgium, and is the largest university in the country and the Low Countries.鲁汶大学（全称天主教鲁汶大学）是比利时鲁汶的一所公立资助的天主教研究型大学，是比利时与低地国家规模最大的大学。

It traces its origin to the Studium Generale Lovaniense founded in 1425, making it the oldest university in the Low Countries and the oldest surviving Catholic university.该校起源可追溯到 1425 年创立的鲁汶通用学苑，是低地国家最古老的大学，也是现存最古老的天主教大学。

In the QS World University Rankings 2027 KU Leuven is placed 59th in the world, and its OpenAlex record lists 313,987 works with 32,675,871 citations.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中鲁汶大学位列全球第 59 位，其 OpenAlex 记录收录 313,987 篇成果、被引 32,675,871 次。

History

• The university was founded in 1425 as the Studium Generale Lovaniense by Duke John IV of Brabant with a papal bull issued by Pope Martin V on 4 December 1425.该校于 1425 年由布拉班特公爵约翰四世在教皇马丁五世 1425 年 12 月 4 日颁布的教谕下创立，初名鲁汶通用学苑。
• The new institution comprised the four traditional faculties of theology, canon law, civil law and medicine, together with the faculty of arts as the preparation for higher study.这所新机构设有神学院、教会法、民法与医学四个传统学部，以及作为高等研究预备的艺学部。
• In 1492 the leading humanist Konrad Celtis joined the faculty, helping to bring the ideas of the northern Renaissance to the classrooms of Leuven.1492 年著名人文主义者康拉德·凯尔特斯加入教师行列，将北方文艺复兴的思想带入鲁汶的课堂。
• The scholar Desiderius Erasmus spent time at the Old University of Leuven, as did the anatomist Andreas Vesalius and the cartographer Gerardus Mercator in later decades.学者伊拉斯谟曾在老鲁汶大学求学任教，其后数十年解剖学家安德雷亚斯·维萨里与制图师赫拉尔杜斯·墨卡托亦在此。
• In 1516 the scholar Juan Luis Vives taught at Leuven, contributing to the humanist turn of the arts faculty in the early sixteenth century.1516 年学者胡安·路易斯·比韦斯在鲁汶任教，推动了十六世纪初艺学部的人文主义转向。
• In 1549 the Jesuit Petrus Canisius arrived at the university, deepening its Catholic character and its role in the Counter-Reformation.1549 年耶稣会士佩特鲁斯·卡尼修斯来到该校，深化了其天主教特质与在反宗教改革中的角色。
• Adriaan Boeyens, who studied at Leuven, was elected Pope Adrian VI in 1522, the only pontiff from the Low Countries and a product of its universities.曾在鲁汶求学的阿德里安·博伊恩斯于 1522 年当选教皇阿德里安六世，是低地国家出身的唯一教皇。
• The French occupation of the Austrian Netherlands led to the suppression of the old university by decree on 25 October 1797, closing a four-century institution.法国对奥属尼德兰的占领致使老大学于 1797 年 10 月 25 日经法令取缔，结束了长达四个世纪的机构。
• In 1817 King William I of the Netherlands founded a State University of Leuven, a secular institution that was itself abolished after the Belgian Revolution of 1830.1817 年荷兰国王威廉一世创办鲁汶国立大学这一世俗机构，它在 1830 年比利时革命后遭撤销。
• The Catholic University of Leuven was re-established in 1834 by the Belgian bishops with the approval of Pope Gregory XVI, reviving the interrupted tradition in Mechelen and then Leuven.1834 年比利时主教们在教皇格列高利十六世批准下重建天主教鲁汶大学，在梅赫伦继而鲁汶延续中断的传统。
