Leuven Program

Philosophy has been taught at the K.U. Leuven since its foundation in 1425, and the Institute of Philosophy has existed as an independent unit since the 19th century. The Institute of Philosophy is well known as a centre for the study of the History of Philosophy, especially in the Ancient and Medieval periods, and is particularly well known as a centre for the study of contemporary Continental Philosophy. The Husserl Archives houses the papers of Edmund Husserl, one of the founders of the school of Phenomenology. The Institute of Philosophy also offers courses in Anglo-American Analytic philosophy.

The K.U. Leuven is a Flemish (Dutch) speaking university. However, the Institute of Philosophy has two full degree tracks, one in Flemish and the other in English. Courses taken by Humanities students at the Institute of Philosophy are in English.

The majority of courses offered at the Institute of Philosophy are in Continental philosophy, on such figures as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas, and Derrida. Although there are courses offered in contemporary Anglo-American (Analytic) philosophy, they are in the minority. Continental philosophers tend to have a greater interest in engaging with the History of Philosophy than do Analytic philosophers.

The Institute of Philosophy has its own precinct in Leuven, right in the centre of the city. It is a group of buildings surrounding a beautiful, cobbled courtyard, with a large iron gate controlling access to the street. Immediately outside the Institute one finds any number of cafes in which to relax and discuss things with other students.  Its address is in Leuven Kardinaal Mercierplein 3 (google maps).

Leuven is a city of about 100,000 people, situated in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium, about 20 minutes by train from Brussels. By high-speed train, Leuven is about an hour and a half from Amsterdam or from Paris, and two hours from London.
It is a very old and beautiful city, with lots of cafés and lots of students. Photographs can be found in the HUMS Leuven Program Facebook group, which students who plan to go to Leuven should join.
The HUMS Leuven Program Facebook group is a good place to post questions for students who have preceded you in Leuven. You can get advice on how to look for a room, which professors are the most interesting, and there might even be an apartment that a current HUMS Leuven student can pass on to you.

Humanities students who visit Leuven follow a different procedure than a normal Carleton Exchange through the ISSO (International Student Services Office). On an ISSO exchange, Carleton students register at Carleton and pay Carleton fees for their year abroad.
The Leuven program is exclusive to the Bachelor of Humanities and does not work through the ISSO. Consequently, Humanities students do not register at Carleton or pay Carleton fees during their third year abroad. Rather, they register at Leuven and pay Leuven’s fees.
Humanities students are admitted to Leuven’s 3-year B.A. in Philosophy and then enrolled by the Institute of Philosophy in a special Certificate Program open only to Humanities students.
Humanities students are officially registered in the Institute of Philosophy’s 3-year B.A. program, in order to obtain a student VISA and in order to use the K.U. Leuven facilities, but they are non-degree seeking students. This allows them to keep their place in the Bachelor of Humanities degree when they return to Carleton. See the Agreement between the Institute of Philosophy and the College of the Humanities.

Humanities students who study in Leuven take the majority of their courses in philosophy, although there is some possibility of taking a few courses in theology (i.e. Religion) or in a language.
Institute of Philosophy credits will be transferred into their Carleton degree when they return to Carleton for their fourth year.

Students in their second year (or higher) of the B.Hum may apply for this program.
Please consider Leuven only if you have a genuine interest in and aptitude for philosophy. It is an intense year of studying only philosophy, and so can be a bit much for those who go only because Leuven is a nice town. If you wish to go only for the atmosphere, simply take a year off and go live in Leuven (or Paris, or Barcelona).
In concrete terms, you should be able to get at least a B in HUMS 2000 in order to apply. The courses in Belgium are difficult, and the professors are hard markers. If you have struggled in HUMS 2000, you will likely fail some or all of your courses in Leuven.
In addition to their performance in HUMS 2000, applicants must complete the second year of the B.Hum in good standing. A student who is placed on Academic Warning in his Academic Performance Evaluation the summer before his proposed year in Leuven will not be able to go, because his application for a Letter of Permission will be denied, in order to prevent ejection from the program upon his return. See section 7.5 of the Carleton Calendar.

It is possible to take language courses at the K.U.Leuven, but they fill up fairly quickly.
Note: In the case of language courses, be aware that the course you take may possibly not be evaluated at a high enough level to satisfy your language requirement.
Contact the Leuven Language Institute (ILT = Instituut voor Levende Talen) for more information. There is also the Language Centre (CLT = Centrum voor Levende Talen) which seems less official.

