Best MSc Programs in Leuven in Belgium 2019/2020

The research masters program aims at guiding students to become independent researchers in psychological science. The faculty offers a challenging and dynamic study environment with a strong link between research and teaching. Its degree programs provide a varied, appealing and research-based education of high academic quality.

Students of the research master will obtain:

The Master of Science in Educational Studies offers a research-oriented program providing broad expertise related to the field of education. The faculty offers a challenging and dynamic study environment with a strong link between research and teaching. Its degree programs provide a varied, appealing and research-based education of high academic quality.

The world of traffic evolves fast! Just think of the rise of the self-driving car. Besides the traditional governments, road admissions and public traffic firms, traffic becomes more than ever big business for trendy firms. Examples are Google, Tesla, and Uber or fun apps like Moovit and Waze. In most cities, you can already find car and bike sharing systems (e.g. Villo, Cambio, and Car2Go) and enterprises that provide completely integrated packages of Mobility-as-a-Service and want to ban private cars to the history lessons.

Are you one of the young ambitious engineers of this new generation and would you like to help this revolution?

The world of logistics is constantly changing. Familiar terms such as e-commerce are in fact a super dynamic logistic machine with a web-store as visible outing: when you click on ‘buy now’, somewhere in Utrecht or Dresden a machine pops into action and within 24 hours your purchase is delivered at your front door anywhere in Belgium. Behind the scenes, optimization stays the keyword. Airplanes, vans, and cargo-bikes today, maybe in the future drones or automatic vans, will deliver your packages. The same process appears in the supply chain of enterprises that constantly redesigns due to new players, different prices and new technologies like 3D printing since the old solutions became too expensive or dispensable.... [-]

As an internationally oriented program developing a critical understanding of contemporary conditions of cities and urban regions, the Master of Urbanism and Strategic Planning aims to cultivate innovative concepts and strategies for qualitative interventions in urban territories through design, planning, and policies. It prepares students for leadership roles in urban design, urban development and management, and strategic planning, with a special focus on European-wide urban problems.

The Master of Science in Urbanism and Strategic Planning (MaUSP) is a four-semester academic degree offered within the Faculty of Engineering Science by the Department of Architecture. The program interacts with research conducted by the research groups active in the department.... [-]

The Master of Safety Engineering meets the existing needs and growing demands for safety experts coming from society and industry. The program will prepare you to improve and realize safety in many different areas. The program trains you in prevention policy and safety management systems, the safety of products, processes, and installations, qualitative risk analysis techniques, and fire and explosion safety.

The Master of Safety Engineering will prepare you to improve and realize safety in many different areas. The program trains you in prevention policy and safety management systems, the safety of products, processes, and installations, qualitative risk analysis techniques, and fire and explosion safety. You’ll obtain detailed knowledge of technical and managerial process safety concepts with regard to the whole life cycle of a production plant, and risk evaluations based on qualitative and quantitative methods.... [-]

Nuclear technology plays a crucial role in a wide variety of contexts and sectors in Belgium, including power production, waste management, nuclear fuel production, etc. The Belgian Nuclear Higher Education Network (B.N.E.N.) combines the expertise in nuclear education and research of six major Belgian universities (KU Leuven, UGent, VUB, UCL, U.L.G. and ULB) with the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN.

Nuclear technology plays a crucial role in a wide variety of contexts and sectors in Belgium, including:

This master’s program combines the basics of physics, biology, and chemistry at the nanometer scale with courses on technology and engineering. The program fits into the growing worldwide convergence between the basic sciences and between science, technology and engineering sciences in general. Nanotechnology and nanoengineering are the application of this science in new nanomaterials and nano concepts for new components, systems, and products.

Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation on the atomic and molecular scales (nanometers: i.e., one billionth of a meter). Important material properties such as the electrical, optical and mechanical are determined by the way molecules and atoms assemble into larger structures on the nanoscale.... [-]

Mechanical engineering is a very broad field of study in the engineering sciences. It integrates almost all disciplines of technology. Any device or product that is used in modern, everyday life is the result of an ongoing synergy between different basic techniques. In short, all products in modern society arose from the merger of different technical disciplines. Mechanical engineering is the preferred integrator specialized for realizing this.

The Master of Science in Engineering: Mechanical Engineering is a general training program integrating all disciplines of basic sciences, engineering, and technology. An essential element of the mechanical engineering curriculum at KU Leuven is the direct training of each student in a real-life industrial or research setting. Following up on the design assignment in the Bachelor's program, the Master's program brings the student in close contact with the industrial reality.... [-]

Without mathematical tools, there would be no internet search engines, no weather forecast, no security in banking. Mathematical models and techniques play an important role in automatic pilot technologies, the design of quieter cars, the optimisation of wind farms, medical scanners, etc. At first sight, these applications have little in common, but they all process a large amount of data. Mathematics is becoming critical in many applications because of increasing model complexity and higher demands from customers and the environment.

The Master of Science in Mathematical Engineering is unique in Flanders and is supported by high-quality research that has led to several spin-off companies.... [-]

The Master in Human Settlements addresses rapid urbanization in the developing world and contemporary urban transformations within the scope of sustainable development. The program aims to provide insight into the problems of human settlements as related to rapid change and to the interaction between modernity and tradition, formal and informal city-making.

Architecture, urbanism and spatial planning are the core disciplines of the program. Contributions from economics, geography, and anthropology, among others, complement this core.

The structure is organized around:

What will the future bring in terms of energy? Will we produce electricity from renewable sources such as the wind and sun? Will nuclear energy make a comeback? What will power cars in the future and what will their engines look like? The liberalization of energy markets is causing a genuine techno-economic revolution. The greenhouse gas issue threatens our way of life. Guaranteeing a (sustainable) supply of energy is a challenge for all mankind. These phenomena make the subject of energy highly topical.

The program addresses every multidisciplinary aspect of energy. There is extensive coverage of the possibilities and limitations of the various energy technologies, but also of the environmental consequences and economic aspects.... [-]

We live in a digital world. Computers and software play a central role in society: in companies, in education and research, and in our daily lives. Year after year, our daily activities become more connected with the digital dimension. In this context, the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven steers the most novel evolutions and develops the technology required for the next generation of applications.

This Master will train you to become an expert in the development and up-front professional use of computer and software systems. Nowadays, these systems are indispensable in nearly all areas of our society: in industry, the public sector, health and many social applications for end users. They are also the most complex systems ever created by humans.... [-]

KU Leuven is already preparing the next generation of integrated systems – will you be involved? The program delivers graduate students who are able to pioneer this next generation due to the comprehensive course of study and foundational knowledge. The program gives you an in-depth training in the software and hardware design of electronic systems, with an emphasis either on circuit design or on the design of applications.

KU Leuven is already preparing the next generation of integrated systems - will you be involved? The Electrical Engineering Department (ESAT) is the largest department within the university and was the starting point of i.m.e.c. and many spin-off companies. With such an excellent reputation within an innovative industry, the program exemplifies the link between education, research, and valorization. The Master in Electrical Engineering program gives you in-depth training in the software and hardware design of electronic systems, with an emphasis either on circuit design or the design of applications. Your Master's thesis, carried out in close co-operation with the department's ongoing research, will expose you to cutting-edge research.... [-]

Want a program with true pedigree? Try the Master of Conservation of Monuments and Sites, run by the RLICC (Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation), founded by Raymond Lemaire. The RLICC has more than 40 years of experience in training, research and consulting in the field of preservation of constructed heritage. Its advanced international and interdisciplinary study program in the conservation and restoration of historic monuments and sites is a three-semester program.

This three-semester program is organized jointly by the Department of Architecture and the Department of Civil Engineering.