• From the mid-nineteenth century the university grew as the principal Dutch-speaking and Catholic institution of higher learning in Belgium, training clergy and professionals.自十九世纪中叶起，该校作为比利时主要的荷兰语天主教高等学府不断发展，培养神职人员与专业人才。
• In 1914 and again in 1940 the German armies burned the university library, destroying medieval manuscripts and a collection painstakingly assembled over centuries.1914 年与 1940 年德军两度焚毁该校图书馆，毁去中世纪手稿与历经数世纪悉心累积的藏书。
• The library on Ladeuzeplein was rebuilt in 1928 with donations from American universities, becoming a symbol of international solidarity after the First World War.拉德兹广场的图书馆于 1928 年借助美国大学捐款重建，成为第一次世界大战后国际团结的象征。
• In 1968 a language dispute known as Leuven Vlaams split the institution into a Dutch-speaking KU Leuven, which stayed in Leuven, and a French-speaking university.1968 年名为「佛兰德鲁汶」的语言争议将学校一分为二：荷兰语的鲁汶大学留在鲁汶，另一所用法语授课。
• The French-speaking wing moved to a new town, Louvain-la-Neuve, and was formally established as the Universite catholique de Louvain in 1970, ending a shared history.法语一方迁往新城镇新鲁汶，并于 1970 年正式成为天主教鲁汶大学，结束了共同的历史。
• Through the late twentieth century KU Leuven expanded its faculties of science and engineering and became a founding member of the League of European Research Universities in 2002.二十世纪后期鲁汶大学扩展其科学与工程学院，并于 2002 年成为欧洲研究型大学联盟的创始成员。
• In 2014 the university reformed its governance and strengthened its associated colleges, consolidating a network that spans several Flemish cities.2014 年该校改革治理并强化其附属学院，巩固了横跨数座弗拉芒城市的网络。
• The 600th anniversary of the university was celebrated in 2025 with exhibitions, a large alumni cantus and a public programme across its campuses.2025 年该校以展览、大型校友联谊歌会及跨校区公共活动庆祝创校六百周年。
• Luc Sels served as rector from 2017 to 2025, a period in which the university rose to the top of several European innovation rankings.卢克·塞尔斯于 2017 至 2025 年担任校长，期间该校攀升至若干欧洲创新排名的榜首。
• Professor Severine Vermeire was elected rector in May 2025 and took office on 1 August 2025 as the first woman to lead the university in its six-hundred-year history.塞韦林·费尔梅雷教授于 2025 年 5 月当选校长，并于同年 8 月 1 日就职，成为该校六百年历史上首位女性校长。
• The university faced the Second World War with the loss of its library in 1940, but teaching resumed quickly and the institution rebuilt its collections after the conflict.该校在第二次世界大战中于 1940 年失去图书馆，但教学很快恢复，并在战后重建馆藏。
• Over six centuries the university has been repeatedly destroyed and restored, a continuity that the 2025 jubilee presented as a story of wonder and curiosity.六个世纪以来该校屡遭摧毁又屡次复兴，2025 年校庆将这段延续讲述为惊奇与求知的故事。