Tuition at the H.I.W is currently €890, which is about $1300.00 Cdn (February 2015), but which obviously varies by the current exchange rate.
There are other incidental fees. However, in total it will still cost at least $12,000 to $15,000 to spend the year in Leuven, including plane fare. This figure obviously will differ, depending on your personal spending habits.

Leuven has a few residences, but they are not very nice, so it is not advisable to live in residence. Instead, you take a room in the city.
A student room is usually called a “Kot.” When I lived there you could just arrive and start walking around the city in the area in which you would like to live. You would see signs in the windows of buildings that say “Kamer te Huur.” This means “Room for Rent.”
Now, however, you can search online on the Kotwijs site. See also the information on the K.U. Leuven Accomodation website. There you will find explanations of various terms, as well as a model housing contract. The current average rent is €350 per month (February 2015).
It’s probably a good idea to look for a room relatively early. The Accommodation website has a note saying that “new offers” (i.e. new listings) for the next academic year will be posted in May.
Make use of the students currently in Leuven. They may have apartments or houses they want to hand down to you. They might even be able to check a place that you have your eye on, or at the very least let you know if the area you are considering living in is decent.
As a rule of thumb, anywhere within the ring-road is walkable (up to about a half hour if you lived way on the west side of the city), but it is probably a good idea to live as close to the Institute as you can afford.
Be aware that rooms facing the main “Old Market” (Oude Markt) won’t let you get much sleep. The bars will close around 3AM, and deliveries of kegs will begin around 7AM.
When in doubt, ask questions on the HUMS Leuven Facebook group, talk to students still around who have been there, or email students currently in Leuven.

Students visiting the H.I.W. with a letter of permission will not receive their Carleton scholarship for that year. Although students visiting Leuven remain degree-seeking students in the Bachelor of Humanities at Carleton, they are not registered at Carleton for their year abroad, and so cannot receive a Carleton scholarship.
However, upon their return to Carleton, they may take up their scholarship again as if it were their next year of study.
For example, a student goes to Leuven in his third year and would have been able to hold his scholarship had he stayed at Carleton. He will get to have it when he comes back for the fourth year, and if he stayed for a fifth year and kept his grades up, he would have it for that year too.
However, before you go, you need to contact the Awards Office in order to make the proper scholarship arrangements.

OSAP: Students who are applying for OSAP must do so directly through the Thunder Bay central office. On the application form, they do not list Carleton as the university they attend but list the Catholic University of Leuven. Students are eligible only for the Federal (not the Provincial) portion of OSAP funds.
RESP: Students whose parents have Registered Education Savings Plan can use money from this for the year in Leuven. You will need to provide transcripts from Carleton indicating that you have finished 2nd year, and your acceptance letter from Leuven, proving that you will be attending school the following year.

Note that you will have to stay in Belgium until June, so there is not much opportunity to work or take a summer course in Canada after your year in Belgium.
In the past students have gotten jobs while in Leuven, but it can be difficult if you don’t speak Flemish. Some students have taught English in Brussels. Inquire on the HUMS Leuven Facebook page for tips.

Classes don’t begin until the end of September, but it is a good idea to arrive a few weeks early in order to find a place to live, and either hang out in the nice weather or travel a bit before the term begins. This is also a good time to accustomise yourself to the strength of Belgian beers.
Here is their academic calendar for 2014-15, which should give you an idea of your schedule.

Apply to the K.U. Leuven through their online application form before the 1st of March. If this date has passed, get in touch with Prof. MacIsaac to see if a late application can be made.
You will apply for the 3-year BA in Philosophy in English.  Note that you are NOT applying as an International Scholar, and you are NOT applying for the 1-year ‘Abridged Program’ in Philosophy.
Documents you will need to attach:

1. Transcript. You get this from the Carleton Registrar.
2. Proof of payment of the application fee (bank transfer or credit card).
3. Photocopy of the identity page of your passport.
4. Motivation letter (1 page).

You don’t need to submit recommendation letters or a writing sample.

Follow this link for instructions on how to apply for a VISA to visit Belgium as a student.
Note: The Belgian Consular websites, as is typical of all Belgian bureaucratic processes, are confusing and needlessly complicated. I found this link by going to the website for the Belgian Embassy and Consulate in Canada, then the VISA for Belgium page, finding the link to the Belgian government, and then eventually the instructions on how to apply for a VISA. On this page, under  “Where to lodge your application for leave to remain”—”if you are abroad”—”procedure to follow” the actual link I posted above can be found.
Note that Belgian Consular services for Canada are in Montréal, so you will have to deal with them. You will likely have to send them your passport, along with all the proper documents they ask for, so that they can put a VISA in it.
In order to apply for a VISA you must already have received your acceptance to the K.U.Leuven. The VISA process can take a lot of time. It is best to begin it as soon as possible. Although you will not be able to complete it until you receive your acceptance from Leuven, you can start gathering other materials. Students who have done this in previous years advise you to follow their instructions exactly or risk having to resubmit documents.
If you do not have a Passport, apply for one as early as you can. The quickest way is to use the online application.

