Education

What might you have in common with Herman Van Rompuy, the first and current President of the European Council? A Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from KU Leuven! This programme will:
"  provide an ideal platform from which to launch a career of the mind or a professional career in a field other than philosophy;
"  develop and hone your skills of logic, critical thinking and close reading;
"  help you make sense of the world and your unique place in it.

This programme can also be taken part-time.

Profile

"  a good-quality secondary-level education
"  good knowledge of English
"  broad general knowledge
"  intellectual curiosity
"  a sense of history and an open spirit of curiosity and intellectual wonder
"  a strong interest in questions of meaning
"  a capacity for abstract and conceptual thinking
"  a reflexive and critical capacity to examine one's own presuppositions and self-formulations

Objectives

The aim of the programme is that students obtain systematic and historical insight into the posing of questions, the formulation of answers, and their evolution within the foremost domains of philosophy. They learn the history of philosophy, and they teach themselves to handle the domain's research instruments for written and verbal expression.

At the end of the programme the student has acquired :
- a basic grounding in philosophy in the different areas of philosophical research and in the different periods in the history of philosophy;
- the skills necessary to proceed to do proper research work in philosophy at a more advanced level, such as the proper use of libraries and bibliographies and other resources, the proper reading of texts, the writing of research papers on a variety of topics and figures;
- the ability to think critically.

After graduation

Master's programmes

* Master in Philosophy

Career paths

Graduates in philosophy go on to careers in many different sectors, including:
"  business
"  civil service
"  politics
"  education
"  publishing
"  media
"  the socio-cultural sector
"  journalism
"  academia
"  ...
Many employers seek candidates who are not only well grounded in a specific field, but are also able to handle the diverse challenges arising in a fast-paced workplace. Graduates in philosophy are well positioned to think clearly and respond effectively in the workplace.

Spotlight

The Institute of Philosophy has its roots in the eminent tradition of European continental philosophy. In recent years, however, to the Institute has embraced other philosophical traditions ranging from Anglo-American thought to non-Western philosophy. The Institute of Philosophy is proud to:
"  offer a wide variety of challenging courses and seminars
"  host nearly 700 students of some 54 nationalities
"  be among the largest research groups in philosophy on the continent, with some 30 full-time staff, and nearly 130 adjunct faculty members, post-docs, and doctoral students and 5 research centres
"  profile itself as a vibrant and cosmopolitan intellectual community that celebrates the subject of philosophy in its many forms
"  have one of the world's finest philosophical libraries, with more than 90,000 volumes and subscriptions to more than 300 journals

Contact

Institute of Philosophy
Kardinaal Mercierplein 2
3000 Leuven, Belgium
tel. + 32 16 32 63 02
fax + 32 16 32 63 52
international.office@hiw.kuleuven.be

Useful links

Visit this programme's website.