Academics

• KU Leuven is organised into fifteen faculties spanning theology, law, medicine, arts, social sciences, science, engineering, bioscience engineering and pharmaceutical sciences.鲁汶大学设有十五个学部，涵盖神学、法学、医学、文学、社会科学、理学、工程、生物工程与药物科学等领域。
• It is the largest university in Belgium and the Low Countries and the largest university in the world that teaches principally in Dutch.它是比利时与低地国家规模最大的大学，也是全球以荷兰语为主要教学语言的最大大学。
• In the academic year 2023-24 the university enrolled 65,534 students, of whom 7,440 were doctoral candidates, underlining its weight in advanced research training.在 2023 至 2024 学年该校共有 65,534 名学生，其中 7,440 人为博士生，凸显其在高级研究培养中的分量。
• About 21 percent of students are international, and a growing share of master's and doctoral programmes are taught fully in English to attract global talent.约 21% 的学生为国际生源，越来越多的硕士与博士项目完全以英语授课，以吸引全球人才。
• The operating revenue of the university was about 1.5 billion euros in the 2024 fiscal year, funding teaching, research and its affiliated hospital UZ Leuven.该校 2024 财年的运营收入约为 15 亿欧元，用于教学、研究及其附属的鲁汶大学医院。
• KU Leuven is a member of the League of European Research Universities, the Coimbra Group, the Europaeum and Universitas 21, linking it to peer institutions worldwide.鲁汶大学是欧洲研究型大学联盟、考英布拉集团、欧洲学院联盟与二十一大学联盟的成员，与全球同侪相连。
• The university and its predecessors have been associated with several Nobel laureates, including Christian de Duve, Albert Claude and Corneille Heymans in physiology or medicine.该校及其前身与多位诺贝尔奖得主相关，包括生理学或医学领域的克里斯蒂安·德迪夫、阿尔贝·克洛德与科内耶·海曼斯。
• KU Leuven was ranked first in Reuters' list of the most innovative universities in Europe for several consecutive years, reflecting its volume of patent filings.鲁汶大学曾连续数年位居路透社「欧洲最具创新力大学」榜首，体现出其专利申请的数量。
• The Faculty of Engineering Science is based at the Arenberg campus, a science park that hosts research institutes and spin-off companies, and it works closely with the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (imec), the nanoelectronics research institute headquartered in Leuven.工程学院设于阿伦贝格校区，这是一处汇聚研究所与衍生企业的科学园区，并与总部设在鲁汶的纳米电子研究机构校际微电子中心（imec）密切合作。
• UZ Leuven, the university hospital, is one of the largest teaching hospitals in Belgium and a major centre for clinical research and patient care.鲁汶大学医院是比利时最大的教学医院之一，也是临床研究与病患照护的主要中心。
• The KU Leuven Libraries form one of the richest scholarly collections in Belgium, headquartered at the restored library on Ladeuzeplein in the city centre.鲁汶大学图书馆构成比利时最丰富的学术馆藏之一，总部设于市中心拉德兹广场那座修复后的图书馆。
• Besides the main campus the university runs satellite campuses in Aalst, Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Diepenbeek, Genk, Geel, Ghent, Kortrijk and Sint-Katelijne-Waver.除主校区外，该校在阿尔斯特、安特卫普、布鲁日、布鲁塞尔、蒂伦豪特、亨克、海尔、根特、科尔特赖克与圣卡特莱嫩瓦弗设有分校区。
• The 600-year anniversary in 2025 was used to launch a fundraising and engagement campaign, building on the university's broad alumni network.2025 年的六百周年校庆被用于发起筹款与联络活动，依托该校广泛的校友网络展开。
• Admission to the most competitive programmes such as medicine is governed by a national entrance examination, making entry to those tracks highly selective.医学等最热门专业的招生受全国入学考试规范，使这些方向的入学竞争极为激烈。
• The university promotes interdisciplinary institutes in energy, health and artificial intelligence that draw researchers from across the fifteen faculties, and it works with the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).该校推动能源、健康与人工智能领域的跨学科研究所，汇聚来自十五个学部的科研人员，并与弗拉芒生物技术研究院（VIB）以及弗拉芒研究基金会（FWO）合作。
• KU Leuven counts among its historical strengths the biomedical sciences, building on the Nobel-winning work of de Duve and Claude on the cell and its organelles, and it hosts affiliated research centres of the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB).鲁汶大学的历史优势在于生物医学科学，其基础是德迪夫与克洛德在细胞及其细胞器上的诺贝尔奖级工作，并设有弗拉芒生物技术研究院（VIB）的附属研究中心。
• The Group of Seven, a consortium created in 2013 with Ghent University and the University of Antwerp, coordinates doctoral training and research infrastructure among the Flemish universities.2013 年与根特大学、安特卫普大学共建的「七校集团」协调弗拉芒各大学间的博士培养与研究基础设施。
• KU Leuven awards joint degrees with partner universities across Europe and runs the Fulbright Center that supports exchange with institutions in the United States.鲁汶大学与欧洲伙伴大学授予联合学位，并运营富布赖特中心以支持与美国的院校交流。
• The university's alumni association links graduates in more than a hundred countries and organised reunions around the world for the 600th anniversary in 2025.该校校友会联系百余国的毕业生，并围绕 2025 年的六百周年校庆在世界各地组织重聚活动。