Go to the Registrar’s Letter of Permission page to find instructions on how to apply for a L.O.P. and for the fee. The actual application is made through Carleton Central.
The Letter of Permission’s purpose is to pre-approve the courses that you take abroad, for transfer back into your Carleton degree. Normally a student chooses courses before they go, and submits their choices with their L.O.P. application form. This is not the case with the Leuven program. You won’t choose your Leuven courses until you arrive in Leuven and have had a chance to see what is being offered. Normally you will sit in on a lot of courses in your first week or two, and choose the ones that suit you best. See below for instructions on how to choose your courses.
So when you apply for a L.O.P. leave the course choices blank, and indicate that you are going to Leuven as a student in the Bachelor of Humanities.
It is crucial that you keep in touch with your Registrarial Specialist, and inform them of your course choices once you have made them. Failure to do this will make it very difficult for you to get Carleton credit for the courses you take in Leuven.

The choice between these two programs normally depends on your answer to the following question: “Have you already enrolled in PHIL 2010 Issues in Theoretical Philosophy & PHIL 2020 Issues in Practical Philosophy, or are prepared to overload in 4th year, or spend a 5th year at Carleton, in order to take these two courses?” If the answer to this question is “yes,” then you should to the Combined Honours in Humanities and Philosophy. If it is “no,” then you should do the Honours in Humanities with a Study Year Abroad.
The reason for this is that all other requirements for the Combined Honours in Philosophy can be taken in Leuven except PHIL 2010 & 2020. So you would need to take them either before you go, or after you return. But you normally have 5.0 credits in HUMS courses to take when you return, so taking them then would require you to overload or do an extra year.
If you are thinking of doing graduate work in Philosophy, it is handy to have the Combined Honours on your degree. It is not essential, but it is a known quantity for graduate schools. That being said, we have had many students accepted into good Philosophy M.A. programs who went to Leuven without doing the Combined Honours, and these programs can be used as springboards for prestigious Ph.D. programs.
The bottom line is that students who have already completed PHIL 2010 & 2020 before they go, or who are planning to spend a 5th year anyway, should try to do the Combined Honours. But doing the Combined Honours isn’t important enough on its own to make you overload or spend a 5th year doing it.
If you are planning to do the Combined Honours, you should meet with the Undergraduate Advisor in Philosophy, who will give you ithe nformation they want you to have about the Leuven program.
Note that you cannot do a minor in philosophy by going to Leuven, because at most you would be able to use 2.0 credits towards the 4.0 credit minor. The other 2.0 credits need to be taken at Carleton. See section 5.3.2. in the Carleton Undergraduate Calendar.

Print out an audit from Carleton Central. Then print out either the Combined Honours in Humanities and Philosophy or Honours in Humanities with a Study Year Abroad Course Progression Chart.

On the Progression Chart, cross off each course that you will have completed by the time you leave for Leuven. Put what into a list, and you have your list of Carleton Graduation Requirements.
Once you have this, divide them into credits which you will complete in Leuven, and credits which you will complete when you return. Cells on the Chart with a grey background indicate courses you can normally find an equivalent to in Leuven.
Although it is possible to take language courses in Leuven, it is difficult to complete your language requirement there.
Note that one course in Leuven is normally the equivalent of 0.5 credits at Carleton.
Note that although in Leuven you can take up to 13 courses (12 courses in addition to your B.A. paper, depending on which courses you choose), you can only transfer back a maximum of 12 courses, or 6.0 credits.

• For the Honours in Humanities with a Study Year Abroad, any 10 courses in Leuven will satisfy the requirement for “5.0 credits taken at an approved international institution.”
• For the Combined Honours in Humanities and Philosophy, guidance on which courses can satisfy which requirements are given below, under “Choose your courses once you are in Leuven.”

Courses at the Institute of Philosophy are of two types:

1. Lecture courses
2. Seminars

This division is similar to the Canadian distinction between a lecture course and a seminar, but the distinction between them is a bit more strict at the Institute of Philosophy.
In a lecture course, the professor will lecture and students are expected to take notes and listen. Lectures are not very Socratic, i.e. they are the forum in which the professor presents his take on a given text or topic. Students are examined on what was presented in the lecture.
In a seminar course, all of the work is done by students, i.e. every class a student gives a presentation/paper on the text or topic at hand, and the presentation is discussed by the students and the professor. Seminar courses are almost always evaluated on the basis of written work and presentations, without an exam.
Examinations for most 1st semester courses can be taken in January. The rest are taken in June, in the normal examination period. May is a study month. See the Academic Calendar for the present year in order to get a sense of their schedule. The format for examinations is often a 15-minute oral examination.
Courses are marked on a scale of 20-0, with 9 or below being an insufficient grade.
Courses that Humanities students transfer back to Carleton are listed on their academic audit without a specific mark, as either Pass or Fail.
Students will be issued a transcript of their work in Leuven, however, with an interpretation scheme allowing their 20-0 marks to be understood from A+ to F. Students who apply for graduate work and for graduate scholarships (OGS, SSHRCC) will have to include this transcript with their applications.
Humanities students are enrolled in the 2-year B.A. program at the Institute of Philosophy but are free to take either B.A. or M.A. courses. Because the M.A. courses are taught at a higher level than the B.A. courses, students are advised to take only a few M.A. courses. Humanities students may be allowed to take certain M.Phil electives, in certain circumstances, but are not allowed to take regular M.Phil courses.

For this, you make use of the list of Carleton Graduation Requirements that you have already made.
If you are doing the Honours in Humanities with a Study Year Abroad, finding courses to satisfy these requirements is relatively easy. In that degree, you must take 5.0 credits abroad, and so anything you take in Leuven is acceptable for those 5.0 credits.
The 2nd-year block in the Humanities with a Study Year Abroad stream, where you take 1.0 credit from a variety of courses, can be satisfied in Leuven, or you can possibly use an appropriate existing credit for it. You should discuss this latter option with the Undergraduate Advisor in Humanities before you go, so you know whether or not you need to take something in Leuven for it.
If this leaves more than 5.0 Humanities credits to finish when you return to Carleton (normally HUMS 3000, 3200, 3102/3, 4000, 4103/4) you will likely have to overload or do a 5th year to complete your degree.
Note that the designation “with a Study Year Abroad” is an addition made to the Humanities Honours degree after your return, so you can’t switch into it beforehand. What you do is switch into Humanities Honours (not Combined Honours), and choose courses following the list that you made by using the Honours in Humanities with a Study Year Abroad Course Progression Chart.
If you are doing a Combined Honours in Humanities and Philosophy the process is slightly more involved but still isn’t difficult.
Among the items in your list of Carleton Graduation Requirements you will have the following items:

• 1.0 credit PHIL in Language, Mind & World
• 1.0 credit PHIL in Ethics, Society & Aesthetics

Each of these needs to be satisfied by 2 Leuven courses whose topics could reasonably come under these broad categories. Take a look the Course Categories for Philosophy in the Carleton Undergraduate Calendar for a list of courses offered by Carleton’s Philosophy Department that satisfy their requirements, and use this as a guide for making judgments about Leuven courses.
The Carleton Philosophy Department is responsible for giving Carleton equivalent credit for your choices, so be reasonable.

• 1.0 credit in PHIL History of Philosophy

This is fairly self-explanatory. To be safe, choose courses in philosophers before the late 19th century.
Note: Carleton’s own PHIL 1600 “History of Philosophy” course can not serve as a credit in the History of Philosophy for this requirement, because it is at the 1000 level. It is only usable for the requirement 1.0 credit in PHIL, or as an elective.

• 1.0 credit in PHIL 4000+

To be safe, take at least two courses at the M.A. level. There should be no debate about giving an equivalence of such courses at the 4000 level. Also see the note about M.A. courses under the heading “Kinds of Courses in Leuven,” above.

In addition to your Carleton Graduation Requirements, your course choices in Leuven must satisfy the requirements of the Bachelor of Humanities-Leuven Study Year Abroad Certificate.
Overview:

• A “B.A. Paper”
• 6 mandatory courses (2 each of three types)
• Between 4 and 6 electives (of various types)

Consult the list of Requirements for details.
Theoretically, you could take 12 courses and your B.A. paper, which would add up to 13 courses. But you can only transfer 12 of them back to Carleton, for a maximum of 6.0 credits.
It should be fairly easy within this model to choose courses that also satisfy the requirements for a Carleton Combined Honours in Philosophy.