Campus

• The main campus lies in the compact university town of Leuven, about twenty-five kilometres east of Brussels, with teaching buildings spread through the medieval centre.主校区位于布鲁塞尔以东约二十五公里的紧凑大学城鲁汶，教学楼散布于中世纪的老城中心。
• The campus is centred at geographic coordinates 50.87959 degrees north and 4.70093 degrees east, within the Flemish Region of Belgium.校区中心位于北纬 50.87959 度、东经 4.70093 度，处于比利时的弗拉芒大区。
• The University Hall on the Kraaiemarkt is the historic seat of the university, a fifteenth-century former cloth hall that houses the rectorate and ceremonial spaces.乌鸦市场上的大学礼堂是该校的历史中枢，这座十五世纪旧布业大厅内设校长办公室与典礼场所。
• The library on Ladeuzeplein, rebuilt in 1928 after wartime destruction, is a monumental building with a tower overlooking the city of Leuven.拉德兹广场的图书馆在战时损毁后于 1928 年重建，是一座带有塔楼、俯瞰鲁汶城的纪念性建筑。
• The Arenberg campus to the south of the city houses the Faculty of Engineering Science within a park centred on the Renaissance Arenberg Castle.位于城南的阿伦贝格校区在围绕文艺复兴式阿伦贝格城堡的园区内，容纳工程学院。
• UZ Leuven, the university hospital, occupies a large biomedical campus on the eastern edge of the city and is linked to the faculties of medicine and health.鲁汶大学医院这所大学医院位于城东的大型生物医学校区，与医学及健康学部相连。
• The university botanic garden in Leuven, dating from 1738, is among the oldest in the Low Countries and supports teaching in the plant sciences.鲁汶的大学植物园始建于 1738 年，是低地国家最古老的植物园之一，支撑植物科学教学。
• Student residences and the university sports centre are distributed across the town, and frequent trains connect Leuven to Brussels and other Flemish cities.学生宿舍与大学体育中心分布于城中，频繁的火车将鲁汶与布鲁塞尔及弗拉芒其他城市相连。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027 KU Leuven is placed 59th in the world and is the highest-ranked university in Belgium.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中鲁汶大学位列全球第 59 位，是比利时排名最高的大学。
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places the university 45th in the world, reflecting its strength in research and international outlook.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将该校列于全球第 45 位，体现出其在研究与国际视野上的实力。
• In the Academic Ranking of World Universities of 2026 KU Leuven stands 87th in the world, a table that rewards Nobel laureates and highly cited research.在 2026 年世界大学学术排名中鲁汶大学位居全球第 87 位，该榜以诺贝尔奖得主与高被引研究为重。
• The U.S. News Best Global Universities edition of 2026-2027 ranks KU Leuven 48th in the world, confirming its standing among Europe's leading research universities.2026 至 2027 年版美国新闻最佳全球大学排名将鲁汶大学列于全球第 48 位，确立其欧洲顶尖研究型大学的地位。
• The university's association with Nobel laureates such as Christian de Duve and Albert Claude underlines its historic leadership in the biomedical sciences.该校与克里斯蒂安·德迪夫、阿尔贝·克洛德等诺贝尔奖得主的联系，凸显其在生物医学科学上的历史领军地位。
• The OpenAlex database attributes 313,987 works to KU Leuven and records 32,675,871 citations, a measure of its very large and widely referenced scholarship.OpenAlex 数据库为鲁汶大学归属 313,987 篇成果并记录 32,675,871 次引用，显示其规模庞大且被广泛引用的学术产出。
• As a member of the League of European Research Universities, KU Leuven ranks among the top research-intensive institutions on the continent.作为欧洲研究型大学联盟成员，鲁汶大学位居欧洲大陆研究密集型院校的最前列。
• Subject strengths include theology, engineering science, biomedical research and the agricultural sciences, several of which rank among the world's best by discipline.学科优势包括神学、工程科学、生物医学研究与农业科学，其中若干按学科排名位居世界最佳之列。
• Its repeated first place in Reuters' European innovation ranking reflects a research culture that translates discoveries into patents and companies.该校在路透社欧洲创新排名中多次居首，反映出将发现转化为专利与企业的研究文化。

Student life

• The motto of the university is the Latin phrase Sedes Sapientiae, rendered as the seat of wisdom, echoing its origins as a Catholic centre of learning.该校校训为拉丁文 Sedes Sapientiae，意为「智慧之座」，呼应其作为天主教学术中心的起源。
• The official colours of the university are blue and white, which appear on banners, the students' union and institutional branding across the campuses.该校的官方色彩为蓝与白，见于各校区的旗帜、学生会与机构标识。
• The cantus, a traditional student song feast led by a senior student with a gavel, is a defining social ritual of university life in Leuven.康图斯是由高年级学生持槌主持的传统学生歌宴，是鲁汶大学生活标志性的社交仪式。
• Student circles, known as kringen, organise faculty-based social life, and many host their own annual baptisms, balls and charity events.称作「kringen」的学生社团组织以学部为基础的社会生活，许多还举办年度迎新、舞会与慈善活动。
• The 600th anniversary in 2025 brought a programme of public lectures, concerts and a mass alumni cantus that filled the city's squares.2025 年的六百周年校庆带来公开讲座、音乐会与一场挤满城市广场的大型校友歌会。
• The university sports service offers clubs in rowing, basketball, hockey and cycling, and Leuven's compact layout makes most venues reachable by bicycle.大学体育服务处提供赛艇、篮球、曲棍球与自行车等俱乐部，鲁汶紧凑的格局使多数场馆可骑自行车抵达。
• Residences range from traditional halls in the town centre to modern complexes on the outskirts, with many students renting rooms in private houses nearby.宿舍从城中心的传统宿舍楼到郊区的现代综合体不一而足，不少学生租用附近的私宅房间。
• The university hymn and the annual opening of the academic year tie the student body to a six-hundred-year continuum of ritual and memory.校歌与每年一度的新学年开学将学生群体与长达六百年的仪式和记忆相连。
• Leuven's size as a university town means cafes, bookshops and libraries form the everyday backdrop of student life rather than a closed campus gate.鲁汶作为大学城的体量意味着咖啡馆、书店与图书馆构成学生日常的布景，而非一道封闭校门。

Notable people

• Duke John IV of Brabant founded the Studium Generale Lovaniense in 1425 and, with Pope Martin V, gave the university its original charter and privileges.布拉班特公爵约翰四世于 1425 年创办鲁汶通用学苑，并与教皇马丁五世一同赋予该校最初的特许与特权。
• Pope Martin V issued the 1425 papal bull that established the university, linking its foundation to the authority of the Avignon-successor papacy.教皇马丁五世颁布了 1425 年的教谕确立该校，将其创立与继阿维尼翁之后的教宗权威相连。
• Georges Lemaître, an alumnus and professor who was also a priest, proposed the expanding-universe theory in 1927 that became the basis of the Big Bang model.校友兼教授、同为神父的乔治·勒梅特于 1927 年提出宇宙膨胀理论，成为大爆炸模型的基础。
• Christian de Duve, a faculty member and alumnus, shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cell organelles such as the lysosome.教师兼校友克里斯蒂安·德迪夫因发现溶酶体等细胞器，共获 1974 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Albert Claude, a faculty member at the university, shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the cell's structure and function.该校教师阿尔贝·克洛德因细胞结构与功能的研究，共获 1974 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Corneille Heymans, an alumnus of the university, won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on the regulation of breathing.该校校友科内耶·海曼斯因呼吸调节的研究荣获 1938 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Desiderius Erasmus, the great Renaissance humanist, studied and taught at the Old University of Leuven and shaped its scholarly reputation.文艺复兴人文主义巨匠伊拉斯谟曾在老鲁汶大学求学任教，塑造了该校的学术声誉。
• Andreas Vesalius, who studied at Leuven, became the founder of modern human anatomy through his illustrated work De humani corporis fabrica.曾在鲁汶求学的安德雷亚斯·维萨里以插图巨著《论人体构造》成为现代人体解剖学之父。
• Gerardus Mercator, a student at Leuven, devised the Mercator projection that remains the standard way of representing the globe on flat maps.曾在鲁汶求学的赫拉尔杜斯·墨卡托设计了墨卡托投影，至今仍是平面地图表现地球的标准方式。
• Adriaan Boeyens, who studied at Leuven, was elected Pope Adrian VI in 1522, the only pontiff to have come from the Low Countries.曾在鲁汶求学的阿德里安·博伊恩斯于 1522 年当选教皇阿德里安六世，是低地国家出身的唯一教皇。
• Mathias Cormann, an alumnus, served as Australia's Minister for Finance from 2018 to 2021 and later led the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.校友马蒂亚斯·科尔曼于 2018 至 2021 年出任澳大利亚财政部长，其后领导经济合作与发展组织。
• Paul Bulcke, an alumnus of the university, served as Chief Executive Officer of Nestle and later as chairman of its board, a leading figure in global food business.该校校友保罗·布尔克曾任雀巢首席执行官并其后任董事长，是全球食品业的领军人物。
• Jo Daemen, an alumnus and cryptographer, was one of the designers of the Advanced Encryption Standard used to secure digital communications worldwide.校友、密码学家乔·达门是高级加密标准的设计者之一，该标准用于保护全球数字通信。